Meet The Collective Turning Singapore's Underground Music Into A Tourist Magnet
Zachary Desker believes that Singapore’s underground music scene should be a tourist attraction. He tells us why and how he’s making this happen on his own time and dime.
Picture this: It’s a cloudy afternoon and people of different stripes are gathered by a barbecue pit at Pasir Ris Park, lounging on pillows and picnic chairs while chowing down on satay fresh off the grill. Nearby, a DJ works his magic behind a controller, sending out a feel‐good mix dubbed “Daytime Beach House” through portable speakers, adding to the holiday vibes.
Welcome to Satay Sessions, a bimonthly, pay‐as‐you‐wish event organised by Zachary Desker that aims to expose the public to underground or lesser‐heard sounds from Singapore. More than a listening session in the heartlands over some hearty grub, each edition’s soundtrack is recorded and uploaded to the YouTube channel alt‐gps, with its DJ spotlighted alongside. Names that have been featured include the funk‐loving Nick Ng, aka DJ notnick from the DJ collective Free Market Club; the Italo disco‐loving Reuben Chay, who performs under the moniker Ben Ben; and Ethan Tan, or fatcatheartattack, who’s behind the aforementioned, garage‐inflected beach mix.
Independently owned and self‐funded, alt‐gps is Desker’s passion project, so to speak, debuting on Instagram (@altdashgps) this January. Besides Satay Sessions, which kicked off this March, the initiative supports local musicians and bedroom DJs by helping them with AI‐backed video production and marketing. Working out of a recording studio in Geylang, the 29‐year‐old Desker – with the help of friends – films musicians performing, then superimposes the footage on trippy, lo‐fi visuals before sharing them on alt‐gps’s platforms, all without charging a single cent. Echoing the cause as well as the early internet aesthetic is the website alt‐gps.com, which offers recommendations of music collectives from the underground scene here after users take a personality test.
Sheryl Sho aka DJ sho&tell, who’s pictured here at one of alt-gps’ Satay Sessions event.
In due time, Desker hopes to work with not just musicians, but also creatives of other disciplines. In fact, he already has a cooking show that highlights local F&B owners in the works.
His goal in his own words? “Consolidate all my friends from different scenes into one collective in the hopes of gaining more support and collaboration opportunities from the government and in turn show tourists that there is much more here than just Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands.”
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Cheekily describing alt‐gps as “the unofficial Tourism Board of Singapore”, Desker came up with the idea after working at a string of major advertising agencies that deal with institutions tasked to promote Singapore. “I’ve always tried to push for support for the underground scene, but this was always declined and never really explored. Instead, attempts to drive tourists here or to get locals interested in the arts have usually resulted in an advertising campaign,” he says.
Having previously worked in corporate advertising, where clients included tourism‐related institutions, Zachary Desker (seated far right) launched alt‐gps to try to help creatives get attention and support from the government, and in turn “show tourists that there’s much more here than just Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands,” he says. Its growing community comprises friends and creatives who either help with the operation or have received help from it. Here, several of them gather at their unofficial meeting place and go‐to takeaway spot, Keng Wah Sung Cafe in Geylang, for this photo and have requested to be referred to by their first names only. Standing, from far left: Sadat of the music collective Reptile Skin Business Club; Desker’s AI understudy Yan; product designer Kyle; Qayyum, co‐owner of the music collective Last Saturdays; DJs Haziq and Ella of Last Saturdays; Hamzi, who owns the food business Bakar Barbecue; artist and hairstylist Tingwei; artist and photographer Hussain; and Hikel and Nick, co‐founders of the DJ collective Free Market Club. Seated, from far left: senior creative Mathan; Keola, co‐owner of the bar and restaurant The Coup and craft beer joint Bunkerbunker; researcher Natacia; senior creative Sharmain; Bell and Sze, business lead and wellness lead at alt‐gps respectively; Dione, community lead at The Glass Hut; Jeremy, co‐founder of Free Market Club; and alt‐gps’s Zachary.
“I think there are other ways about this and hence took it upon myself to work on this last year. To show a proper representation of the creative community and underground scene in Singapore, I’ve come to realise that the support would have to come from the bottom up ... What we do is only unofficial until it finally becomes official, so hopefully, down the line, we can work with official channels.”
Already, his efforts are paying off. In July, alt‐gps launched a pop‐up event named The Party Expo(sure) at *Scape that showcases different talents from the local electronic music scene every weekend and runs till end‐August. The most recent edition of Satay Sessions staged at the end of July also got the nod of approval from the National Parks Board. Here, Desker tells us more about his vision to support a lesser‐known side of Singapore and to bring it to the world.
DJs HZQ and VIX.
Alt-gps is mostly focused on underground music at the moment. Why do you think it’s important to support this scene and that it can help draw tourists?
“When it comes to tourism through music, there has been a reliance on commercial headliners such as Taylor Swift recently and when tourists come for these concerts, they don’t usually know what else to see other than the typical tourist attractions. But these do not fully encompass what our country has to offer. Passion, talent and dedication are well alive in our music scene, and I believe there’s a need to celebrate local acts and potentially work towards giving them a stage for community events and festivals down the line. I’ve seen many local acts from music collectives that deserve such platforms – names such as 510 Media (a DJ collective) and PK Records (a recording studio and production house). For those who understand a more indie brand of music, the scene does offer places of refuge.”
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If the underground scene becomes more well-known, wouldn’t that make it, uhm, not underground anymore?
“The underground scene can be the most accepting, friendliest space. Go for an event without assumptions and you could be surprised. Of course, with every tribe, there’s always going to be a minority that can be a little gatekeep‐y, but I think they make up a small bunch. What I hope to achieve is that fine balance between keeping what’s raw raw and fostering growth without selling out. People talk about the importance of supporting hawkers before they’re gone and I believe the same should be applied to the local music scene. For the underground scene to sustain, we need to foster more attention for it while making sure the musicians don’t lose their voice and originality. Even though I want to support the scene, I’m not going to do a punk show at Ion Orchard, for example. That wouldn’t be considered success to me even if it brings about more awareness.”
How has your former life in advertising, where clients included tourism-related organisations, shaped what you do at alt-gps?
“Having worked with the likes of the Singapore Tourism Board and the National Gallery Singapore has helped me to understand where such organisations come from and the limitations they face. They tend not to warm up to the idea of supporting the underground scene simply because it’s something they’re not familiar with, and I’d like to think of what I’m doing at alt‐gps as a way of helping them cover some blind spots, as – unlike them – I’m connected to the scene. For example, I spent years learning how to DJ with the intention of understanding live music and the DJs who play it, so I’m aware of the challenges they face ... At the same time, I’m familiar with both the corporate and the creative sides of the business, which allows me to balance both in my attempt to bring more attention to the creative community in Singapore. Besides all of that, the AI tools that I’ve picked up in my professional career – Luma AI; Magnifique; those by Topaz Labs and Runway; Photoshop; and generative AI – have come in handy when producing the content alt‐gps puts out.”
The initiative refers to itself in jest as “the unofficial Tourism Board of Singapore”, but its endeavours are already getting the nod from major industry players. Last month, for example, it launched an over‐a‐month‐long event dubbed The Party Expo(sure) at *Scape, featuring performances (the event’s planners are shown prepping for these on the image above) by 17 different collectives from the local electronic music scene.
Why does there seem to be such a heavy reliance on AI at alt-gps?
“Alt‐gps is completely funded by myself; I’m financially limited and don’t want to buy any expensive equipment for filming. Hence, instead of buying gear, I use AI software such as Luma AI and Magnifique to help me to create virtual stages for musicians through image generation, and a variety of AI tools to upscale my footage to a higher quality. This approach helps me do more with less. Representing an under‐represented community with new technology that’s not used by many feels special as well, and I’m also typically Singaporean in the sense that I’m making the most out of whatever resources I have.”
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How do you afford all that you do at Alt-gps?
“Similar to the people who are associated with alt‐gps and in this community – all of whom are from the creative industry – I have a full‐time job (he shares little details, except that he works with local creative agencies and grassroots communities). We’re all from different backgrounds, but all of our jobs are not super‐high paying. The creative industry is simply not one that offers a lot of support and funding right now.”
Ever thought of finding support for Alt-gps from the government or other institutions?
“Finding funding is one thing, but getting guidance on how to do it is another. I’ve been actively tagging institutions on LinkedIn to show them what I’ve done, but they haven’t really reached out. I’m still connected to some ex-colleagues who are in these organisations and follow me and alt-gps on Instagram, but they haven’t reached out either. I don’t know where to look for funding so I’d just rather do everything myself, show what I’ve done and hope that they will be open to supporting me in future.”
The content and exposure Alt-gps provides to creatives are great, but is that enough?
“I do think that being a part of a larger community that’s actively trying to change things fosters a deeper sense of pride in this country that we call home. What I’m trying to do is to rally everybody together and make them see how working with me might allow us to achieve something that will benefit the community as a whole, and it doesn’t mean compromising one’s collective or image. With alt‐gps, I still want to push people in a direction that adheres to and mimics what the government is trying to do at least slightly, so that these people get the support they need in future.”
Shinju Mura, a psychedelic trip music duo made up of guitarist Cruise Chen and dub effects artist Miki Tanaka.
What’s the most impactful experience you've had running Alt-gps?
“When I work with musicians, I don’t just record them, leave and show them the end product only when it’s done. Instead, they’ll see me go through the whole process and I’d teach them, one‐to‐one or one‐to‐two, the software designers use professionally, for example. Through this, I hope to teach them how they can do this on their own, and market and support themselves and their creative endeavours better. Some of these musicians are younger than me and have started referring to me as their teacher, which was strange at first, but it’s quite nice to think that people think of me that way.”
Is there anything about Singapore’s creative scene that needs to be talked about more?
“Honestly, I think there should be less talk and more action ... We have people coming up with podcasts discussing local issues, for example. Nothing against podcasts here, but instead of talking, I want to do. People should not just contemplate and complain about the situation, but see, learn, and actually do something to change and improve it.”
What’s your hope for Singapore as a creative city?
“To have it placed on the map for its innovative workforce, interesting sounds and talented people ... I think simply celebrating our multicultural society is weak. When it comes down to celebrating Singapore as a place that’s filled with different people from different scenes, we haven’t really started appreciating and romanticising what we have. There’s so much more about Singapore and its local creative and underground scenes that should be celebrated.”
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
TEXT & COORDINATION PAIGE BOON PHOTOGRAPHY ATHIRAH ANISSA ART DIRECTION JONATHAN CHIA
This article first appeared in the August 2024 Passion Edition of FEMALE