Singapore, 4 November 2005, Friday - R&B fans are in for a rare treat at this Sunday's SPH Gift of Music concert at the Botanic Gardens.

Featuring a Singapore-based group called Fuze, the hour-long concert will feature performances of R&B music made famous by all-time greats such as Al Green and The Whispers, and contemporary giants John Legend and Usher.

The hour-long concert will be performed on Sunday, 6 November at the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage at Singapore Botanic Gardens at 6pm.

The five members of Fuze are all multi-talented musicians, each with an inimitable flair for soul, jazz and R&B. They've played widely, from select local gigs to regional and international music concerts.

Making up Fuze:

Casey Subramaniam, who learnt jazz from his mother, a professional singer. He plays bass and sings, and has performed with Asian greats Michael Veerapan, Louis Pragasam, Sheila Majid and Ning Baizurah. He has performed extensively at major concerts such as the Asian Jazz Festival, Culture Exchange Jazz Fusion in Japan and the Esplanade's Contemporary Jazz Concert series.

Syed Munir (a.k.a. Mr Moon) has been in the music industry for more than a decade. He is currently a member of psychaedelic rock band Parking Lot Pimp, and has played in virtually every 'happening' venue in Singapore, from Zouk and Swing, to the Esplanade, the National Stadium and Chijmes.

Wayne Gideon is a drummer extraordinaire. He has played with percussionist Steve Thornton, as well as with jazz greats Eldee Young and Jeremy Monteiro, and contemporary artistes Sheila Majid and Ning Baizurah. Born in Malaysia, Wayne's work has taken him around the region for the past 17 years of his music industry involvement.

Fendi Sahid (a.k.a. Fuze) is an R&B vocalist who is steadily working on creating his own stylised form of dance soul music in a genre known as "soul free", drawing on electronic music, in collaboration with DJ ET and DJ Kaye. From corporate events and gigs, to major festival appearances and advertising jingles, Fendi's experience and versatility are well-respected.

Chok Kerong began playing the piano at the age of 4, and hasn't looked back since. As an improviser, his style is described as "muscular and risk-taking", and influenced by the likes of Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. He has played at many jazz clubs in Singapore, and has also worked in studio on albums by Singapore Idol Taufik Batisah, Sheikh Haikel, Parking Lot Pimp and Penny Tai.

Together, Fuze promises an uncommonly atmospheric R&B concert experience. (Images available upon request)

This concert is part of the year-long Gift of Music series presented by media group Singapore Press Holdings to share the joy of music with the community and to celebrate Singapore's 40th Anniversary.

The series, which began in May 2005, features more than 20 concerts traversing different genres of music, from pop, Latin and R&B, to jazz, Asian percussion, choral, Western classical, Chinese opera and children's puppets, and promises to be wholesome and entertaining, with something for everyone.

The key partners collaborating with SPH in this Gift of Music series, which ends in April 2006, are the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra and a host of individuals and groups representing some of the most recognised names in Singapore music, as well as carefully-selected overseas acts.

The SPH concerts at the Botanic Gardens fall on the first Sunday of every month. In addition to these, SPH will also bring concerts to the community with performances in the heartlands, public areas and parks as part of its outreach efforts to connect with the community.

The concert series is one of many outreach events which SPH supports as part of its broadening community involvement. Each year, the media group contributes to a diverse range of education, arts and culture, community, conservation, sports and charitable projects. SPH was recently named the top corporate giver in Singapore in a survey carried out by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre, and has been bestowed the Distinguished Patron of the Arts award every year since 1993.

Issued by Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Co. Regn. No: 198402868E

For more information, please contact:

Audrey Perera
Senior Manager
Corporate Relations
DID: 6319 22261 or 96179005
Email: audreyp@sph.com.sg

About Singapore Press Holdings Ltd
Main board listed Singapore Press Holdings Limited is the leading media company in Singapore, in the print, Internet and broadcasting platforms. It publishes 13 newspapers in the four official languages and more than 80 magazine titles in Singapore and the region. Everyday, 2.8 million individuals, or 88 per cent of the people above 15 years old, read one of the SPH publications. Its Internet Business Unit manages the online editions of SPH's major newspapers and magazines, which together enjoy over 300 million page views a month. SPH also owns a 20% stake in MediaCorp TV Holdings Pte Ltd, which operates free-to-air channels 5, 8, U and TV Mobile, and a 40% stake in MediaCorp Press Pte Ltd, which publishes free newspaper Today. SPH operates two entertainment radio channels, UFM 100.3 FM in Chinese and WKRZ 91.3 FM in English, under a joint venture company UnionWorks with NTUC Media, and owns an 80% stake in SPH MediaBoxOffice Pte Ltd, Singapore's largest LED network media company.

For more information about SPH, please log on to www.sph.com.sg