We found rave in a hopeless place: meet the DJs shaking up Singapore's everyday spaces
From HDB flats to Orchard Road and Marina Bay Sands, the members behind Four Teh are pushing the boundaries of grassroots rave in land-scarce Singapore.
In the two-year span since nightlife returned to Singapore, and a burgeoning new rave scene started taking roots locally and regionally, few would dare to deny the harsh barriers to entry. Event tickets now start around $40, decent venues with an adequate sound system are both rare and increasingly unaffordable, not to mention the headache of license procuration.
It’s also true that the Singapore rave scene is famous for coming up with unique and interesting alternatives that not only help them fulfill any legal requirements and reduce costs, but constantly redefine what we understand as ‘rave space’.
From restaurant kitchens to basement kopitiams, local theme parks, and even landmark malls, the creativity of the Singapore underground scene is no secret to anyone familiar with the city-state’s newborn rave community.
For local crew Four Teh, the task of consistently push the physical boundaries of rave space has become a core mantra. The brainchild of Goth Mystery Mafia, JumbogoatXXL, Rekker, and Viticz, four DJs and producers from various subsets of the Lion City’s growing electronic music scene, the collective made rounds on social media around November after sharing various short clips of DJ sets performed in the toilet and kitchen of a Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat.
Their follow-up performance saw them DJing in a convertible car driving down Orchard Road and through the city’s Central Business District, the four of them taking turns playing their favourite tunes across various genres, in a style reminiscent of Vietnam’s Nhã Nhạc DJ sets series.
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