Pop pourri

The Mosaic Music Festival’s organisers have put together their strongest, most eclectic line-up yet. The event’s producer tells Sabrina Lee how she delivers the goods 

Like the Lollapalooza music festival in America, the Mosaic Music Festival has evolved – thanks largely to the skilful hands of Amy Ho, 41, the event’s producer – into a fresh collection of hyper-talented, colourful performers. Case in point: this year’s line-up headlines a range of acts, from jazz crooner Harry Connick Jr and funk god George Clinton to the minimalists Múm and eccentric Fujiya & Miyagi (for our picks, see ‘Best of the fest’). 

But it wasn’t always this diverse. The festival is a lovechild of the Esplanade’s Mosaic Series, a programme introducing jazz musicians and world music acts to local audiences since the opening of the centre in 2002. However, the series is an infrequent one, consisting of only one- or two-day concerts taking place three to four times a year. 

Mosaic Festival’s foundation was laid when Ho and company experimented with a ten-day music showcase in 2005. This first run allowed Ho and her team to widen the scope of programmes available, as well as expand the already solid audience base. And internationally, the festival has undeniably boosted the Esplanade’s musical profile beyond its previous limitations. ‘We were taking baby steps and kept [the festival] safe and conservative,’ Ho says of old line-ups. But since the reincarnation of the Mosaic Series in 2005, the acts have doubled in number and other genres have fl ourished. Last year’s artists included left-field names such as Yo La Tengo, José González and Jaga Jazzist – testimony to the festival’s evolution. 

After all, it was never Ho’s intention to focus exclusively on jazz and world music. ‘I wouldn’t say we’ve shifted – we wanted to appeal to all music lovers,’ she says. ‘But we had to test the local market slowly by introducing different genres of music. This year we are confi dent that our audience is ready for the bands that will be appearing.’ And when Ho says ‘we’, she is referring to her colleagues Fiona Soh, communications manager, and Gina Koh, festival assistant, as well as pretty much everyone else working at the Esplanade. Even the stage managers, lighting designers and master electricians have a say in the line-up. ‘We meet up every week and each person presents a list of acts they’d like to see; I cannot possibly work on this myself,’ says the petite curator with the funky frames. There are four core officers in charge of curatorial duties, but suggestions keep pouring in, and they are not ignored. Even the Esplanade Youth – a division established in 2004 to get tertiary students more involved in the arts – are asked to add to the band wish-list, Soh says. 

Ho, originally from Hong Kong and formerly with the Singapore Arts Festival, also does her research by attending major music festivals around the world, including the Fuji Rock Festival, Coachella, WOMAD and the Montreux Jazz Festival. Rough life, right? But being a curator of a music festival isn’t all fun and games – bringing in the acts can be a tedious and trying process. 

Sometimes it takes three to five months to land big names, such as this year’s high-profile performers Connick Jr, Clinton or The Roots. Even then, other regional gigs must be arranged for it to be financially viable for them to perform in Singapore. This is feasible thanks to Ho’s relationship with the Asian Jazz Festival Organization – a consortium of regional partners including Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival, Blue Note Tokyo and Sunburst KL International Music Festival. At the same time, many acts fell through this year, including Caetano Veloso, Herbie Hancock, Dave Matthews Band, Sigur Rós, Belle & Sebastian and Sinéad O’Connor. Indie favourites like Broken Social Scene, The Bird and the Bee and Sondre Lerche were secured through independent agents with whom Ho and her team liaise via the bands’ websites. 

The Mosaic team tries to take a light-hearted approach to the planning process – when an act is too expensive, that performer or band ends up on the ‘Ha-Ha List’. ‘We do not want to push our ticket prices up, no matter what,’ says Ho. ‘When an artist demands $100,000, we politely decline, as we cannot possibly accommodate their request. The “Ha-Ha List” is just something we do to ease the heartache.’ Still, considering the star-studded 2008 line-up, one imagines the persuasive powers of Ho and her team must be considerable. When asked whether the bigger acts get some other kind of incentive, Ho says, ‘We treat everyone equally. We assign a personal artist liaison officer [akin to a chaperone] to look after each group the moment they arrive till the time they leave. For us, the artist’s experience performing here is as important as our audiences’ experience.’ 

The audience is in for an affordable treat, too. The Esplanade – which is run on a non-profi t basis – offers student discounts and free concerts whenever possible. ‘Artistic merit is important, and we want Singaporeans from all walks of life to be exposed to it,’ Soh says. 

Ho ultimately hopes to bring the festival’s vibrant, eclectic programme overseas some day, which is not that remote a dream – regional music groups have started to write in recently, requesting to perform at the festival. For now, the team humbly says it’s happy as long as people show up, enjoy themselves and spread the word of the festival. Not that the word isn’t out already: loyal festival-goers from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Australia come back year after year with more converts. ‘One fan from Indonesia sent us a picture he took in 2003 of our festival balloon and said that he’ll be coming for all ten days for this year!’ Ho says. And last year, Soh received an email containing an A-to-Z wish-list of musical acts from a student. 

‘The older generation are still quite conservative and tend to stick with what’s familiar,’ says Ho. ‘Our younger audience is open-minded, and with iPods and music blogs, a treasure trove of music has opened.’ 

Mosaic Music Festival runs from 7-16 Mar.

Photo Lester Ledesma