Honne are a UK electronic duo who have been active since 2014. Their debut album, Warm On A Cold Night, came out on Atlantic in 2016 and their most recent album, Let’s Just Say The World Ended A Week From Now, What Would You Do?, was released in 2021.
Now, however, they are turning into a synthpop version of Alan Whicker by working with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to create a series of videos (described as “inside-out in Singapore”) about the city. The deal has been done in partnership with Warner Music Singapore.
The original idea stemmed from the “inside-out” videos Honne created in 2021 where a camera was placed inside a guitar body looking out of the soundhole as they performed acoustic versions of their songs.
So for this partnership, they have taken the same filmic approach of putting a camera inside a guitar and filming as they go around the city.
“Honne are hugely popular in Southeast Asia,” says Terrence Voon, executive director, Southeast Asia, STB. “While many travellers from this region may be familiar with Singapore, we hope Honne’s new take on some of their most-streamed hits will inspire their fans to uncover fresh perspectives of our city.”
Andy Clutterbuck and James Hatcher of Honne added, “Although we’ve been to Singapore several times, we’ve never had the chance to really get to know the city and find out what makes it special. Through this project, we got to immerse ourselves in a range of new and unexpected experiences that showcase why Singapore is such a vibrant place.”
The group have 435k followers on Instagram and within the first day of the first video going live, it had around 14k likes. It was shot in the Joo Chiat/Katong neighbourhood and the band explained they discovered it while on tour when they went looking to buy coffee. “The area is a real feast for the eyes with its pre-war architecture, colourful two-storey shophouses and terraced houses with ornate facades, intricate motifs, and ceramic tiles,” they explained. The videos also tag the various locations they filmed in.
It’s a simple idea that also manages to come across as intimate. While it is a sponsored post, it feels personal and focused on non-obvious areas for tourists to go to in order to get a better feel for the city. This is the diametric opposite of the DJs Complaining Twitter/X account – the group show their love for travel and share some favourite places. Touring does not always have to be a living hell for musicians.
