Sifa 2025: Musician weish conjures ‘ancient Hakka-Greek' world in live concept album
weish's Stray Gods will blend forgotten Hakka mountain songs and an ancient Greek tragedy at the Singapore International Festival of Arts. PHOTO: JUHARDI MOHD
SINGAPORE – Forgotten Hakka mountain songs and an ancient Greek tragedy about mania are the two unlikely ingredients Singaporean indie musician weish will blend to create her live concept album concert, Stray Gods, at the Singapore International Festival of Arts (Sifa).
It all started when she was invited by a Melbourne-based artist to record a song in her mother tongue for an exhibition, which collected songs from across the world. 'I realised quite embarrassingly that I had no connection to my Hakka heritage – and it felt wrong to look for a Mandarin song.'
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
‘Jackson Wang shook hands with everyone': The go-to company for pop stars who film MVs in S'pore
K-pop star and Hong Kong-born singer Jackson Wang and the local crew behind a music video filmed in Singapore. PHOTO: COURTESY OF ALEX TEH SINGAPORE – In the past few years, home-grown producer Alex Teh and his team have worked closely wit h pop stars who filmed their music videos in Singapore. To him, Hong Kong-born singer Jackson Wang was the most memorable. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Straits Times
BTS members Jimin and Jungkook discharged from South Korea military
BTS fans wait for BTS members Jungkook and Jimin who are set to be discharged from South Korea's mandatory military service, in Yeoncheon, South Korea, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji BTS fans wait for BTS members Jungkook and Jimin who are set to be discharged from South Korea's mandatory military service, in Yeoncheon, South Korea, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji BTS fans wait for BTS members Jungkook and Jimin who are set to be discharged from South Korea's mandatory military service, in Yeoncheon, South Korea, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji BTS members Jungkook and Jimin attend an event after being discharged from South Korea's mandatory military service, in Yeoncheon, South Korea, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji BTS members Jungkook and Jimin pose for photographs during an event after being discharged from South Korea's mandatory military service, in Yeoncheon, South Korea, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji YEONCHEON, South Korea - K-pop group BTS' members Jimin and Jungkook were discharged from the South Korean military on Wednesday, the fifth and sixth to complete the country's mandatory service amid expectations of the band's comeback from a hiatus. The seven-member group put their global music career on hold in 2022 to begin their service starting with Jin in December that year, each serving duties of varying lengths as long as 18 months. Members RM and V were discharged on Tuesday and the last to wrap up his service will be Suga on June 21. Fans from around the world have flown to South Korea to welcome the return of the stars this week. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
14 hours ago
- Straits Times
Sean ‘Diddy' Combs' ex accuses him of abuse but testifies she still loves him
Sean "Diddy" Combs watches, in an artist's sketch from June 10, as defence lawyer Teny Geragos cross-examines "Jane" at his sex-trafficking trial in New York City. PHOTO: REUTERS Sean 'Diddy' Combs' ex accuses him of abuse but testifies she still loves him NEW YORK - An ex-girlfriend of Sean "Diddy" Combs who accuses him of kicking, punching and dragging her testified at his sex trafficking trial on June 10 that she still loves the hip-hop mogul. "He was my baby," said the woman, who is testifying under the pseudonym Jane to protect her privacy. Asked under cross-examination by defence lawyer Teny Geragos if she currently loves Combs, Jane said, "I do." The woman said she enjoyed taking care of Combs, bathing him and falling asleep with him while watching television after 'hotel nights', their phrase for drug-fuelled encounters in which she would have sex with male entertainers while Combs watched. The questioning was part of Combs' strategy to portray Jane as a willing participant in the sexual encounters with him, not a victim of sex trafficking as prosecutors allege. Combs, 55, and the founder of Bad Boy Records, has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors say Combs used force and threats of cutting off financial support to coerce women into taking part in the encounters, sometimes known as 'freak offs'. Over three days under questioning by prosecutors in Manhattan federal court, Jane said that she agreed to have sex with a male escort in front of Combs early in their relationship but that he later dismissed her requests to stop and threatened to stop paying her rent. On June 9, Jane said Combs kicked, punched and dragged her during an altercation at her Los Angeles home last June. Later that night, he told her to perform oral sex on a male entertainer even though she said she did not want to, Jane said. Under questioning by Ms Geragos on June 10, Jane said she researched the terms "cuck" and "cuckold" during her relationship with Combs to try to understand his desires. The words refer to men who enjoy watching female partners with other men, Jane said. "I just wanted to know why my partner wanted so many of these nights and what was driving him," Jane said. Combs' defence lawyers are expected to cross-examine Jane until June 12. Testimony is in its fifth week. Combs could face life in prison if convicted on all counts. Also known throughout his career as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, Combs turned artists like Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars, elevating hip-hop in American culture and becoming a billionaire in the process. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
