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The Math-Rock duo from Singapore who emphasise harmony and peace of mind.
It’s rare to listen to a modern math-rock song with synthesizer as an ambient enhancement. Altoduo from Singapore reminds me of those 90s math-rock bands and 80s new age musicians who emphasized on atmosphere rather than the soft-loud dynamic we see in post-rock bands nowadays. There’s no juggling of open tuning solo guitar or virtuoso kind of approach. Two of the latest songs, Insomnia (ft. Ridz Razali) and Unwind really drift us away with its repetitive yet meditative bassline which was put on an ambience of synthesizer. John Paul Kwan (bass) and Winifred Tan (drumm) chemistry really blends well and has driven the arrangement and tone of their sound to a zen-like equilibrium. Meanwhile, in terms of the meaning of the song, in the lyricless nature of instrumental math-rock music even though it’s open to audience interpretation, it’s the musician itself that can describe what the song is really about.
Before their latest two singles, the duo also had their first EP called “Revival”. Together with collaborators, they explored different stages of lives with different emotions and intertwined them into instrumental math-rock music.
In their interview by email, Altoduo described their latest song Unwind as: “A blend of soothing bass-driven melodies with complex rhythmic structures that typifies the math-rock genre, “Unwind” is our follow-up single to ”Insomnia.” Combining instruments both traditional and ethnic with those modern and electronic, this tune takes you through the inner turmoil of our generation: a glimmering desire to unwind and find peace, somewhere, somehow, someday.” It can also be described as a search for harmony between the old generation and the new generation as well as to unwind the inner turmoil and find peace.
Altoduo is not the kind of math-rock band that makes your heart race and experiences the roller coaster of soft-loud dynamic. But rather a band that offers music that you can play while you sit back and relax. On the other hand, in the lyricless nature of instrumental math-rock song, although the musician itself can describe what the song is really about, the songs are in fact open to any interpretation.
Altoduo have been working with collaborators e.g. Rappers, Guitarists, Percussionists, Singers locally and from overseas, and also plan to invite more artists for future collabs while maintaining their musical direction & identity as a duo. They are also preparing for their first album soon, estimatedly being released in the end of November or early December 2021. They are also exploring lo-fi yet mathy and bass/drum-centric loops to upload for easy listening on YouTube.
“Insomnia” and “unwind” will then be part of the first full length album at the end of 2021.
altoduo photos by: Shawn Ong Photography
