The best musical collaborations are fun, exciting and unpredictable; they're a great way for artists to get out of their comfort zone, providing them with the opportunity to become more experimental and innovative with their music and collaborators.
Collaborations between Singaporean and big international names may be uncommon, but definitely not unheard of: Gentle Bones teamed up with Tiffany Alvord and Kurt Hugo Schneider for a YouTube cover in 2015, and earlier this year Tabitha Nauser worked with Dutch EDM duo Yellow Claw for the track 'Crash This Party'. With the amount of growing talent in the country, we'd love to see some more collaborations in years to come.
Here are some collaborations between our homegrown artists and international names that we would like to see. They may be a little far-fetched, but hey, one can dream right? Make sure to check out the music of the pairings that intrigue you – maybe you'll find something you love.
Akeem Jahat x Rich Brian
What we'd expect: Great bars and some national or hometown pride
Both Akeem Jahat and Rich Brian always make it a point to shout out their backgrounds in their music, with Akeem always tracing his roots back to his neighbourhood, Woodlands (the man literally has a song named after his hometown), and Rich Brian constantly referencing his home country, Indonesia, in his lyrics.
It'd be interesting to see how these two Southeast Asian rappers get along, both having already achieved commercial success in the region; what's more, if Akeem raps in Malay as he usually does, that would make the potential collaboration an amazing bilingual work of art especially rare in the hip-hop scene today. Beautiful.
Charlie Lim x Khalil Fong x Zion.T
What we'd expect: Lush vocals, chill R&B
A bit excessive for a collaboration, don't you think? Not when you have Khalil Fong as a middle man, having already collaborated with Zion.T and being acquainted with Charlie Lim.
We see you guys.
All three artists are known for their lush vocals, having established themselves as musicians, with Fong's unconventional approach towards Chinese music and Zion.T flying the flag for South Korean R&B. Can you imagine all the greatness if these three artists did a trilingual track, with Charlie singing in English, Khalil in Mandarin and Zion.T in Korean? Our hearts might combust at the thought of these three doing something together.
Jasmine Sokko x Grimes
What we'd expect: Lots of electro-pop goodness
We'd love to see the best of both worlds collide, with Jasmine Sokko's moody music, and Grimes' powerful, futuristic synth-pop. There’s nothing better than getting acknowledged by one of your biggest inspirations and by giving Sokko a shout out earlier this year, Grimes has definitely left a hypothetical door open for the two to hang out and collaborate:
While Sokko sees Grimes as her biggest inspiration, she adds her own elements to make her music unique and original. It would definitely be a treat to see both synth-pop musicians combine their two sounds into a single, seamless body of work.
Linying x Daniel Caesar
What we'd expect: More lush, dulcet vocals and poetic lyrics to break your heart
We know both these artists have remarkable voices of angels. Despite the shared love of lush instrumentals, both artists differ in their sound. It'd be interesting to see how the blend of Linying's folk roots and Daniel Caesar's R&B, gospel ones play out. One thing's for sure, these two are guaranteed to make something beautifully poetic with their collaboration.
Sheeq Luna x Kendrick Lamar
What we'd expect: A follow-up to 'LOYALTY.' or 'LOVE.'
We’ve seen what happens when Kendrick Lamar collaborates with just about anyone – pure magic. For example, we’ve seen him work with Rihanna and SZA. Sheeq Luna is Singapore’s answer to those pop-R&B queens. With her vocal chops and Kendrick’s signature lyricism and killer beats, there’s no telling what the two could come up with – maybe bangers in the vein of 'LOYALTY.' and 'LOVE.'? There's no doubt, though, that it’d be nothing short of extraordinary.
Slodown x Frank Ocean
What we'd expect: Smoky, emotional R&B of the best kind
Any track with Frank Ocean featuring is bound to be great, but not everyone can have Frank Ocean feature on their track — which is precisely why we think Slodown would be such a great fit. Slodown (a.k.a Brian Lim) is one of Singapore's brightest R&B prospects (listen to 'Khaled' and you'll understand why) and a track with both contributing vocals would be something to behold.
sub:shaman x Thundercat
What we'd expect: A+ groovy progressive rock
sub:shaman are sound-makers who continue to reinvent and redefine the structure and boundaries of their music, with a preference for the dark, groovy and occasionally chaotic. Couple that with Thundercat’s unbeatable skills on the bass, his unique vocals and experience in a crossover-thrash metal band and it’s not difficult to see that a collaboration between sub:shaman and Thundercat might just be what the world’s missing.
What are some local and international collaborations you would like to see? Let us know in the comments below!
