December 2020 – March 2021 | Aliwal Art Centre
Aliwal Tracks is a video web series programme that invites viewers to explore the nuanced sounds around Kampong Gelam. Featuring online programmes including virtual exhibition, behind-the-scenes videos and digital performances, meander through the streets of one of Singapore’s most vibrant enclaves and explore hidden street art, age-old stories from residents as well as sounds and beats of Kampong Gelam.
Watch Programmes
Volume 1
Rampak Bebano | By NADI Singapura | 21 December 2020
“Rebana” or “Gendang”, a collective term used to describe the drums, has been the core of Nadi Singapura’s musical exploration, expansion and creation. Rampak Bebano is one of Nadi Singapura’s earliest works which features a myriad of rhythms distinctively performed as an ensemble on the Rebana Asli, also known as the Gendang Melayu. This new edition of the song is inspired by the beautiful people of Kampong Gelam.
Watch
Red Demon | By Nine Years Theatre | 28 December 2020
Red Demon’s music was originally composed by Singapore sound designer / composer Chong Li Chuan for Nine Year Theatre’s production of Red Demon in 2016. The music fuses South East Asian elements with contemporary western music styles, resulting in a hauntingly meditative mood.
The video footage is centred on the “textures” of less-travelled corners in the Aliwal street area –– backstreets structures, weathered walls –– as well as those of Nature, such as the bark and roots of old trees in the precinct.
Pelesit | By Teater Ekamatra x NADA | 4 January 2021
NADA takes another allegorical form, this time of a pelesit, a shapeshifting spirit in Malay folklore that is known to move at warp speed. “Macam pelisit” (like a pelisit) as the common saying goes, implies something or someone has just vanished into thin air. What is often forgotten is its magical abilities to attain beauty and bring financial gain at its master’s command.
Like a pelesit, NADA shall be, too, a lost and wandering one without a master to serve and can only absorb beauty wherever it goes. In this meandering journey, NADA traverses various spots and locations around Kampong Gelam, enchanted by the stories to emit more hauntological sounds.
Mixed Tape | By RSCLS | 11 January 2021
In this epic collaboration with eight artists who call Kampong Glam their home, watch as these artists from RSCLS, 67 Studio and The Blackboko Studio come together to paint a massive mural at Aliwal Arts Centre, combining styles, inspiration, music and technology into this unique piece. Then, come down to the venue for yourselves and activate original music and soundtracks via the QR-codes embedded in the wall.
Volume REMIX
City Fringe | By David Siow (DSML) | 11 January 2021
Kampong Glam exists on the city fringe, in both the literal and metaphorical sense:
It’s close to the city area, yet just out of reach
It’s developed, yet retains its cultural heritageCity Fringe aims to capture this all within a song, encapsulating the cultural heritage in a repackaged, modernized song. Only sounds recorded from Kampong Glam will be used, with Jean Seizure being featured on vocals.
An accompanying video (done by Russell Goh) will feature the locations where the sounds were recorded, synchronized with the flow of the song.
Looking for Mr Gelam | By Word Forward | 18 January 2021
Embark on a VR-journey back in time to the year 1825, in search of the elusive Mr Gelam around Beach Road and Kampong Glam with Uncle Sam and his niece, Ling.
Volume 2
Loopholes | By INTER-MISSION | 18 January 2021
Loopholes is a system of exchanges between Bernice Lee and Teow Yue Han, each layer building on to the previous, arriving at a set of repeatable gestures and interruptions. With these exchanges, they give form to complex technologically-mediated means of embodiment exacerbated by the virus-as-choreographer.
Respiring Soma | By INTER-MISSION | 25 January 2021
The body as a performative medium and a virtual vessel that is collaborating and colliding concurrently with audiovisual and VJ manipulations. It is beyond the human nor the state of humanity, but on the prerequisite conditions for interactions in today’s technology-driven world.
Behind These Walls | By Chowk Productions | 1 February 2021
A site-specific performance in response to the natural sounds, history, and architecture of Kampong Gelam, enjoy this showcase of pure movement with their signature dance language created under the direction of choreographer and Artistic Director Raka Maitra.
The Rake’s Progress | By New Opera Singapore | 8 February 2021
Catch a glimpse of New Opera’s upcoming major production of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress scheduled to be released in the 2nd half of 2021.
CANSTOP Exhibition | By RSCLS | 15 February 2021
The SG edition of CANSTOP, a collaboration amongst Southeast Asian Graffiti artists, will showcase new works of art by Singaporean urban artists, using resin sculpture canvases created by their Indonesian counterparts.
JatIdentity | By NADI Singapura | 22 February 2021
JatIdentity explores the sound of the body as a percussive medium and presents an energetic and rhythmic performance inspired by the vibrant Kampong Glam.
Placid | By Teater Ekamatra x NADA | 1 March 2021
The urban environment is often defined by the hustle and bustle of human activities within and surrounding it. When that is removed and everything is left undisturbed, it goes into a tranquil state where stains from yesteryear can be magnified and echoes from the past amplified, leaving us clues for the many stories to be reimagined. With Kampong Gelam as a canvas and playground, NADA goes out in search of these calm and quiet corners. In their exploration, they seek for relevant remnants to conjure their own versions of the past. Little did they know of their own trails that they will be leaving behind.
