Local producer Chok Kerong and singer-songwriter-producer Vanessa Fernandez’s collaborative album Spiral celebrates the magic of music that comes from the soul.
What is the simplest way to connect one human to another? Does the key lie in connecting them with the right words? Or does it only happen when the right person comes along? The answer, it seems, is neither; the purest, most direct way to bring two people together is through music, and Chok Kerong and Vanessa Fernandez (or Vandetta)’s collaborative album, Spiral, is an excellent example of that.
Spiral Album Art
Kerong’s own work has traversed numerous genres under the umbrella of popular music with equal finesse, distinguishing himself as a swinging, harmonically inventive pianist and organist, as well as a composer of extraordinary clarity and depth. Apart from working with the cream of the crop in our local music scene and Grammy-award winning musicians, the luminary has also lead his own group to perform at international events such as Tokyo Jazz Festival, Melbourne International Jazz Festival, Singapore International Festival of Arts and Macau Jazz Week.
He also serves as organist/keyboardist for singer-songwriter Charlie Lim, where his many stylistic influences coalesce with his foundational sensibility as a pop musician.
Vanessa on the other hand, is an artist-producer who started her career on stage performing in musicals with the Singapore Repertory Theatre Young company at 16 years old, before joining hip-hop groups Urban Xchange (later re-branded Parking Lot Pimp) and signing on to Universal Music and the now-defunct EMI Southeast Asia at 18. She has released soul/electronic music, managed radio stations like 987FM and Lush 99.5FM, took on the role of mentor as part of Noise Music Mentorship for the National Arts Council in 2018/19, all while championing Singapore music whenever she can.
Under moniker Vandetta, she has also performed at festivals such as the Gilles Peterson Worldwide Festival (France), Laneway Music Festival (Singapore), BIGSOUND (Australia), V-ROX (Russia), Concrete & Grass Festival (China), and released music on Syndicate, Medallion Sounds, as well as her imprint, Ownself Records.
Together, the local producer and Australia-based singer-songwriter yield a powerful synergy only possible because this marriage of sound is coming only now, after both artistes have spent a considerable amount of time maturing and fine-tuning their individual voices and musical signatures. Blending Vanessa’s hearty and resonant vocals with Kerong’s acute sensibilities and wit in production could not have resulted in a smoother journey through funk, hip-hop, jazz and gospel — their chemistry audible in all nine tracks of this album.
From brooding verses on love lost, odes to the magic of nature and jazzy ruminations on life, this collaboration almost seeks to lower the guards to one’s innermost thoughts, with suave. Singapore’s music scene has never been more buoyant, and an album as easy-listening and rapturing as this is undeniable proof of the bright future our local music industry is heading towards.
This release also taps on the features of voices from weish, Kim Olsen, as well as the sonic decorations by percussionist Aaron James Lee and New York-based saxophonist Lucas Pino, the former two also guest performers at the one-night only show celebrating this album last week, at the Singtel Waterfront Theatre.
Once you’re done with this story, click here to catch up with our February 2023 issue.
RELATED ARTICLES
Rising Hemlines Have Us Hot and Unbothered
