Always laughing and sharing jokes, Dreebsby is a music act that seems to brighten up the room with their presence. They are also full of fun facts, such as how Daniel Sid (Bassby) actually bought his first bass and rehearsed only a week before their Baybeats audition. Animated and full of energy, Sam P (Dreebsby) laughed, “And they (the judges) asked us, so how long have you guys been together? I was like, a week?”
And somehow we all got sidetracked by Daniel’s beard. (“I comb it and everything!” Daniel immediately says.) Similar to the beard, they all agree that the local music scene here has been growing and we are definitely going somewhere. It is the right direction, and with even more exposure and support from platforms that are able to garner views, it will help to further accelerate the scene’s growth and the general public’s awareness for it. Would exposure dollars help in any way?
Daniel: “Well, if I really wanted exposure dollars, I will just turn to busking. It is also more fun.”
And with the scene growing, is there anything you would love to see more of?
Daniel and Sam chime in, “More big gigs and festivals.” Daniel goes on to elaborate, “I don’t think there is a shortage of people and talent. It is just about how the events are being put out there and marketed.” Apparently, what would also be helpful will be getting a Grab sponsorship. Or really, just easy access to transport.
Chris Yong (Hornsby): “Ever since then(the Grab takeover of Uber), drivers have been cancelling on me and it is tougher to reach my appointments on time.” Sometimes public transport might not be the best option either, especially when factoring all the equipment needed to be brought along for performances and gigs. It may seem like a small issue, but these little things add up over time so being a musician really is way more than just picking up an instrument and strumming a few strings.
Popspoken learns more about llamas, Sam’s dog Ollie and why they chose to launch in London instead.
Popspoken: So, according to Dreebsby motivation, why the choice between dogs and llamas?
Dreebsby: That’s Sam’s Doggo, Ollie. Sam’s mum organised for a family photoshoot and Sam asked the photographer to snap a couple of Doggo shots. Now Ollie is on Spotify and is the face of a Jumper line: the Doggo Jumpers.
As for the Llamas – who doesn’t love llamas? In fact, the lyric video of Out The Door is full of them. #copyrightfreevideos (Side note: there are a surprising number people out there who have spent a lot of time filming Llamas as a hobby.)
Popspoken: How did you come together to form an act?
Dreebsby: Dreebsby started off as Sam’s solo moniker for his songwriting and composition while in law school in the UK. While training as a lawyer back in Singapore he met Tommy, a full time cover musician, wedding singer and Chemical Engineering grad, through a friend. Once Sam qualified, he started a music company called Goose Infiniti (which Dreebsby is “signed” to – totally legit), teamed up with Tommy, recorded a couple of songs with Leonard Soosay, and they flew to London to launch Dreebsby in November 2017. Dreebsby spent 4 months in London releasing and playing its music with several London-based musicians.
2 weeks after returning to Singapore they were lucky to get Chris Yong on board Dreebsby, who had previously recorded trumpets for the Debut Single ‘Out The Door’. Mind you, he’s a classically trained Trumpeter…who is also an Orchestra Conductor… now in a Pop Act.
2 Weeks after that (and the week before the first Baybeats audition) Sam and Tommy caught singer-songwriter Daniel Sid (childhood friend of Sam’s Brother) at City65 Music Festival, who offered to play bass after finding out they were looking for one in the region.
Now Dreebsby is one big happy racial harmony advertisement.
And let’s not forget Brian Chia (from the Cashew Chemists) who jumps in from time to time on several instruments – he played the drums for the Synthesis studio recording and spanked bass for the first Baybeats audition.
The act now consists of:
Sam P (Dreebsby)
Tommy Dean (Beatsby)
Daniel Sid (Bassby)
Chris Yong (Hornsby)
Occasional member:
Brian Chia (Asian)
Popspoken: What is ‘inspiration’ to your music?
Dreebsby: Anything really. Musically it’s ideas that I think would sound cool together and would pair nicely with lyrics or a certain emotion. Lyrically it’s either something that I’m feeling or a series of thoughts I want to write about, that would probably pair nicely with music. Love and lust are a great source for both. In fact, thats exactly what the upcoming track ‘Cigarettes With Wine’ is about and is inspired by: love, lust, two girls I knew, a dance floor, and a drunken moment on a plane involving Love Actually. Musically it draws inspiration from the Chili Peppers, Daft Punk and Led Zeppelin. Then a dash of Dreebsby tossed in, in the form of a trumpet solo and outro instead of a guitar solo.
Popspoken: Do you think in the world of social media and tech, we generally take musicians for granted? Why?
Dreebsby: Not exactly. Social media and tech has definitely brought audiences, fans and musicians much closer together. A musician can now Intsa-Story the whole creative process and stream the countless number of hours that go into their craft…. or Insta-Story their Doggo in the morning. Fan engagement is at a whole new level so there’s arguably a greater awareness of the musician’s life. But at the same time social media and tech has changed the way we consume and produce music, and that has had a snowball effect on the whole industry. While it’s getting easier to produce music, the this digital revolution has made us a lot more ADHD. So you’ve got an increasingly enormous amount of content for an consumer base with a (generally) decreasing attention span, ourselves (guiltily) included.
PS: What do you look forward to for Baybeats?
Dreebsby: The audience- no doubt!
Popspoken: And a bonus question, correct me if I am wrong, but you are based off London as well as Singapore and how does this back-and-forth influence your music making?
Dreebsby: They are two very different cultures and music markets, and so you get different experiences and perspectives from each. I think we’d risk generalising each place if we tried to be specific.
We chose to launch in London because it’s a global music capital – and it’s just bursting at the seams with countless talented people creating very diverse and interesting art – the buzz is unreal. And being out of out comfort zone and on the edge of uncertainty over there keeps us on our toes so we’re constantly trying to create.
Singapore has mad prata so like… how can you not be inspired.
Dreebsby will be playing at this year’s Baybeats Festival that is happening from 17 to 19 August 2018!
They will be on for 18th August 2018, 6.30pm at the Arena (Esplanade Outdoor Theatre).
Photography credits: Darren ‘Merovign’ Tan
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