Meet the Singaporean DJ taking local sounds to the global stage
At one of the world’s biggest electronic dance music festivals in Belgium, entranced revellers recently found themselves dancing to sounds more often heard on a Singapore commute than a Tomorrowland stage. They included the MRT warning to “Sila berhati-hati di ruang platform” (“Please mind the platform gap” in Malay), familiar to millions who ride the city state’s metro system, and the piercing,…
Singaporean DJ Likie Low, 27, made waves at the global Tomorrowland festival by incorporating unique Singaporean sounds into her set. She blended MRT warnings, the cry of the Asian koel bird, and the erhu, a two-stringed Chinese instrument, with her own electronic dance music. The 30-minute performance at the July 25 event marked a chance for Low to showcase her cultural heritage as a Singaporean Chinese.
Clips from her set featuring Singaporean sounds have since gone viral, earning her recognition in the international EDM scene. Low has been playing the erhu since she was eight years old and attended the School of the Arts, Singapore, and the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, where she furthered her music production skills. Her passion for EDM began in 2013 when she was inspired by Martin Garrix's hit song "Animals".
Despite facing initial criticism for her productions, she gained recognition in 2021 by performing at Esplanade, a performing arts center where she tested her DJing and erhu sounds for the first time in public. Low has secured grants from the National Arts Council to support her performances and recently became a part of JBL Music Academy, an exclusive mentorship program with Garrix and Benson Boone.
She is now working to sell tickets to her future shows, acknowledging that it is a challenging task.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
