Eye candy: We talk photography and indie parties with Chris Sim, co-founder of North East Social Club

If you've scrolled through your phone looking for somewhere to be on a Saturday night, you might have come across one of North East Social Club's events.

Today, we speak with one of the founders – Chris Sim, an ever-present figure in almost all of Singapore's creative sub-cultures.

A photographer who's immersed himself in everything's that's caught his interest, Chris' work explores the performative expression of the current generation in his photography, while spotlighting lesser-known local musicians and DJs in the parties he hosts under North East Social Club (NESC).

Here's what he had to say about his experiences and his inspirations.

So tell us, how did you get into photography?

There were some modules in my diploma programme that required photography work, so I picked it up then.

Initially my interests were in gear and the resurgence of 35mm film culture brought about by Lomography, but the medium as a whole hooked me.

At the time, we were exposed to things like web development, graphic design and writing, but photography felt intuitive almost immediately. The Ballad of Sexual Dependency by Nan Goldin in particular was a formative influence.

Your recent series 'on yearning, from the cheap seats' explores the performative reality of the professional wrestling. What about it interests you so?

In professional wrestling, there's a concept known as kayfabe. As I understand it, kayfabe is the acceptance of pro wrestling's staged events as objective reality – which is fascinating!

There's a lot of self-loathing around nowadays so it's refreshing to see a subculture that's so at ease with itself. I could delve more into the psychology of it, but I feel like that's gonna be a 50-page rant.

With this irregular series, I wanted to push kayfabe even further by taking a cinema verite approach to photographing the shows from my seat.

Tight framing, waiting for the performers and people within to fall into place almost like a tableau. Really just highlighting the drama.

Do you think the 'inherent performativity of the first generation to inhabit both physical and digital spaces' is unique in any way in Singapore compared to other places?

No, not at all. I think I'm part of this generation, where widespread internet and social media access came about just as we entered adolescence.

Awkward straddling of IRL and online personas, you know? Slacktivism and all that, using personal branding online as a reflection of your values in meatspace.

A glance at your socials and work shows a heavy involvement in many creative sub-cultures in Singapore. Could you talk about how you came to join these sub-cultures?

I'm just a fly on the wall really. The one I'm most associated with is the indie music industry. 

Raphael from Middle Class Cigars was a schoolmate and he got me on board to make press images for Subsonic Eye in 2017. I was already going to a lot of indie shows then.

Everything else, I just kinda went for it. I like talking to creators, I like finding out about the process. And people like documentation of what they do, most of the time anyway.

North East Social Club has been responsible for many of the newer and more interesting music events in Singapore as of late. What drove you to start it up?

So NESC's co-founder, Natasha (woman of impeccable taste by the way) and I were talking over dinner and felt like there weren't any events we felt super compelled to attend.

Not a knock on other collectives by the way, there was just a lull in shows and stuff back then. Lineups were largely the same, venues were the same or entry was too pricey, and so on. So we decided to organise something we personally wanted to go to.

The team has now expanded to include Esther and Jerome, who've brought their own expertise to the table, which in turn has allowed us to put on a bigger variety of events more regularly.

You recently travelled to New York and hosted a North East Social Club event. How is the scene different in New York as compared to Singapore?

New York City is just bigger. More space, more people, bigger market. There's room for dozens of events to happen on the same Saturday, different spaces that cater to different crowds – different spaces that cater to the same crowd even.

You missed getting tickets to a Comedy Cellar show, no problem, bunch of other comedy clubs on the same street within spitting distance. Grab some pizza or chicken rice (yes, really) while you're walking over.

Or if you're not feeling like comedy any more, turn around and Blue Note Jazz Club is right there.

In Singapore, up until recently, you had maybe three venues that took turns hosting events and very rarely did you see every venue hosting an event the same night for a similar crowd. So overall there were fewer shows, less diversity in what was being put on, which I felt stunted cultural growth.

But! But there's been a strong pivot to having pop-up events at non-dedicated spaces, which is amazing. So many collectives have been putting on events with super high standards every week. It's heartening.

To not answer your question though, there's something Singapore and New York have in common; increasingly, people are mad supportive. They know it's really hard to make a living as a creative and competition is ultimately detrimental to the culture.

A common concern among more alternative and independent circles is the gentrification of spaces and events as publicity grows. Do you think this is a real problem or do you invite the diversity?

There's a cycle I think. On a superficial level, tastes change, things fall in and out of favour all the time.

If you look at music industry trends over the last decade or so, for example, you'll see that pop has gone indie and indie has gone pop.

I don't see the spirit that drives independent ventures going away anytime soon though. If a specific community has urgent needs, say a secure space to operate in away from the prying masses, you can count on members of that community to step up. People will always find a way to get things done.

Any big projects coming up that you'd like to mention from you or North East Social Club?

We have a show, Relevant Materials, coming up on Oct 23 and more events in November and December. That's all I can say right now...

Chris Sim’s work can be found on his Instagram profile and on his website. Keep up with North East Social Club on their Instagram.

This article was first published in City Nomads.