Live@ST’s Music Lab Podcast: Shazza, Hongjoin, rhyu, Rangga and more perform their latest songs

There is a particular allure to live performances.

Perhaps it stems from the charm of raw vocals and music – strip away slick production, do away with multiple takes to get a perfect rendition, and all that is left is the musician and their art. The experience created is authentic, intimate, and even builds a delicate connection between the audience and performer.

“Most of these performances are done in a single take and what you’re watching are musicians in their element. These performances are stripped down to their essence, singers with their voices, musicians and their instruments, performing live with minimal effects and gadgetry,” shares ST’s music correspondent Eddino Abdul Hadi.

This is the experience created in the Music Lab LIVE segment of Music Lab, a monthly podcast by The Straits Times, hosted by Eddino.

Here, musical acts share their stories — from the epic highs to trials and tribulations that they have encountered on their journey, to their artistic inspirations, and of course, aspirations for the future. Oh, and they perform too.

“If you love checking out new and original English music by local acts, beyond the obvious mainstream acts that almost everyone else follows, you’ll be surprised by what you’ll hear in our Music Lab LIVE podcast playlist,” says ST’s podcast editor Ernest Luis.

Some choose to share their latest songs – in the most recent episode, singer-songwriter Hongjoin performed Komorebi, a wistfully dreamy song that serves as the title track of his sophomore album that was just released in May this year.

The guest before him, Shazza, went a similar route, singing her latest single Rain in Manhattan, accompanied by her collaborator and fellow musician, Umar Sirhan. Her fans include Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Chris Martin, the frontman of the famed British band Coldplay.

Others choose to return to old favourites.

Home-grown singer-songwriter and producer, Rangga Jones, performed acoustic renditions of Call Me, his 2022 song that garnered millions of streams when it was released and the attention of K-pop star Ruka of Babymonster, as well as Not Good Enough, from his 2023 full-length album Emotions.

New Music Lab episodes are released on the fourth Wednesday of each month. In the meantime, you can add past episodes to your Spotify playlist (

https://str.sg/w9T6

) to check out live performances where musical acts showcase the true extent of their talent, and interviews about their artistic journey.

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