One Sneak Peek Into the Symphony of Tradition with a Newcomer

Has anyone ever wondered about the music industry in Singapore?

If you have, Jev is one person that you should meet.

He’s a professional traditional Indian vocalist that specialises in Carnatic music, which is the traditional music of South India,

And has been performing professionally for 6 years.

He’s quite established in the Indian music field locally, having been invited to perform to an audience of 3000 at a state dinner where the guest-of-honour was President Tharman, in July 2024.

The Political Science and Philosophy student from National University of Singapore willingly shares his experiences with the art form, and talks at length about the traditional music industry in Singapore.

Read on to learn about his art and his involvement in the local scene!

1. His exposure to Carnatic music

“I think this is a phase that every South Indian child goes through, where your parents force you to take enrichment lessons in many fields. For Indian households, you will most likely be learning voice singing or dance. Most people eventually grow out of the phase in secondary school, but for me, I felt a vacuum in my life after my O and A Levels and I decided to go back to Carnatic music and see if I could still connect to it at my age.

After I got back to the art form, my teacher gradually started to give me more advanced lessons as compared to the rest of the students in the class. I’m currently 24 years old and I have been singing professionally for 6 years. I would say that I am rather recognised for my vocal talent and am quite established in the Indian music field in Singapore.

Although I don’t think that anyone can make a full career out of performing traditional music in Singapore, I do hope that eventually I will get invited to bigger events and one day perform at the Esplanade for cultural events. I’m still hoping for bigger stages.”

2. The traditional Indian music industry in Singapore

“The traditional Indian music scene in Singapore is very competitive and very niche. They only select those who are the most advantaged to perform. And that in my opinion is one of the problems in the industry. It’s largely dominated by a very tight-knit and exclusive social group who traditionally have dominated and monopolised the music scene for years, which makes nepotism quite rampant and very difficult for outsiders to come in.

As someone that didn’t have such connections, I was an outsider from the start and it was very difficult for me to get a professional gig as I got rejected a lot. Yet, I have never stopped trying so the people who were in charge of organising all these gigs and concerts decided to give me a shot.

My first performance pushed me further in terms of my career. But it was objectively horrible. The organisers were really unprofessional. They only paid me 10 dollars for a whole two hour gig. The sound system had no power. Halfway through the first hour, people started to leave when I was still performing.

However, this experience propelled my career to the next level. It showed those in the industry how professional I could be. I have been invited to do solo concerts and solo performances.

Sometimes, I will be booked for slightly bigger events, where the audience number can be up to a good 60 or 70. For smaller events, there would be 30 to 40 people in the audience.”

3. Publicity for his performances

“Publicity for me is usually done through word-of-mouth and Through classic media such as WhatsApp and Telegram. I usually don’t measure the quality of my performances based on how many people show up during the performance, as it’s more about to what extent I am proud of my own work. So, I’ve been out of social media for two years now.”

4. Advice to youths who intend to pursue art professionally

“It may sound cliche, but don’t ever give up.

Never lose touch with the art form. You are pursuing it for a reason. Never forget the connection between you and the art. It is your love for the art that keeps you going. Art is different for each person. Each person tries to get something different out of it.

Of course, it is not easy being an artist in this country. There will be people that tell you that you can’t make it. One day, these ppl will see your work as well. It will all be worth it when you get to a certain point where it pays off career-wise.”

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And that is all for today’s One Sneak Peek Into.

Stay tuned for more insights from our interview series as we continue to explore the stories of trailblazers breaking barriers and redefining success.