Diversed Attentions, Can I have your attention?

At the request of the guitarist, I was going to drop by on an acoustic duo who recently got contracted to play at Bungy Bar. In all honesty, I was pretty clueless about what to expect but again, I am not one to dismiss bands quickly by saying "Oh they playing top40s.. oh it's just another indie band." Its a mentality that more people can do without.

Oh wow, serendipity showed up at the gig.
(serendipity - serendipity is when one finds something that one was not expecting to find)

Their set was to start at 945 and when I got there at 920, I saw that both Khim and Cheng were there already. Shaking their hands, I introduced myself and could sense that though there was still sometime before the set kicked off, they were feeling a little edgy already. And then I commented that I might have seen Khim from somewhere before. It generated a big laugh from her and Cheng let me in that she competed in Campus Superstar a couple of years back. "OOHH!" No wonder I was thinking to myself I might have been seen that face somewhere. Khim was proving to be bubbly as we made conversation about her background, her schoolife and Cheng was filling in all the gaps. Turns out that this was a mere 2nd week at Bungy Bar for them and the first contract gig they picked up.







Throughout their set, the duo kept the energy up song after song, to the point I tried to get them to slow down to catch a breather in between the songs. Oh they needed none of that really!

By this time, a handful of passer-bys had formed a group right next to the Bungy Ride behind me, giving Khim and Cheng undivided attention. There was also a group of faithful supporters of the duo who had showed up and were whistling and egging them on. In addition, I couldn't help but notice the number of passer-bys who stopped and listen in onto them, giving them the thumbs-up and offering their encouragement. One Indian lady also stopped to take pictures of them and asked of me to take one of her with Diverse Attention. Still not convinced? Alright here's the proof:





I managed to catch up with them for an interview later on, read on:

Hi there, would you introduce yourselves please?

Khim: Hi we're Diversed Attentions, I'm Khim the vocalist! (with enthusiasm)
Cheng: Hi I'm Cheng the guitarist!

Khim: Hi we're actually a four piece band but due to the requirements of the bar, only both of us are able to come here to perform without our rhythm section.
Cheng: We're studying in Republic Poly which is also where we met our band members. We met them through Replug IG where it collects versatile musicians and is also where we perform and practise as a band from there.

Oh that means you're from different musical backgrounds?

Khim: I do a lot of pop, rnb and (pointing to Cheng) he does a lot more funk.
Cheng: Yeah rhythm kind of thing and in addition, our percussionist does a lot of samba as well.

You want to tell us about your bandmates as well?

Cheng: There is Alex - he's a very tall guy and he's the bassist. You'll be able to recognise him in our band easily but he's pretty soft, like a BFG.
Khim: Ridzuan is the only Malay in our band and plays percussion.

Would you also want to tell us what do you do outside of your life, other than singing? Your hobbies?

Khim: For me, I'm very interested in percussion. I recently joined Bloco Singapura and I've been playing the tambourim and its proving to be a real experience for me. Its because I've always been singing and the first time I'm playing the instrument is proving to be refreshing for a singer like myself.
Cheng: For me I've been working on sonic recording and sound engineering outside of regular studies. I've recorded bands and acoustic covers and more into re-arranging of music.

Wow for the both you, your lives revolve a lot around music?

Khim and Cheng: Yaaaa (excitedly), we hope to venture into this particular industry in the future!
Khim: Although its tiring but the motivation comes from the fact that we're doing something we enjoy and pushes ourselves further. It gives us the drive to go on and on.

Just for the record, how old are you guys?

Khim: I'm 19!
Cheng: I'm 20!

I would just say those were not the kind of answers I was expecting from you both.

Do you have any goals/ambitions for yourselves that you would like to proclaim out loud?

Khim: We hope to get more support as well as more people to like our music.
Cheng: Yea, we also hope to gain success in this industry in the future in Singapore especially.
Khim: (chirped enthusiastically): Its not easy but we'll try!

Well put! You don't go down without a fight these days don't you Singapore musicians? Brave words from the duo and you can be expecting more of them at the Bungy Bar along Clarke Quay River (next to the bungy rides) on Saturdays, 945pm onwards.