SINGAPORE, Oct 30 — At a superficial level, Suasion can be said to be a fusion of diversity: Lead singer-guitarist Michael Intrator is Swiss while the rest of the band — lead guitarist Chris Bong, drummer Alvin Lim and bassist Lyndsey Long are Singaporean. But this combination certainly adds flavour to the musical mix, said Intrator.

“I think somewhere being away from home means I have more vivid nostalgic memories about some of the stunning scenery that can be seen back home,” he said. “Writing about it and incorporating some of that imagery into our songs such as with ‘Drinking on Sunshine’ comes from a passion to share those landscapes with everyone.”

Suasion will be sharing those musical landscapes when they launch their EP tonight at The Substation. It marks an interesting ride for the band, which began when Intrator and Bong found each other via a group post and started performing together as a duo, mainly playing covers at various pubs. But after a while, this was not enough.

“Although we were having a blast jamming and performing as a simple duo, we both felt that it was time to evolve, and that meant finding someone to lay some beats,” recounted Bong, “Alvin Lim was a welcomed addition to the team, both for his percussion and design skills. Again as a trio, we continued playing mostly covers but slowly began to work on our originals which we performed intermittently, mainly at the Hard Rock Cafe on Orchard. But we again hit a plateau where we felt we needed another element, namely bass, and another vocal layer.”

Enter Lyndsey Long. “I was never a bassist until Chris asked me last September if I’d be interested in jamming with his band as they were looking for a bassist/second backing vocalist. Prior to that, I only played rhythm guitar in my hall band till I graduated in 2011. I did own a bass that I bought off someone on (website) soft.com though,” explained Long, who also plays with all-female band, Rock Rosettes.

Just don’t bandy any “rose among the thorns” comments when it comes to their music.

“I think that gender is irrelevant when it comes to music to a certain degree,” Long said. “This might offend some people, but I can’t accept it when comments like ‘wah, female bassist’, ‘eh, your bassist can actually play’, or ‘I think female bassists are really hot’ are passed.

“Were you expecting that I can’t play and am just there for show? Why do I have to start playing before you can take me seriously? I’m not even good looking. You mean slinging a bass guitar changes that? To all this, I say, ‘If (you think) I s*** it’s not because I’m female. I s*** because I didn’t practice’. You can quote me on that.”

While Suasion deal in melodic pop-rock with country-folk inflections and three-part harmonies, the band is hesitant to define or pigeonhole their music.

“(The) styling comes from a place of familiarity for all four of us drawing on music that we ourselves enjoy listening to,” said Bong. “I feel it wasn’t a conscious decision to write in a particular way but it was what came naturally from us.”

Perhaps what was less natural for these four distinct personalities was the behind-the-scenes work required in order to self-release an EP with an accompanying launch show.

“None of us truly realised the mammoth task we undertook by deciding to arrange, record, produce, release, market and launch this EP in six months... But what an incredible experience!” Long remarked. “We have had the privilege of working with truly brilliant musical minds including the hidden genius behind capturing our sound, Leonard Soosay (of Snakeweed Studios) who recorded the EP.”

Suasion will pull out all the stops to deliver a powerful launch show with guest session players to flesh out the sound, including James Fernando on guitar, Vick Low on cello, Esther Low on keyboards, Joanna Lim on saxophone, Christopher Yong Lin on trumpet and Jeremy Lee on trombone.

“In the last six months we have explored so many new ideas on the harmony arrangements — which Chris and Lyndsey pull off effortlessly — as well as writing for the first time for cello and for a horn section,” Intrator explained.

“Our sound is definitely made richer through the addition of these layers and we are extremely grateful to the talented musicians behind those layers.”

Beyond the launch show, Suasion have ambitions to bring their music overseas. “Touring overseas is definitely something we have thought of extensively. Coming from Europe, I think the connection there is perhaps easier to leverage and touring Switzerland, the United Kingdom as well as some neighbouring countries is definitely possible,” enthused Intrator.

“But that is another massive project, which we will undoubtedly leave to next year. As a band, we have grown together immensely through the process and that chemistry will be felt on stage no matter where we perform, and that in itself has made the process unforgettable!” — TODAY