P R E S S K I T
B I O
A neo-soul band with roots in jazz, funk and blues, up-and-coming Afterglow have been turning heads in the Singapore jazz scene. They have performed for numerous private, corporate, charity events on stages all over Singapore, including that of the Esplanade, Timbre @ The Substation and the Singapore Night Festival within a span of three years.
During their participation in Noise Singapore's The Music Mentorship 2014, the band grew, as did their fanbase with every show they played. Afterglow honed their craft as artistes and refined their originals under the guidance of mentors Eddino Abdul Hadi (Force Vomit) and Bani Haykal. They were the only band chosen to have the privelege of two mentors instead of one.
Moving forward, Afterglow will be performing in accordance with their National Servicemen's schedules and putting out even more new material.
A sassy and soulful songwriter, Beth has been singing for seven years. She is the first female Singapore Polytechnic institutional and course medalist with a Diploma in Music and Audio Technology and makes it a point to give back to the community through music. Highlights of her performace career include the Mosaic Music Festival with the Esplanade's Bright Young Things programme and finishing first runner-up in the I Write and Sing My Song competition organised by One-CSS and PassionArts. She is currently an assistant sound engineer at Mediacorp and performs solo as bittymacbeth.
BETH YAP, 20, vocalist, band leader
MARCUS SZETO, 21, guitarist,
music director
Marcus, a guitarist for at least seven years, has had his fair share of gigs at corporate events, residencies and more. A producer with a hint of playfulness and a lot of passion, he is well-versed with both music and audio, having interned at Beep Studios, where he sessioned for Miguel Antonio’s album, ‘What is Christmas to You’. As the sixth president of the Singapore Polytechnic Jazz Band, his diligence and dedication led the band to perform their annual concert, Improvise, for two nights at the Esplanade Recital Studio to packed audiences and commendable reviews.
RYAN ANG, 20, keyboardist,
arranger
From classical, to pop and then jazz,
Ryan has had about eight years of experience in playing the piano and improvisation. This austere and accomplished aspiring professional arranger cites Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett and Brian Culbertson as influences. He was also recognised for his leadership poetntial when previous president, Marcus, handed Jazz Band presidency over to him for the new academic year. He then led the Jazz Band to their third sold-out Improvise concert at the Esplanade Recital Studio.
NICHOLAS WONG, 20, BASSIST
Nicholas lays the funky bass grooves for the band. Open-minded and original, he listens widely - hip-hop today, prog rock tomorrow - and thinks deeply. Recently, he developed a knack for World music percussion and is now proficient in the Asalato, Kanjira, and Conga. Nick is also inclined to sound design for different media and was part of the sound design team on Lord of the Guardians, an IOS game by developer DreamRocket. During his internship at Kenn C Music, he worked as a sound designer and programmer for VISION 2013, a magic/theatre performance held at NUS University Cultural Centre.
YAP TING WEI, 21, drummer
Ting Wei has long been practising music since his brass band days in primary and secondary school. The experienced and engaging drummer now plays for the Thomson Swing Band every saturday night at Marina Bay Sands. While he was a student under the tutelege of instructors like Soh Wen Ming, Mr Tama Goh, Gary Gideon, he has also garnered many years of music education experience through teaching primary school music classes and private students. He is an alumnus of the Esplanade’s “Bright Young Things” program which gave him the opportunity to play at Mosaic Music Festival 2013.
VINCENT TAN, 24, saxophone
Vincent, the latest addition to the Afterglow line-up, is a veteran and versatile saxophonist with more than 10 years of musical experience. He is an alumnus from the first batch of the Esplanade's Bright Young Things jazz programme. He performs frequently in a large variety of ensemble settings including a jazz quartet, an indie rock band, a stage band, and he is currently a full-time musician with the Singapore Armed Forces central band, Singapore's premier concert/marching band.
