music

yams is a multi-hyphenate producer and singer-songwriter. Starting off his journey in the world of alt rock, he's since pivoted to a contemporary alt r&b / hip-hop sound that ebbs and flows with each project. Since releasing his debut genre-crossing EP, ‘Inconsistent’ in 2020, he's released his first album 'day/dreams' (2021), a concept album revolving around ideas of identity & nation, tied together through the motif of dreaming.

samples

do you drive a nice car - The first single off day/dreams, do you drive a nice car tells the story of yams’ struggle to accept his mother’s abandonment of his family. The track starts off as a soulful, gospel-influenced ballad and flips the tempo to an upbeat rap verse that ends in a heart-rending vocal solo reminiscent of Australian singer-songwriter, Matt Corby.

day/dreams & tears was the titular single from yams' album 'day/dreams'.

For the accompanying short film, directors Dynn Othman and Koh Zhi Hao settled on an eerie, kitsch depiction of a 90s-era Singaporean sitcom. Symbols of the Hungry Ghost Festival, a traditional Taoist festival, are rife in this segment, with hell money and food offerings used to tie ideas of consumerism to that of purgatory.

The second segment, tears, sees the narrator dreaming forward. The entire track springs from the phrase “I dream of the day” – a reversal of day/dreams, and one that conveys a looking towards the future. Done with confronting the dreams of his past, tears acts as a self-examination, a confession, a self-confrontation.

If you like the album, do consider purchasing it on bandcamp!

executive summary

With the release of his latest singles, yams has seen coverage from local and regional media, including the Straits Times, Esquire, Hello Asia, and Hypnotic Asia, and was recently featured in a profile interview by music & lifestyle outfit Life in Arpeggio. As of July 2023, yams’ personal releases have garnered over 135,000 Spotify streams and 75,000 views on YouTube, and yams has drawn commissions and received support from the National Gallery Singapore, National Heritage Board, Asian Art Institutum, National Youth Council, National Day Parade Executive Committee, and the Foundation for The Arts & Social Enterprise.