Scene Unseen

By Maia Engelbrecht

Scene Unseen is a documentary by director Abdul Nizam, a former member of The NoNames and The Oddfellows, about Singapore’s underground music scene that was prevalent in the 80s and 90s. It explores the cultivation of the community over the years, and like usual, the discussion around it is seldom about the music. 

In the 60s and 70s, Singapore had a potent music scene heavily influenced by the west. But the increasingly permissive nature of the music instilled concern within the government, and its methods to control it seemingly dissipated the scene. But pushing something underground doesn’t make it disappear. Influence from the west prevailed. By the time the 80s arrived, there was a storm brewing within the youth of the country, and when there was no scene, they made one out of nothing.

In punk, you don’t idolize bands, instead you’re inspired to make your own music

Francis Frightful, Opposition Party

Their convictions had manifested, as, in 1989, TNT studios opened. Its general affordability and the noise-tolerant owner allowed independent bands to record without scrutiny. However, everything truly came together in the following year, when the primary independent concert venue, The Substation, opened. The ethos of the scene was essentially that there was no inherent difference between the audience and the performer.

They were audiences so ungainly, yet so uninhibited. Moving so sporadically and uncoordinated, it was to the extent of poetry. 

You watched in amazement and disbelief, absolutely astounded

Graphic Novel featured in the Documentary

Although many held this sentimentality, not every individual reached that assignation of goodness. During performances with the almost brutish way that people went about their expressions, it’s unsurprising that many women were left injured and generally disrespected: Many of whom shared stories of being taken advantage of and unsolicited harassment.

Though characteristically tolerant, the community wasn’t always a salvation. It did not depict or attempt to manifest a better future, rather it was more concerned with recognizing the issues currently faced as a collective society: Their intentions being not to change the world, but rather to change something within the individual. Concomitantly, no woman, despite the abuse, had ever lost the ability to express their discontent. 

It was a way of life they could maintain forever, but not comfortably. The Substation (or at least its accessibility) closed in 2005, and most future projects attempting to emulate it failed. However, many of them felt that their efforts, though rarely reciprocated, were worth it for the sake of the community: Striving to understand and to be understood, is the very reason they couldn’t stop. But in all their selflessness, they were not heroes, nor did they wish to be regarded as such. They’re only people, not to be carried with any prejudice, sentiment, or prophecy. 

They always stood revered on a stage, but there was barely a change in height, or a speaker in the way. 

Seen a lot of things
That you wouldn’t see
Well some people think I’m crazy
They just can’t believe 
That I’m so happy
- So Happy by the Oddfellows

List of groups mentioned in the Documentary :