The Straits Times Podcasts S1E2: Singaporean electronic pop singer Jasmine Sokko on covering her face and finding fame in China
The winner of the Best South-east Asia Act award at the 2019 MTV Europe Music Awards is our second guest in this new music channel.
Synopsis: Each month, The Straits Times invites music acts to its podcast studio.
In the second episode of Music Lab, ST's music correspondent Eddino Abdul Hadi hosts award-winning Singapore singer, songwriter, and producer Jasmine Sokko.
Jasmine made her debut in 2016 with a self-released single 1057. Over the years, the self-taught producer has risen from cult local favourite to regional pop star, amassing a large following after reaching the finals of Rave Now, a Chinese reality television programme for electronic music acts.
In 2019, she became the first Singaporean to win Best South-east Asia Act award at the 2019 MTV Europe Music Awards held in Spain.
The enigmatic artiste is also known for covering part of her face with a mask, and has never revealed her full face in publicity photos.
The singer, who shuttles between China and Singapore, almost had her music career derailed during the pandemic lockdowns. But she is now back in 2023 with new music with Winter, a single that marks a new chapter in her artistry.
Highlights (click/tap above):
1:49 Listen to Jasmine Sokko's new single in 2023 - Winter - which Eddino describes as having a different 'industrial rock-type' sound compared with her previous works
2:13 How Winter marks the end of a chapter in her music career and the start of a new beginning
6:45 How her music is inspired by everything that she absorbed growing up as a Singaporean
11:55 How she ended up making music in China despite not being fluent in Mandarin
13:46 How the pandemic lockdowns almost derailed her music career
15:46 Why she covers her face with a mask
21:00 On juggling school and her music career
26:20 The moment she realised she wanted to make music full-time, no matter the odds
Discover Singaporean artiste Jasmine Sokko at:
YouTube: https://str.sg/iZgT
Spotify: https://str.sg/iZgq
TikTok: https://str.sg/iZgc
Produced by: Eddino Abdul Hadi (dinohadi@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Teo Tong Kai and Eden Soh
Edited by: Teo Tong Kai
Follow Music Lab Podcast episodes here every month:
Channel: https://str.sg/w9TX
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/w9TB
Spotify: https://str.sg/w9T6
Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/w9T2
SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/
Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Read Eddino Hadi's stories: https://str.sg/wFVa
Music Lab theme: Eden Soh (composer/arranger-guitar), Ernest Luis (guitar)
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Discover more ST podcast channels:
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m
ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX
Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
Discover BT Podcasts: https://bt.sg/pcPL
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Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (new): https://str.sg/i44T
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2
Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn
Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB
Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa
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