Artists from Thailand and the Philippines are finding their tunes in Singapore as their fan base gets bigger and album sales skyrocket.

Sunday evenings are hardly a popular time slot for clubbing. But pop down to The Arena Live at Clarke Quay in Singapore and you will find the nightspot is often packed to the brim. Up to 1,000 partygoers are there weekly to catch Filipino bands such as Bamboo and Kamikazee.

And forget those old-fashioned house bands specialising in covers of Top 40 hits. These musicians are a new generation of popular artists, playing mostly original tunes, who fly here especially to hold concerts. These popular Filipino artists are gigging in Singapore with increasing frequency.

Two weekends ago, jazz-lite singer Aiza Seguerra and alternative band Parokya ni Edgar played in two separate shows.

Just as contemporary Filipino music is gaining an audience here, Thai artists too are seeing a similar surge in popularity.

Club Nana in Central Mall near Havelock Road held its first Thai music concert featuring rock band Da Endorphine last month, and about 1,000 hipsters turned up for the 1 1/2-hour show.

And it is not just the expatriate crowds grooving to the music. At Da Endorphine’s concert, half the audience were Singaporeans, says Club Nana’s operator John Lee.

Arena entertainment director Freddy Dodwell estimates that about 5% of the people who turn up for the weekly Sunday concerts at his venue are also locals and their numbers are rising.

“These are the elite performers from the Philippines, not the lounge or regular Orchard Tower bands,” he says.

The popularity of such acts from the Philippines and Thailand was sparked by the changing demographic of their respective expatriate communities.

Dodwell says the demand at The Arena Live is fuelled by the “larger professional Filipino community here in Singapore—the engineers, computer programmers, nurses and doctors”.

Dean Augustin, sales and marketing manager for S2S, the label that distributes Filipino artists Seguerra and Lani Misalucha, agrees that Filipino music is getting bigger here, thanks to the increase in the number of white-collar Filipino workers.

Across Singapore, about 10 Thai nightspots have mushroomed in locations such as Ming Arcade, Chijmes and Central Mall, kilometres away from the usual locale of Thai discos in the Golden Mile Complex aka Little Thailand. Such venues helped boost the awareness of contemporary Thai music here.

Lee of Club Nana says: “We had Da Endorphine perform here last month as they are one of the most popular groups in Thailand. Their music is well-received by our local patrons.”

Club Nana is planning a second show in December featuring the popular five-piece Thai rock band, Clash.

The increased demand for contemporary Thai and Filipino music can be seen in the healthy album sales figures.

Seguerra’s CD, Open Arms, went gold in Singapore after selling 9,000 copies in a few months. Misalucha has sold 3,000 copies of her new album, Reminisce. In comparison, an international star such as Kylie Minogue sold 10,000 copies of her latest album. A popular home-grown artist such as Taufik Batisah can sell up to 36,000 copies.

Colin Yam, merchandising manager of Sembawang Music Centre, says interest in Filipino and Thai music is certainly growing.

“We see a decent number of Filipino and Thai artists and compilations doing well in our charts, for example, Aiza Seguerra and Eric Guansing, who are also Filipinos. Bird Thongchai and Palmy, both Thais, also do very well when they release new CDs,” he adds.

He says their chain of music stores is stocking an estimated 15% to 20% more Filipino and Thai CDs in the last five years and more Singaporeans are picking them up.

Thai music fan Doreen Lee says: “It is as good as Western music. I don’t understand the Thai language, but I am drawn to the infectious melodies.”

Augustin points out that the albums his company distributes are targeted at the local and Asian markets. He sees potential for a crossover because these artists sing mostly in English.

Other record companies are also catching on. Singapore label Ocean Butterflies Music (OBM), which has groomed Singapore singers JJ Lin and A-do to regional fame, has tied up this year with GMM Grammy, the biggest record label in Thailand. It manages over 400 Thai artists.

The collaboration will see the two promote Thai and crossover music in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

Filipino and Thai bands are also making their presence on television. A spokesman for Channel (V) says the channel is featuring about 200% more Filipino and Thai bands compared to 10 years ago.

These acts appear on their televised programmes and an online platform, AMP, for regional talents to upload and share their music.

Channel V has flown in Filipino bands like Rivermaya to perform at their events here and used their music for television trailers.

One Filipino singer, Joyce Suraya Alberto, has even decided to base her singing career here. A permanent resident, she has been singing in Singapore for over a decade and recently released her debut album comprising original jazz pop tunes in Tagalog, English and Malay. It is currently only available here and has sold almost 1,000 copies. Almost 60% of the shows that she plays here are for locals, while the rest are for the Filipino expat community.

Barbara Gonzales, a 33-year-old account manager and a permanent resident, says these newer acts from the Philippines are of international standards. “Their music is universal. Any person of any culture in any country can relate and appreciate these original Filipino songs.”

The artists themselves are understandably chuffed that they are getting more support here.

Seguerra, 23, says of her local sales success: “This is my first time doing an international album and I wasn’t expecting that it would turn gold in such a short time. I hope more Filipino artists can penetrate the international market.”

These artists have become a gateway for Singapore music fans to discover other acts in the Filipino scene. Take, for example, 19-year-old student Sharifah Nursakinah Syed Isha, a fan of Alberto’s music.

She says: “Joyce’s music exposes her fans to an entirely new musical experience. I have never heard Filipino music before and from what I’ve heard from her, it’s really good.” (By EDDINO ABDUL HADI And CARA VAN MIRIAH In Singapore/ The Straits Times/ AsiaNews)