What exactly is the point of this rambling, you ask? Well, I’m trying to lead you in to an article about the good folks at Frontallabs.com, of course!
 

Frontal was one of the first Singaporean club-culture dedicated websites on the web, as far as I know, but unlike the other pioneering site, Kay Ling's Dance and Soul (now run by the mysterious Milky Way Collective), which was purely a listings page for the latest events (and it also had a ragin' messageboard, which later got so ragin', the site owners decided to disown it - leading to the creation of the Singapore Dance Forum) Frontal gave more complete coverage of the club scene.
 

There were pictures of clubbers, gear reviews, and their assessment of how the night went. Those were in the heady days of 1999, when Frontal was still a little-known bunch of DJs, writers and photographers. They ran a small party called Eclectic Selections at a tiny, two-storey bar in Boat Quay called Fuse (now defunct) which was also the site of the first Spectrum party along with a series of well-received drum n bass gigs by the Guerilla crew.

“We used to float around thinking if it happens then it happens. But you gradually realise there's no two ways about it. Either you're in it or you're out,” said Feng, Frontal's unoffocial spokesperson.

Fast forward to 2003: Frontal is now one of the largest and most well-known dance sites in Singapore, with the omnipresent ‘Frontal’ sticker plastered all over record shops and other places of learning in Singapore.

They also have coverage of every party going down at the local clubs, and interviews with the big names who drop by. They've also organised some massive parties at the biggest clubs in Singapore, from Centro to Zouk, but they’ve always remained true to their original mission -  to support local dance musicians while having fun.

Although Frontal was originally a large group during it's inception some five years ago, over time, members came and went, eventually leaving a core group - Feng, Weili, Itchi, Kennerve, Janson, Gerald, Kevin and accountant Jorelin that operate the site today.

“Yeah, when Frontal started we had over 20 people. But as time went on, people left for different reasons lor... but somehow only the seven of us stuck together... which in my opinion, is one of the most amazing things,” Feng said. “We hang out together a lot… I mean before Frontal, none of us knew one another. The most amazing thing about Frontal is how we actually came together from so many different backgrounds to focus on one goal,”

Added Janson solemnly: “It's very very rare... so I think that’s the best thing that we have right now,”

Indeed, Frontal’s origins are a testament to the electronic age we live in. Their current nucleus of members actually met through the Internet. Frontal was started by Kevin Lim, who later decided to leave for the US to further his studies.

“Kevin, Janson, Itchi, Weili and Kennerve knew each other already. I joined in after posting on the forum. I knew Gerald from when I was studying in melbourne, so I pulled him into it after his national service,” Feng explained.

Since then, Frontal have expanded and built up their web platform, as well as organized bigger and badder parties. They’ve even crossed national borders in the name of partying, and I had the pleasure of meeting them when they impulsively decided to come up to KL for one of the biggest parties of 2002, Kent’s year end bash at Sepang.

To be honest, Frontal and the other Singaporean club culture sites like Exitmusik, Dance and Soul and Garage Sale Shop were some reasons why we decided to start Transmit in the first place. But I digress. Here’s a QnA I did with Feng – Singapore clublife as seen by a media mogul!

What's the best experience you guys have had together?

Its got to be when our launch party at Centro  this year in September got the biggest space on our national newspaper (The Straits Times). That was the happiest moment.

I still remember we worked all night, packing up the gifts and cutting up the flyers and stuff and then it was 7 in the morning, we were all at my place, we went to get the papers hoping to see our event somewhere... we were flipping through the first ten pages and there was no mention at all, and we flipped to page 14 and Bam! It was like half the page! It was amazing, we were so happy... all of us thought it was going to be a great night.

Before that we were a bit skeptical, but after we saw that it didn’t really matter anymore. It was such a huge endorsement from our national paper and that was the best experience ever.

Frontal has reviewed many parties... so what's a good night out to you?

A good night out, more than anything else, is a night with close friends, good company, lots of alcohol and a smashing DJ... a really, really, good DJ.
 

And what's a good DJ?
A good DJ is someone who makes you dance without even wanting to... makes you move your feet without you having the urge to... his music just moves you, no matter what condition you are in… drunk or not!

How important are babes for a good night out?
To be totally honest, I think they are part of clubbing… part of the lifestyle, but they are not all there is to it. Clubbing most importantly is all about connecting socially, to meet new people and to be able to express yourself in a different form. It's like a place were you can break away from yr daily routine and really let go. That’s what clubbing is all about, and obviously, making new friends and generally having a lot of fun.
 

What about those trainspotters?
Yea we've seen the sort… with arms folded at the console and just looking at the DJ the whole time. I think those people need to get a life, honestly speaking. I think they need to put on some dancing shoes and just get grooving because.. dance music is supposed to make u dance… just as simple as that. You're supposed to dance, not stand there and look all night! So who cares if you know it’s a bootleg from Sasha versus whoever, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that track, that night, the music is making you move and that's the most important thing. You might be well versed in labels and all that... but shit, music is all about having fun!

It is extremely unhealthy. These people should really try and remove themselves from the DJ console and get out in the middle of the dance floor to experience the whole vibe. 'Cos people can just stand there and fold their arms and just say ‘that vibe man, that vibe’ but how can you feel it when you're just standing there and not moving?

On a similar note, how do you feel about people who come back from overseas and then dictate to locals what they know about dance music?

I think that's a shame because everyone's entitled to their own opinions and they shouldn’t force their views on others. No doubt they’ve seen another side of the world that many people don’t get a chance to, but you can inform but you cannot enforce.

So I think they can feel free to tell people about how things are being done there, but they cant expect everyone to follow. Like what applies in Australia can't necessarily apply to Singapore or even Malaysia so it’s a matter of the environment as well.

How does the KL scene compare to Singapore?

I think definitely the Singapore club scene can learn a thing or two from KL clubbers in terms of what clubbing is really all about.. having fun you know?

Just letting go of your inhibitions and having a good night out... being friendly, talking to everyone you see, smiling, happy faces... that’s what it's all about you know. In Singapore there's this 'you look me up and down' thing going on you know... people check you out if you're having too much fun. And that’s weird! You should be having fun instead of looking people up and down. So the biggest difference I've noticed is that KL clubbers just know how to have a lot more fun than the ones we have in Singapore!
 

Do you think Singapore clubbers behave differently because the clubs in Singapore are bigger in the global scene, like Zouk for instance?
Zouk is really the best place in Singapore club no doubt. They’ve been in business for over a decade and you can't deny the fact that the club itself has such a great vibe. Everytime I bring friends from overseas down there, they lose it ands they tell me what a great club it is so I don’t think it’s a matter of it being a heavyweight and because of it being a big club. People are unable to shed their inhibitions and all that, I don’t think that’s the clubs problem. I think socially it’s a social problem more than anything else. It boils down to how Singaporeans really behave socially.

-Joon

-Thanks to Frontal!