LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts/ Green Light Go) "Wow, your English is really good," suggest most Americans when they first meet pint-sized female rocker Inch Chua, a Singapore native now living in Los Angeles. Either the world is a big place, or little is known about Singapore, a tiny island with a population slightly over 5 million. When looking at a map of the world, Singapore can only be identified as a red dot. Despite its size, Singapore is the financial epicenter of South East Asia and the former British colony's first language is English, explaining Inch Chua's not so surprising command of the Queen's English.
Still to this day, the country's most well known cultural export is the Singapore Sling, a fruity cocktail that blends pineapple juice, Gin and Cointreau. The drink originated in 1915 at the Long Bar in the country's famous Raffles Hotel and has crossed over so far it is now the go-to drink for Florida vacationing Sexagenarians.
Singapore's next big cultural import will no doubt come from it's burgeoning music scene. A visit to the country will turn up a growing community of indie rock bands and singer-songwriters evidenced by the city-state's annual Baybeats
Music Festival. The festival is 100% free to attend and features over 50 performances. Singapore is perhaps the one country in Asia with an authentic music scene unlike its Asian counterparts in places like Japan or Korea where much of the attention is paid to worshipping over-produced, manufactured POP idols.
Inch Chua is not the first Singaporean to move to the U.S. to pursue her musical dreams, but possibly the first to break through here. Chua understands the pressures of carrying the musical flag of her country on her back, and so she poured her heart out into the production of her sophomore album Bumfuzzle. When listening to Bumfuzzle, it is easy to imagine Chua touring with The
Black Keys or Jack White.
Bumfuzzle was recorded in Singapore under the guidance of local legendary producer Leonard Soosay and there is plenty of fuzzle. "I LOVE FUZZ" Chua types in caps. "While producing the record, I made a conscious effort to use some form and variation of fuzz from the fastest to the slowest track on the album."
The result, a record that embodies the classic essence and characteristics of all the rock record's Chua loves from bands like
Radiohead and The Foo Fighters. Underneath its amalgamation of guitars and massive drum sounds, Bumfuzzle is a soul-barring record, heard in a tidal wave of epic-ly grandiose background vocals.
The vocals, the layers and layers and layers of back up vocals were inspired by the likes of
Freddie Mercury and old classic Disney movies like Snow White &
Peter Pan. "I wanted that phasing saturation and even slight distortions when the vocals melts together into one." "I felt the 'prettiness' of the harmonies are a great juxtaposition to the 'aggressive' guitars," reveals Chua in a voice perfectly fit for a role as an indie-Princess in a hipster Disney animation, if one ever existed.
Her musical journey began in high school as the front woman of indie rock band Allura at the age of 16, only to lose her bandmates 2 years later to
National Service, Singapore's conscription military policy requiring all male citizens to enroll in national service when they reach the age of 18. Chua soldiered on solo, releasing The Bedroom EP and her first full length album, the critically acclaimed Wallflower.
When Ngiam Tong Boon invented the Singapore Sling, he never said "this is the most honest drink I have ever made." For Chua, Bumfuzzle is the most honest and personally revealing record she has ever made.
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Praise for Inch Chua
"There's an undeniable resonating pull whenever she showcases her honey-coated vocal rhapsodies; from her lyrical relevance to the melodious arrangements, she doesn't just belong on the stage, she was born for it." - NYLON SG MAGAZINE
"Amid today's colourful music scene and insane mix of genres, it isn't too difficult to find a standout act who sings from the heart if you know where to look for one." - F3 Fashion Community
"Given her childhood inclinations, it probably isn't too surprising that Chua is now one of the leading lights of Singapore's indie rock scene..." - Jeff Yang - The Wallstreet Journal
