Q&A: Reserate Ignites Singapore's Alt-Metal Scene with Debut Album ‘Introspect’
PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF ALT-METAL – Rising Singaporean alt-metal band Resterate has made a powerful entrance into the music world with the release of their debut album, Introspect. This 10-track record, self-produced by the band, invites listeners on an introspective journey, blending evocative melodies with powerful themes. The album marks a significant milestone in Reserate's musical evolution, capturing the band's raw emotion and dynamic range.
Each track dives deep into the complexities of human emotion and the intricacies of life's challenges, From the heavy riffs to the hauntingly beautiful soundscapes, Reserate has crafted an experience that is both immersive and thought-provoking.
“This album is about looking inward and understanding the different facets of our emotions and experiences,” the band explains. “We wanted each track to resonate with our listeners and offer them a space to reflect and connect.”
This intention is evident in tracks like “Weightless,” which the band describes as a narrative woven with untold stories and echoes of hopes and dreams. “Weightless” stands out as a crushingly heavy and emotional piece, conveying the band's ability to channel raw emotion through their music.
Reserate's approach to the Singapore music scene is nothing short of electrifying. Drawing inspiration from across the musical spectrum, Reserate's sound is a fusion of heavy, hard-hitting riffs with modern synthesized elements and a futuristic cinematic edge.
Reserate's not afraid to experiment, to mix genres and to challenge the conventional norms of alt-metal. This willingness to explore new sonic territories has allowed them to craft a sound that is as complex as it is powerful and pushes the boundaries of what alt-metal can be.
Reserate is also known to bring an unforgettable live show which can be described as a “metal rave set in the future.” Their shows blend stunning visuals and rearranged versions of their tracks infusing electronic remixes, seamless transitions, and intricate sound design. The band is supporting Japanese kawaii band BABYMETAL in Singapore on August 20.
LUNA: Thank you for talking to Luna. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. For any readers who aren’t familiar with you, what inspires your artistic style and sound?
RESERATE: Anything goes. Whatever we come up with, we always want to explore it. It’s definitely more of going with the flow of the band because we play heavy music and we all listen to different genres and come from diverse backgrounds and influences. So whatever fits the book, we add it in. Whatever doesn't really fit the book, we take it out. We want to make our music relatable to different people. A lot of our music is inspired by our life experiences and what we’ve gone through.
LUNA: What kind of atmosphere or emotional space do you aim to create for your listeners?
RESERATE: We aim to create an emotional space where someone else is able to understand or comprehend us and we’re relatable to them. We believe that we should be able to relate to someone and that’s the headspace we’re in when we’re writing and recording.
LUNA: Say if someone hasn’t heard of your music yet, which song would you introduce your discography to and why do you gravitate towards that song?
RESERATE: We have a song called “Gravity” and it’s our most accessible song so far. I think it's a song that focuses on what we're doing right now. The song really pivoted up as a band and gave us the music direction we want to go to, a bit more of cyberpunk, and it reflects what’s going on with the current music scene. There’s a lot of great metal bands that are coming out, but we hope to not fit in and bring our own elements and energy towards the songs. If you were to listen to Reserate’s discography from pre “Gravity” and post “Gravity,” it’s very, very different. It’s the song that really solidified Reserate's sound.
LUNA: You have released your brand new single “Weightless” and I love the high energy and instrumentals in it. What is the inspiration behind the single?
RESERATE: It was an old demo that we rewrote from scratch. When we first heard it, there was so much potential and we knew we wanted to make it very heavy and something that we can enjoy playing live.
LUNA: “Weightless” is a sneak peek into your upcoming debut record Introspect. What can listeners expect from you in this new era of music?
RESERATE: They can expect something different coming from Singapore. Not a lot of bands in Singapore are doing this, and I think it will be shocking to note that as small as a country that Singapore is, that we can produce this metal music. That was probably really unexpected from fans who are from overseas in the U.S. and Europe. There’s so much to look forward to.
LUNA: What is the inspiration behind Introspect?
RESERATE: We were at McDonald’s one night and we were going through old demos on our phone and we chose the demos that would be the most cohesive to make a record out of. We made the needed improvements and brought so much life into the album.
LUNA: What is your favorite song from Introspect and why do you love it? Is there a certain lyric or message that stands out to you the most?
RESERATE: “Introspect” went from such a hip-hop influenced song and underwent through so many different genre transformations within the six minutes. The vocals from that song were some of the best screams we ever recorded. I also love “Pull Out The Blade” because the song has such a high energy and it’s fun to play live. This whole album is written with so many diverse songs and genres. We as a band are so proud of the entire record and we are proud of each other for creating this diverse project.
LUNA: You are about to support BABYMETAL in Singapore later this month. What were your initial reactions when you heard the news?
RESERATE: It didn’t hit us until we saw the show poster and it said it was sold out in two days. This is our biggest show with over a thousand people. I think there’s going to be a lot of people who have never heard of us or our music before, because mostly we’ve been playing underground shows. That scene in Singapore is very small, so during a lot of the heavy shows, you’re seeing the same faces. We are expecting a brand new audience and people that we’ve never seen before, which is always exciting. The Kawaii scene, the Comic-Con scene and the Japanese scene are all going to be there. It’s an elevating experience, because for us to be able to open for such a big band is a huge milestone. I think it's really the first big break for the band to actually push our music out there to people that have not listened to us before and I think that's really a big stepping stone for the band.
LUNA: You’re part of Singapore’s DIY and hard rock scenes, what do you love most about this scene? How would you describe the energy and the people that go to your shows or listen to your music?
RESERATE: People are really friendly and every show I go to, it feels like I’m meeting my friends after a while and everyone knows each other. When you meet with others at shows, it’s always really exciting and fun.
LUNA: Are there any specific elements in your set that you’re particularly excited to showcase to the BABYMETAL audience?
RESERATE: Everytime we do a set, our last song is a remixed version. At the end of the song it gets extended into a club version. We don’t have that song on the album, so you have to experience it live and see it for yourself. It’s a great energy and mixes in a lot of rave influences.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like that you would like to share with Luna?
RESERATE: We are going to tour in Japan in less than a month and it will be our first tour ever. We are probably going to Indonesia right after. We have a few shows lined up afterwards and it’s our first time exploring outside the country, so it’ll be very fun. We can’t wait to bring our music to different countries and have people relate to our projects and experiences, and to have new listeners outside of Singapore. It’s so cool to be able to play in so many different venues because in Singapore, we are very limited to how many venues we can play and we’re mostly playing the same venues. It’s a very small country, so we’re very excited for different people, crowds and cultures. I think it’s important that we experience this together and we go through this together.
