One for the books: Singaporean DJ collectives come together for 'The Last Mile'

In a tribute to the Golden Mile Complex, a building space that has served various communities, creatives and sub cultures in Singapore since 1973, a tight knit collective will be conglomerating with fellow local DJs on Saturday, 4 March, to host The Last Mile.

The community-fuelled party arises as the Golden Mile Complex was gazetted as a ‘conserved building’ by Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in October 2021, and was mandated for collective sale in April last year; the retail mandate means existing tenants and their long-held businesses will be forced out by May 1 this year. As a ‘conserved building’, the facade and external structure will remain the same, for now.

The building’s importance starts with it being ‘Little Thailand’, aptly for its popularity with Thai culture spots that include massage parlours, mom and pop kitchens, karaoke halls, cinema rooms, grocery stores and plenty more. To boot, the Golden Mile Complex served as an inspiring and safe space for designers, photographers, skaters, musicians and dancers.

‘The Last Mile’ sprung up through mutual compulsion amongst some of the city’s most influential and creative music minds including Nick Bong and Daniel O’Connor of Ice Cream Sundays, as well as Ulysses James and Dang Chau of Mugic (who were responsible for the many years of successful parties at Purn Rao KTV).

The collective goal: “to organise a tribute to the inimitable landmark in the only way they know how.”

13 homegrown outfits are on the entertainment roll call for an eight and half-hour romp across five different spaces (3Saaap, Elite Club, Enclave, Purnrao KTV, Room 0416) in the Golden Mile Complex. The line-up includes artists from:

Darker Than Wax
Good Times
Ice Cream Sundays
Life in Arpeggio
Mugic
North East Social Club
Pushin' On
Revision Music
Strange Weather
Super Enjoy
Syndicate
Therapy Room
Thug Shop

Through their respective collectives, the heavily reputed echelon of Singaporean talent on display includes daytime selectors, an uncompromising spectrum of bass music, eclectic and experimental tastemakers, underground club purveyors as well as the city’s newcomers, you can only expect the event to make it to the history books.

An additional tribute will be made to William Lim who passed away in January this year; the late architect was integral to Golden Mile Complex's design, and an avid supporter of the city's arts and culture scene.

If you're in Singapore, you're advised to attend 'The Last Mile' which will be held on Saturday, 4 March, 2023, at the Golden Mile Complex from 7.30pm to 4am. Tickets and more information here.

Arun Ramanathan is Mixmag Asia’s Director. Follow him on Instagram.

[Images via Golden Mile Complex]