The Observatory is a rock band based in Singapore, primarily composed of musicians from 1990's Singaporean bands. The band formed in 2001 and performed for the first time at the 2002 Baybeats Music Festival.
The band has released eight studio albums since their formation: Time of Rebirth (2004), Blank Walls (2005), A Far Cry From Here (2007), Dark Folke (2009), Catacombs (2012), Oscilla (2014), Continuum (2015), and August is the Cruellest (2016). They have performed in Norway, Italy, Japan, France, Germany, and Singapore and in music events in Malaysia, Thailand, and South Korea, including the MTV Pattaya Music Festival, Heineken Fat Festival Bangkok, St Jerome's Laneway Festival, and the Seoul Fringe Festival.
The Observatory is the subject of The Obs: A Singapore Story, a crowd-funded, experimental music documentary. The film premiered at the Singapore International Film Festival in December 2014, and was later screened at the CINEDAYS Festival of European Film in Macedonia, the DORF Music Film Festival in Croatia, and the Bare Bones International Music and Film Festival in the United States.
Musical style Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic, described The Observatory as an "experimental rock group that draws influence from electronica, space rock, and progressive rock..."
Formed in 2001, the band’s early work was characterized by melodic structures and elements of art rock and post-rock. Over time, their music has incorporated darker tones, dissonance, and more abstract forms, drawing on influences from industrial, minimalism, and electroacoustic (electronic acoustic) traditions.
The Observatory has also collaborated with musicians known for their work in noise and improvisational music, including Otomo Yoshihide and Keiji Haino.
Discography Albums Time of Rebirth "Time of Rebirth" (2004) was The Observatory's debut album. Co-produced by Rennie Gomes, it was written and recorded over two and a half years. The recording took place at Yellow Box Studios and band members' homes in Singapore.
Early reception to the demo version was positive among select reviewers. Ivan Thomasz described it as "a timely way station on the journey of life", and Paul Zach praised the official album as being "so achingly, subtly gorgeous, it defies categorization". Despite not receiving airplay on local radio stations, 800 copies of the demo were sold. The full album was distributed by Universal Music Singapore, and sold out its initial pressing of 2,000 copies. Nominating Time of Rebirth as the Best Album of 2004, Razali Abdullah of Today called it "a groundbreaking album so ethereally beautiful...a local band as good as [The Observatory] comes by once a millennium". In The Straits Times, Yeow Kai Chai praised the album, writing, "The Observatory invoke otherworldly beauty through a blend of electric gadgetry and classic instrumentation…gradually laying bare their emotional core while taking your breath away",Yeow Kai Chai (17 October 2003). "Observatory a Revelation". The Straits Times. Page L6. Retrieved 18 August 2014. while Chris Ho praised Time of Rebirth for being "[t]ender and beautiful in its intimacy".Ho, Chris (27 August 2003). "Old Oak Branches Out". The Straits Times. Page 2. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
The album packaging was designed by Kinetic and included a replica diary created by the band members. A music video for "Killing Time" was directed by Royston Tan.
Blank Walls
The band’s second album, Blank Walls, was released in September 2005, produced by The Observatory and Jørgen Træen, and mixed by Træen at Duper Studio in Bergen, Norway.
Today gave the album a 4/5 rating, praising the band for "upping the ante by bringing in new drummer Adam Shah, who gives the band an unexpected edge, and crafting a beautiful opus that is hauntingly powerful" (Today, 2005). Yeow Kai Chai of The Straits Times highlighted how "the band’s audacity can be heard in the way sounds are spliced, unwound, and transplanted without warning." He remarked that "no other Singaporean band, past or present, has captured the imagination quite like The Observatory. In two brief years, this experimental space-rock combo has risen from nowhere to become a premier act spoken about with reverential hush."
The album features artwork by Andy Yang. The Observatory launched the album on the 2nd of September, 2005, with a sold-out concert at the Recital Studio of Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. The band released a music video for the track "Olives," directed by Patrick Ong and Furious to promote the album.
A Far Cry From Here Following Time of Rebirth and Blank Walls, A Far Cry From Here was released on the 15th of May, 2007 and was recorded by Jørgen Træen at Boss Studio in Singapore with Philip Wong. The record was produced by Træen and The Observatory as well as mixed and mastered by Træen at Duper Studio in Bergen, Norway.
The band's influences for the album included Soft Machine, This Heat, Tortoise, Talk Talk, Supersilent, Brian Wilson, Robert Wyatt, Nick Drake and Jaga Jazzist, for whom The Observatory opened at the Mosaic Music Festival in 2007. The band described the album as "a rich and imaginative musical vision, on which vocalist-guitarist Leslie Low builds his pensive, tender yet elliptical song-craft. The adventurous and epic blend seamlessly with restraint and intricacy. Exploring an ocean of sound and emotion, A Far Cry From Here should strike a chord with fans of experimental and progressive-minded classics such as Radiohead's OK Computer, Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden and Wilco's A Ghost Is Born." On Time of Rebirth and Blank Walls are the band front-man Leslie Low's built arrangements. However, the songs on A Far Cry From Here feature song idea contributions from each band member.
Reviewing the album for the Singapore edition of Time Out, Chris Toh wrote that A Far Cry From Here "delves even deeper into experimental melodies and rhythms than the band's previous critically acclaimed albums." The Today review noted how A Far Cry From Here "revels in a sense of unease and is the most obvious sign yet of the band's move away from its past 'ambient candy' sound." Yeow Kai Chai of The Straits Times praised The Observatory for "delving deep and venturing into the unknown...This sense of unease, a constant calibration between heaviness and lightness, informs how the music switches between jazzy delicacy and far-out phases of post-rock noiseniks. It's both the beauty and the beast... it's a ghostly, raw, sometimes intense soundscape with minimal overdubs to frighten off lazy lounge cats."Yeow Kai Chai (6 April 2007). "Seeking out Soul". The Straits Times. Page 94. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
As with previous releases, the band chose non-standard packaging instead of the conventional jewel case. The outer package is a small flap box containing a foldout multi-panel slipcover with information and a CD holder in the last section. A Far Cry From Here was launched on 14 April 2007 at Zouk.
Dark Folke The Observatory continued their longtime collaboration with Jørgen Træen on their fourth album, releasing the record Darke Folke in July 2009. The album was once again produced by Jørgen Træen and the band. Darke Folke was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Jørgen Træen at Duper Studio in Bergen, Norway.
The band describes the work as "a change in musical direction," noting that "the math prog rock of The Observatory's third album A Far Cry From Here has morphed into a fluid, mystical beast called Dark Folke. Most songs have no drums on them. But there is rhythm — only, the kind of rhythm that is tied to an invisible pulse. An implied rhythm. Five folks are sitting around a fire. A metaphorical fire. Chanting for the rain to come."
"Moving away from the melodious constraints of song," Ang Song Ming writes in his review, "Dark Folke veers towards ambiance – an almost asphyxiating kind," calling it the band's Kid A. Noah Berlatsky remarks in Metro Pulse on the album's combination of freak folk, drony psychedelia, and near-metal. Christopher Lim of The Business Times calls Dark Folke "A rich sonic feast.. a diving pool that begs to have its depths plumbed,"Lim, Christopher (3 July 2009). "Singapore's music past and present". The Business Times. Page 29. Retrieved 18 August 2014. while Chris Toh of Today awarded the album 4 out of 5, writing that "Album No. 4 for The Observatory is a great excursion into what making music in Scandinavia in the wintertime sounds like... the album is wonderfully hypnotic."
The CD album came with a hardbound book, designed and drawn by illustrator and designer Justin Bartlett. Dark Folke was also released on double vinyl. A music video for "Mind Roots," directed by Ler Jiyuan, was also released.
In the lead-up to Dark Folke's release, The Observatory collaborated with filmmaker Ho Tzu Nyen and theatre director Kok Heng Leun on Invisible Room, a multimedia work for the Singapore Arts Festival. It features the band performing in an 'inverted' music space. "Invisible Room" is also the title of a Dark Folke song.
Catacombs The Observatory's fifth album, Catacombs, is described by the band as containing "a more primal, new dark wave sound...[a] study in delusion, insanity, and obsession [that] provokes and inspires in a deeply enigmatic way. Even at its coldest and most abstract, it is human to the core." Released in April 2012, the album was produced by Jørgen Træen and The Observatory, recorded. Mixed by Jorgen Traeen and mastered by James Plotkin. The album cover was designed by Keith Utech and the art was done by Thomas Hooper.
Writing that "The Observatory have outdone themselves this time," X' Ho reviewed Catacombs by declaring, "Someday in the future, some pop historian is gonna look back and say – Catacombs marks the beginning of a new horizon in local music for the sheer fact that waywardness in Singapore's ultra-leftfield, alternative-rock has been deemed fetching and unanimously praised with this album." Critic Kevin Mathews praised Catacombs by calling it "an uncompromising honest work of art that expresses the deepest feelings and emotions of the artist and lays them bare for its audience to dissect, absorb and devour." my Paper described Catacombs as "dark, visceral and multi-faceted," promising that it will "get under your skin – and stay there." Yeow Kai Chai of The Straits Times awarded the album four out of five stars, comparing it to the late Scott Walker and noting lyricist Leslie Low's references to Dutch occultist Johann Weyer and French philosopher Michel Foucault, writing that "the band have moved out of the mainstream into the furthest frontiers of the universe."Yeow Kai Chai (27 April 2012). "Wormy Goodness". The Straits Times. Page D6. Retrieved 19 August 2014. Alia Azmi of Juice magazine noted that the album "explores a deeper, heavier sound than their previous works." In 2017, music website Bandwagon ranked Catacombs as the best The Observatory album, writing that "it stands as the band’s crowning achievement in framing primal emotions within intricate instrumentation...an incredible singular statement of artful intention and uninhibited honesty."
The album was designed by Keith Utech, and the artwork was created by Thomas Hooper. Catacombs was released on deluxe CD, digital, and double vinyl. The Observatory launched Catacombs on 20 and 21 April 2012 at The Substation Theatre. The band also released Enter the Catacomb, a series of live sessions featuring the band performing the entirety of Catacombs in the studio.
Oscilla