Singapore chillwave artist-producer (and Hougang represent) Houg has released his new single ‘Excuse Me (What’s The Time?) on the 8th of October, leading up to his debut album ‘The Biting Tempo’.
The 3-minute track features a groovy baseline accompanied by synths & saxophones. As Houg wrote in an Instagram post, “join me, Ryuji, Alvin and Yuki while we live in our own state of nostalgic denial through slide projections, tape machines and an unhealthy obsession of forlorn KTV-Pop music.”
Linking up with “Japanese City Jazz geniuses” Fontana Folle, the single marks the first of many cross-country collaborations to come, as teased when he last spoke to Hear65.
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In a press statement, Yuki Lee, the bassist of Fontana Folle shared how the band was drawn to Houg: “When we first listened to Houg’s music, we were immediately impressed by the depth that came with his music. We had been searching for a change in music during this pandemic to switch things up, and there was a mysterious and experimental attempt from Houg’s end when we discovered his music which kept us really intrigued.”
Often personalising his experiences into the music he releases, ‘Excuse Me (What’s the Time?) dives into the rupture of a friendship, the growing out of each other & the eventual confrontation of the changed dynamic.
In a press statement, he says: “When we spend considerable time away from signposts used to anchor our identities, we are sometimes slapped with a rude awakening - everything is the same but you have changed. The decision to move to a new city for a period of time was me simply working towards my personal ambition. Unfortunately, that also meant that I might be leaving existing friendships as it was, hanging and unsure."
"The sheer circumstance of that meant I had to be ready to face what I would be eventually met with when I got back -- A barely-functional friendship between two unrecognizable individuals.”
Listen to 'Excuse Me (What’s the Time?)' here and leave your review on Hear65.
