SINGAPORE - Formed in 2012, home-grown quartet L.A.B, an acronym for Listen And Believe, create music that is a meld of genres like neo-soul, jazz, hip-hop and R&B. Their debut EP, Listen And Believe, was released in April this year.
Here in ST Sessions, they talk about the experimental nature of their music as well as their audience.
On paper, the band's line-up reads like a who's who of the independent music scene in Singapore.
On vocals is singer and musician Michaela Therese, an artist with an established solo career, who has 15 years' worth of music-making experience under her belt.
Playing keyboards is Aya Sekine, a Japanese jazz pianist who has been based in Singapore for 12 years, and is a familiar face at jazz gigs here.
On bass and vocals is Tim De Cotta, a multi-talented musician, rapper and producer who also performs with a wide range of acts including TAJ, the now defunct SIXX as well as other home-grown talents like Inch Chua and Ling Kai.
On drums is Teo Jia Rong, a proficient drummer who also plays with acts like TAJ.
L.A.B's members all agree though that American singer-songwriter Erykah Badu's music parallels their own eclectic style. She is known the world over for her heady mix of genres like soul, jazz, and R&B.
Here, the band talked about how a love of Badu's music first brought them together, their recent tour in Japan, as well as their EP:
Here's a full performance of Zerox, a song about "being who you are, and not copying other people".
L.A.B are making their presence felt outside of Singapore too. In May, the band did a series of well-received gigs in the Japanese cities of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka and in 2014, they toured Malaysia.
Here, the band perform their song, Lumen, a tune about "lightness overcoming darkness".
Website: http://www.listenandbelieve.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/listenandbelieve
Twitter: https://twitter.com/L_A_B_Singapore
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkH-8qxFOBlqvkcNQ87Olvw
Bandcamp: http://listenandbelieve.bandcamp.com/album/listen-and-believe
