There’s no denying the amount of musical talent we have on our shores. But for a truly Singapore-centric playlist, these names—spanning Malay-English rap and chugging guitar riffs, to dulcet, undulating Tamil R&B and Jungle beats—are who you should be bobbing your head to.
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How did Krunkle come about?
All of us have played in bands prior to forming Krunkle and we’ve been quite involved with the scene. Similarly to quite a few other bands, we came out of COVID-19 having spent most of our time writing music in quarantine. When the rules and regulations were eased and we could finally attend shows, that was when we got offered to play our first gig. We’ve gone to play many more shows in this period, and it was only until a year later that we released our self-titled debut EP, Krunkle.
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Who has influenced your sound?
There are no direct influences, but rather the appreciation of a certain kind of sound or band that has led to it. We break down the things we enjoy about what we listen to and use that as an influence in our writing. None of us have studied music theory or have a “real” understanding of music. The writing is an extension of our influences.
What sets Krunkle apart from other bands?
Everyone in the band writes and we all have our own thing going on outside of music, too. We kind of see the band as unique individuals from different backgrounds coming together to express our take on creating Krunkle’s sound. Dzak is a model and barber, Wayne’s a tattoo artist, and Justin runs a creative label, Preety Chill.
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What local music acts would you recommend?
Five-piece garage punk band, Silicon, caught our attention recently with some really cool stuff. We also enjoy Fauxe’s solo band project, ROKBAN, which is absurdly underrated. Oh, and listen to Class Sinners.
What's next?
We’re currently working on a full-length album, which we project will be released in the last quarter of this year or early next year.
Listen to Krunkle if you like…
Smashing Pumpkins, The Stone Roses and Yuck.
Photographed by JAYA KHIDIR
Hairstylist GREGO
Make-up Artist RINA SIM using Lancôme