Last Updated on 2025-06-10 by a-indie
This interview is with Subsonic Eye, a five-piece jangle-pop/indie-pop band from Singapore.
BELONG Media / A-indie has previously featured the burgeoning Asian band scene, including interviews with Thailand’s Folk9 and Lesssugär, an Asian indie feature introducing acts like Taiwan’s I Mean Us and Korea’s SURL, and through our year-end best songs articles in recent years. However, this is actually our first time interviewing a band from Singapore.
Singapore has a vibrant music scene, with indie-pop bands like Sobs and a variety of music festivals featuring everything from alternative music to K-POP, K-hip-hop, and EDM artists.
And it goes without saying that within this scene, Subsonic Eye is highly regarded as one of Asia’s leading indie-pop bands.
They create a sound that is both exhilarating and melancholic, a truly heart-stirring, sweet sound that has reflected and celebrated nature and their immediate surroundings.
Their fifth album, “Singapore Dreaming,” plays flowing melodies that are at times emotional and at times melancholic, representing their current pinnacle in depicting their home, Singapore, from their unique perspective.
Therefore, learning about Subsonic Eye’s journey and their new album “Singapore Dreaming” might also mean understanding the current music scene and social situation in Singapore.
Of course, everyone enjoys music in their own way. We won’t force anything, but we want to convey that reading this interview and experiencing Subsonic Eye’s music can open up a different way of enjoying it.
Who is Subsonic Eye? Unraveling the Singaporean Music Scene
Artist: Daniel Borces | Interviewer: Yuuki Takita | Translation, Editing, Proofreading: BELONG Media / A-indie Editorial Department
The Story of Their Formation
-Yuuki Takita: Our media values artists’ roots, the background of how their music was created, and the music, culture, and art that influenced them. Since this is our first interview with you, could you first tell us about how the band formed? I understand you’re a five-piece band from Singapore, but could you tell us more about the circumstances of your formation?
I’ve been going to local shows since I was in high school and always wanted to form my own band. I met Wahidah in college and we decided to start writing together when we realised we liked the same kind of music. Eventually we needed a few more members to complete the line-up so we met the rest (Lucas, Jared, Sam) through mutual friends and online.
The Members’ Musical Awakening
-Yuuki Takita: What kind of childhood did each member have, and how did you each discover music?
We all had pretty normal childhoods growing up in Singapore and were generally exposed to music from parents playing the radio or MTV etc, but it was really the mid 2000-2010s pop-punk/emo (Pierce The Veil, All TIme Low, Fall Out Boy, etc) that got us really interested in music when we were young. From there, we all just got into it deeper and started learning how to play those songs and stuff
The Current State of Singapore’s Indie Scene
-Yuuki Takita: Our media has previously featured bands from Asia making their way onto the world stage, such as Thailand’s Folk9 and Lesssugär. This is our first time interviewing a band from Singapore. (Actually, I personally had the opportunity to interview Celine from Sobs for another media outlet last year, but this is the first for BELONG Media.) Could you tell us about the current music scene and trends in Singapore?
Generally there’s a lot more shows happening now in varied genres compared to when we just started 10 years ago, where it was all mostly heavier music. I’m noticing a lot more shoegaze-y and midwest emo bands now, with many mixed genre line-ups. Definitely still not as fleshed out as our neighbouring countries in Thailand and Indonesia but I think it’s a step in the right direction and a great time to form a band. We generally still have issues of there not being enough mid-sized venues – it’s either small underground or big expensive
-Yuuki Takita: Also, I have the impression that Singapore hosts many diverse music festivals, from traditional event-related music performances like “Yueh Hai Ching Festival” to various festivals featuring K-POP, K-hip-hop, and EDM artists. In such an environment, how do you feel indie pop bands like yourselves are received by Singapore’s music fans?
We’re not too familiar with those festivals you’ve mentioned as we’re not really in that “scene”, but for the side we’re in I’d say there’s definitely enough opportunities for bands like us with the various alternative music festivals and DIY shows. The cool thing is whether it’s a more large-scale festival or a small DIY show, it’s the same community and people showing up and it’s great! Really feels like one big family.
Overseas Activities and Connections
-Yuuki Takita: In a previous conversation we organized between the Japanese band DYGL and the American band Beach Fossils, DYGL’s Akiyama mentioned that “In Japan, we struggle to find booking agents to expand our activities overseas.” As a band based in Singapore, do you experience similar challenges?
Thanks to the internet, we’re lucky to have been connected with many DIY organisers and friends who play in bands regionally, so we always know who to reach out to if we wanted to play outside of Singapore. We’ve also been lucky to have been hooked up with Zach Silva of Anniversary Group who has helped us book our past few US tours, and in the works for a couple of regional ones now.
The Origin of the Band Name
-Yuuki Takita: I’d also like to ask about your band name. What is the origin or meaning behind the name “Subsonic Eye”?
Wahidah and I were link-surfing on Wikipedia to try to find a band name and we somehow ended up reading about the “Universe” and from there we saw the word “Subsonic”. It was already taken up, so I just added the word “Eye” because at the time I had an interest in illuminati conspiracies.
- is a music media platform run by BELONG, a Japanese music organization. We publish music articles with a focus on indie music.