Red Dot Sessions

Bennett Bay is a musician based in Singapore whose sound is inspired by everyday occurrences, personal values and pastoral imagery. An acoustic guitar stands at the core of his music, with flourishes of string quartets and brass trios. His music harkens to Sigur Rós, Explosions in the Sky and Nick Drake. Bennett debuted his first solo performance at the Esplanade Concourse in 2015 and was invited to perform at the inaugural Neon Lights Festival, held at Fort Canning Park. He was one of four local musicians to play alongside international acts such as Damien Rice, Rachael Yamagata, Mogwai, and more. He was also the first Singaporean musician to perform at the annual Electric Picnic Festival in Ireland, alongside renowned acts such as The XX, London Grammar and Phoenix. Bennett has been making his mark in the local arts scene ever since, landing an endorsement deal with Maestro Guitars, a local brand of handcrafted guitars based in Singapore.

His debut single, Komorebi, was released in April 2016, followed by his debut LP, Compass, in January 2017, which was accompanied by a launch show, where Bennett was joined by a 12-piece ensemble. Compass tells the story of a family whose eldest child is missing and follows this child’s progression into the wilderness as they attempt to find their way back home. Bennett went on to release his second album, In Memory Of, in September 2018, an album dedicated to the memory of a late friend. In January of 2020, Bennett released a three-song EP entitled Little Old Town, featuring songs that he wrote on a solo trip to Japan.

Bennett is currently preparing to release a solo acoustic guitar album. The album will include a collection of songs written in 2020, and features music written for solo acoustic fingerstyle guitar to revisit his roots in music. He released the single Old Cottage in April 2021, Empty Train Waltz in December 2021, and the full album For Better Tomorrows in June 2023. Bennett is currently in the midst of writing his fourth full length album, which harks back to his earliest album Compass and will feature a large band.

Over the years, Bennett has worked closely with the local theatre company Patch and Punnet. He has composed music and done sound design for various projects such as The Adventures of Abhijeet (2019), Fika and Fishy (2020), Lil Shake Vol. 1 & 2 (2021 & 2022), The Secret Life of Haw Par Villa (2022) and McBeat and The Lil’ Shake Crew (2022). He has also worked with The Finger Players providing music and sound design for their project Scam On You (2022). He is the composer for the original musical The Paiseh Pieces (2023) produced by The Second Breakfast Company in February 2023. Most recently, he has worked on the music and sound design for Crack The Case: Backstage Betrayal (2024) by Sightlines Co. and Strawberries Inc., as well as And The Cats Dance By The Light (2024) by the Intercultural Theatre Institute.

Shak'thiya, also known as Shak, is a Singaporean songwriter from Jurong. He believes less is more and that the music alone is enough to speak on his behalf. Dabbling in soul, rhythm & blues, he has played numerous of shows and festivals both locally and overseas. Someday he hopes to stop speaking in the third person perspective.