INCH CHUA

Fitting iNCH into a caricature of her namesake would be a misnomer. Always surprising people with her breadth of musicianship and depth of personality, iNCH is never afraid to venture into the discomforting umbra of artistry to push her own limits and challenge popular perceptions. One can imagine her as a musical nomad with the spirit animal of a mouse deer — endangered, private and mysterious, yet when revealed is honest and vulnerable — a contradiction of meekness and artfulness. Such unpredictability makes this pint-sized Singaporean singer-songwriter all the more an exciting paradox to embark on a musical adventure with.

A performance veteran in her own right, she has a solid breadth of experience on the world’s stage — from major local events such as Baybeats, Singapore International Festival of the Arts, Singapore Arts Festival, Singapore Night Festival, F1 Grand Prix, Youth Olympic Games — to other lauded arts festivals in Asia and beyond, including Beijing MIDI Music Festival, South by Southwest Festival (SxSW) in Texas, CMJ Music Marathon in New York, TEDxWomen in Washington, and the Canadian Music Week in Toronto. As a further nod to her abilities, iNCH opened for international acts Katy Perry, Vampire Weekend, and The Like, and even appeared in theatre (icon Kuo Pao Kun’s Lao Jiu).

One of iNCH’s most recent career highlights includes being the opening main act in her local record label House of Riot!’s landmark triple bill at The Esplanade, Singapore’s premier performing arts centre. iNCH, along with label mates veteran indie-rock band The Great Spy Experiment and the prodigious Charlie Lim, became the first indie collective to perform in The Esplanade’s grande dame – the 1,600 seater Concert Hall.

iNCH’s restless artistic imagination also goes beyond the realms of melody and harmony. She published her first book, Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea, in 2014 — a book that opens up yet another facet of this multi-talented young lady, revealing to us that behind her already-accomplished musical capabilities lie equally-fascinating visual art sensibilities which are an inseparable part of her creative process.

Even so, iNCH has never allowed these achievements and successes to define her as a musician. Through sheer hard work and a heart that stays grounded with her love for people, she carves every experience into her craft and relentlessly hones her innate musical gifts. Her debut EP, The Bedr