Meet Sobs, the band spearheading Singapore’s rock scene

We celebrate distinction. We struggle to understand what artists actually are, so long as we know what category to file them under. Lo-fi. From Seattle. Female. We could blame record stores or Spotify, but our tendency to label artists can limit their reach. For Sobs, escaping this can prove especially difficult. Based in Singapore — a country that has struggled historically to support its artists — there exists an urge to pin Sobs and their sound as distinctly Singaporean, or Southeast Asian. But Sobs isn’t settling for the title of local anomaly. As Sobs guitarist Raphael Ong says, “We’ve never seen ourselves as a Singaporean band, or a local band, but just as a band — there doesn’t need to be a separation between the two.”

Sobs — like so many lovely things — is a product of the Internet. Sobs vocalist Celine Autumn posted on SOFT, a Singapore-based online music forum, looking for someone to produce an early project of hers. Guitarist Jared Lim responded, kickstarting a friendship that would soon flourish into Sobs. Autumn and Lim then wrote and recorded their first single, “Girl,” in early 2017. “Celine and I had been making music for some time, but it wasn’t until we wrote ‘Girl’ that things started getting serious,” Lim remembers. “Everyone we sent it to really seemed to like it, especially Raphael, who asked to join the band within minutes of hearing the song.”

With the addition of Ong, Sobs began working toward the release of their 2017 debut EP, Catflap. Behind the strength of the EP’s shimmering single, “Girl,” Sobs soon developed a devoted following throughout Southeast Asia, as well as in the United States and the United Kingdom. “Girl” then circulated through tastemaker playlists from the likes of TheLazylazyme, David Dean Burkhart, and BIRP!, again increasing the band’s reach outside of Singapore. “Having an international audience started off as something I could only dream of,” Autumn says, “but as the band progressed, I learned very quickly that there should never be geographic limitations to our music.”

“We’ve never seen ourselves as a Singaporean band, or a local band, but just as a band — there doesn’t need to be a separation between the two.”

After striking viral gold with “Girl,” Sobs became a go-to opener for indie mainstays touring in Southeast Asia, playing alongside acts like Snail Mail, Peach Pit, and Japanese Breakfast. “It’s honestly so scary to play in front of bands that you look up to so much,” Autumn says. “When we were opening for Japanese Breakfast, there was catered food before the show but I couldn’t stomach anything, while our bassist Zhang Bo was stuffing his face. I guess we all have different ways of coping.”

Despite these early successes, Sobs struggled with their self-perception as artists in Singapore. Singapore is only 279 square miles — Los Angeles is 469 square miles, for reference — but it is an economic powerhouse, its government emphasizing efficiency rather than creativity from its citizens. “You tell people here you make music and they kinda just go like ‘oh, but what do you reaaally do?’” Autumn says. Ong adds, “There just aren’t enough people into the arts or music to sustain a strong live music culture or scene, but things are heading in the right direction now — more and more kids are coming out to the shows in their own backyard.”

With the release of their second EP, the well-received Telltale Signs, Sobs still doesn’t feel the pressures of being a de facto leader of a fledgling Singaporean music scene. They just want to make music, and that’s it. As Lim puts it, “I want to make a living doing what I do with Sobs, because it seems like it’s pretty much the only thing I’m capable of doing.” He echoes a sentiment shared by so many young creatives sitting in cubicles and cafés. That maybe they can make a life for themselves doing what they’re meant to do… and nothing else, because what they’re meant to do is enough. Where do you think I’m writing from?

“I think our sound is evolving — it’s nerve wracking and exciting all at the same time.”

This January, Sobs took their turn as touring headliner, playing a string of sold-out shows in Japan. “The Japan shows were our best.” Lim says, “The distance away from home probably had something to do with it — it felt like there was so much more at stake.” “It was illuminating seeing how passionate the bands and the fans there are about their music,” Ong adds, “music is such an integral part of their culture, and we have so much to learn as part of a young music scene in Singapore.”

With two EPs already released in the last two years, Sobs is already preparing for the arrival of their third. “I think our sound is evolving — it’s nerve wracking and exciting all at the same time,” Autumn says, “I’m proud of what we have now, but I worry about how our listeners will react.” When we’re always looking for what’s next, the past seemingly holds less and less weight, but I think Sobs’ does. Not because of where they’re from, but what they’ve done while there. They haven’t shied away from Singapore or sought some escape path elsewhere. They’ve stayed put. Not because it’s been easy. But because it’s been hard.

Sobs is making their own way, and they’re just getting started.