Urban Xchange – first S’pore band to sign with Universal

Urban Xchange was a homegrown hip-hop group comprising eight members: Trisno Ishak, Syed Munir Alsagoff, Vanessa Fernandez, Michaela Therese, Terrence Leong, Firdaus Bahri, Rathor Humaa and Kimberly Olsen. The band’s big break came when they were chosen to front Coca-Cola’s television commercial for the company’s latest marketing campaign – Life Tastes Good.^[1] The commercial – which was shown on television and in cinemas^[2] –  resulted in international exposure for the band. They caught the attention of Hans Ebert, then vice-president of creative services and corporate communications at Universal Music Asia Pacific, who immediately initiated discussions with the band members.^[3] Urban Xchange subsequently secured a two-year-two-album recording contract with Universal Singapore, making them the first local band to be signed to the company.^[4]

In late 2001, Urban Xchange released its debut 14-track album – How Did We Get Here? – comprising original songs that incorporated elements of garage and R&B (rhythm and blues) music. The band also performed a song – “I Wanna Be Like Jackie Chan” – that Ebert had written for the Asian edition of the Rush Hour 2 movie soundtrack.^[5] Their self-titled second album, which featured a duet  with American  soul  singer Brian McKnight, was  released in December 2002.^[6]

The band  have garnered a number of achievements. They were nominated in the Favourite Music Artist (Singapore) category for the 2003 MTV Asia Awards.^[7]  In 2003,the band won Best Regional English Album at the AIM awards held in Malaysia.^[8]  They were also interviewed by Billboard magazine writer Bill McClure and CNN host Tanonaka Dalton for the regional chat show Talk Asia.^[9]

Although Urban Xchange disbanded at the end of 2003, they will be remembered in Singapore’s music history for being the first local act to sign with Universal Singapore.^[10]

References
1. Ngiau, D. (2001, May 1). This is for real. Today, p. 44. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
2. Nazir Husain. (2002, January 12). Tasting good. Billboard, p. 43. Retrieved October 7, 2014, from: http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=9Q8EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA43&ots=q-3ymZaXX0&dq=urban%20xchange%20first%20to%20sign%20on%20with%20universal%20label&pg=PA43#v=onepage&q=urban%20xchange%20first%20to%20sign%20on%20with%20universal%20label&f=false
3. The Coca-Cola Company (2001, May 19). Get a taste for Urban Xchange.  Retrieved October 7, 2014, from Coca-Cola Singaporewebsite: http://www.coca-cola.com.sg/news/localnews.asp?NeID=18
4. Patrick, S. (2001, July 21). Urban Xchange. Billboard, p. 63. Retrieved October 7, 2014, from: http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=DxUEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA63&ots=_0MFZf-1ud&dq=urban%20xchange%20first%20to%20sign%20on%20with%20universal%20label&pg=PA63#v=onepage&q=urban%20xchange%20first%20to%20sign%20on%20with%20universal%20label&f=false
5. Husain Nazir, 12 Jan 2002, p. 43.
6. Liu, J. (2002, December 28). Urban success. Today, p. 33. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
7. Chia, S. (2003). Interview with Urban Xchange. The Urbanwire. Retrieved October 7, 2014, from: http://theurbanwire.com/feb03/profile4.html; Wee, T. (2002, December 7). Cultural xchange. The Straits Times, p. 6. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
8. Bachik, Hasleen. (2003, April 28). Anak Seni S’pura bersinar di AIM. Berita Harian, p. 12. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
9. Fair Xchange. (2001, October 3). The Straits Times, p. 3. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
10. Tan, S. (2005, May 26). New name, new frequency. The New Paper, p. 25. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.