Ang Song Ming + The Observatory (The Substation Theatre, 29 Jan 2011)

"No Man’s Band is an ongoing project by Song-Ming Ang, consisting of audio recordings of school band rehearsals before they formally begin. In some recordings, the individual warm-ups coalesce into collective improvisations. In others, cacophony ensues. To date, fifteen school bands have been recorded. For this presentation of No Man’s Band, Song-Ming Ang will collaborate with members of The Observatory – Evan Tan (turntable, lapsteel guitar, mic), Dharma (guitar) and Victor Low (bass, guitar, contact mics) – in which the trio will respond spontaneously to Ang’s samples in a free improvisation concert."

There was a portion I quite enjoyed in near the middle section which sounded like a UFO rising up from a golden, cloudy sky at sunset, on top of which an antennae then extended, noisily with the clattering of a tin can, and a small monkey or child scurries up to the topmost point of the antennae, and then screws on a light bulb at the very top of the floating structure in the clouds. Well that was just my interpretation.

Ang Song Ming + Evan Tan, Dharma, and Victor Low of The Observatory
Live full set (40 minutes)

Andy Yang + The Observatory (Earl Lu Gallery, Lasalle, 24 Jan 2011)

Live improvisation by The Observatory to Andy Yang's ritualistic and sometimes rhythmical painting on a large canvas with various materials and mediums.

From Andy Yang's site: "Borrowing from the Buddhist mandala ritual, Singapore art-rock band The Observatory presents Anitya, a performance series exploring the relationship between music and a non-musical art form.

In the first instalment, The Observatory and artist Andy Yang enact this ritual with sound and painting. From start to end, the musicians and the artist search for inter-connectedness and synchronicity. There is no script, no rehearsal, and no grand design. Everything is created instantaneously and destroyed as soon as the point of completion is reached."

The Observatory Live at Enter Twilight (Esplanade Outdoor Theatre, 3 Dec 2010)

The Observatory played three sets of their songs from over the years at the waterfront on 3 Dec 2010. Sound seemed a little muddy at the venue, with volumes peaking during the harsher noisier songs, but the softer, acoustic numbers were a delight to listen to.


The Observatory - Another Passerby (Live, Esplanade Outdoor Theatre, 3 Dec 2010)


The Observatory - Time of Rebirth (Live, Esplanade Outdoor Theatre, 3 Dec 2010)


The Observatory - This Sad Song (Live, Esplanade Outdoor Theatre, 3 Dec 2010)


The Observatory - Live Excerpt (Live, Esplanade Outdoor Theatre, 3 Dec 2010)