Photo by Marc Nair
Seyra is a band that enchants listeners with their own brand of dreamy folk-pop. The Singaporean multi-ethnic sextet blends emotional lyricism with layered guitar melodies, soaring hooks, and a distinctive, ethereal voice.
Helmed by soulful vocalist Sarah Ismail—who has been compared to the likes of Feist, Rachael Yamagata and Regina Spektor—the band includes guitarist Khidir Osman, flautist Rupak George, percussionist Zack He, bassist Nadia Rosmaly and drummer Irwan Manap.
They have played at a variety of prominent venues such as Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, The Substation, Timbre and Blu Jaz Café in the city-state. They have also been featured in prestigious festivals like Music Matters, Night Festival, Lit Up, Baybeats and The Singapore Writers Festival.
Known for their groovy live performances, Seyra have taken their act abroad to countries such as Japan, India and Malaysia, and is set to expand their musical horizon ever further. They have shared the stage with a string of international acts—Yuna (MY), Noughts & Exes (HK) and Gabriel Lynch (AU). They have also been featured in media publications such as The Straits Times, Nylon, TimeOut, JUICE and were hailed by Singapore’s TODAY Newspaper as “definitely one name to watch for”.
Seyra was nominated for the “Best Singapore Song” at the regional Malay music industry awards, Anugerah Planet Muzik 2013, for their lead single “Jauh”. The band is currently working on their third studio EP to be released in the later part of 2014.
Media mentions
“... likened to indie pop darlings Feist and Broken Social Scene”
Melissa Kok, ST Life
“... definitely one name to watch for.”
Christopher Toh, TODAY
“... you can only appreciate the full impact of her vocal quality when you experience them live’ ... her voice conveys a very dream-like otherworldly impression”
Elizabethe Er, Esplanade Youths
“They have tremendous potential and it’s evident in their music composition; bold musical experiments, varied sonic textures and complex harmonising riffs, and still keeping it sounding sweet and dreamy.”
PashionAintFassion.tumblr.com
“... Seyra is strong and dominating when the drums pound, trombone belts and guitars boom, while still demonstrating delicateness and quiet emotion when restrained.”
WeTalkMusic.tumblr.com
“Armed with blessed pipes and wistful folk from a lovely bunch of folks, Seyra’s sprightly strain of indie-pop has been keeping us enamored for a good while now.”
Hidzir Junaini, JUICE
“Promising acoustic folk-pop songstress ... Feist-y voice, with the raspy resonance of Regina Spektor and Corinne Bailey Rae”
Time Out Singapore
“... downbeat and hallucinatory ... illumed by ringing guitars and lovely vocal texturing”
Yeow Kai Chai, The Straits Times
“I might have guessed SEYRA was the next up-andcoming
indie pop group out of Canada but so wrong I would have been. SEYRA is a dreamy urban-escapist pop group coming out of Singapore.”
heymouser.com
“... soulful voice of Sarah Ismail and the smooth-chill tempo of guitars, percussion and bass was as close to bliss as humanly possible.”
Weetee Neu, 5MinuteMusic