Damon Koh

Before Me
2025 Single

myqo:
"Before Me"

“Before Me” is a deeply introspective and beautifully restrained piece that turns personal grief into something quietly universal. It does not try to dazzle - it tries to resonate
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🎧 What Critics Are Saying - The Other Side Reviews calls it a “step back to yesteryear” with retro post-punk influences reminiscent of The Cure and Joy Division. The song is praised for its “shimmering synths,” “soaring guitars,” and a “pulsating drum” that evoke a glistening sonic river. Kevin Wright’s vocals add a “hazy, wistful veil” over the track, while Benjamin Hwang’s production brings “maturity and raw passion”.
- Rock Era Magazine describes it as “an aching meditation on loss,” with shoegaze-infused layers that “wash over the listener with both tenderness and weight.” The refrain “I never knew you’d go before me” is highlighted as a simple yet devastating line. The song is framed as a communal reflection on grief, not just a personal lament.
- Sleeping Bag Studios emphasizes the song’s emotional integrity, noting that it’s “well written” and “evocative,” with a mood that’s “mired in sadness.” The review compares the sound to a cross between Matthew Sweet and Placebo, and acknowledges Slowdive as a key influence. The track is praised for its “focused execution” and “haunting chill” in its opening line.

Stereo Stickman review of 'Before Me'
Sleeping Bag Studio's review of 'Before Me'
The Other Side Reviews' review of 'Before Me'
Rock Eras' review of 'Before Me'
Roadie Music's review of 'Before Me'

Damon Koh · Before Me (feat. Kevin Wright)

The Longest Chase
2025 Single

myqo:
"The Longest Chase"

"The Longest Chase" is a dreamy and melancholic dream-pop journey, inspired by an Adam Tie poem, "Space". With lush synths and reverb-drenched guitars, the song tells the story of a man traversing the vastness of space in search of his lost lover. Fans of Beach House and Alvvays will resonate with its ethereal soundscapes and wistful lyricism.
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The past three myqo songs all featured guest vocalists, and I felt that finding the right vocalist would be a challenge for this genre. I thought I should give it a shot, given that I have a slightly higher vocal range for a male, and potentially can work with a dream pop track. The double tracking, delays and reverb definitely helped. Besides my lack of confidence in my vocals, the synth-heavy track is also something less tackled by my producer Benjamin - but I thought he handled it skillfully. Still feeling quite vulnerable in terms of musicality of this track even a month after the song's release, I can only assure myself this is what experimentation is about.

Stereo Stickman review of 'The Longest Chase'

We Can't Be Strangers After This
2025 Single

myqo:
"We Can't Be Strangers After This (feat keziadt)"

A girl-meets-boy tale of young love, filled with anticipation, excitement and anxiety. Inspired by the wistful tunes by Singaporean indie bands (like Serenaide, Electrico) of the 90s and 2000s, the song incorporates a lead guitar evoking the longing admiration and and lush vocal harmonies from Keziadt.
The whole song started from the idea of repeating the first line of a stanza, like in "If You Really Love Nothing" by Interpol. After the lyrics were largely completed, the arrangement was initially going with slow pop vibes similar to "What Was I Made For" by Billie Eilish. But I just could not get it to work well, and it felt tired. It made more sense to speed the song up to get that feeling of anticipation.

Stereo Stickman review of 'We Can't Be Strangers After This'"'

Damon Koh · We Can't Be Strangers After This

scream
2024 Single 14 July

myqo:
"scream (feat Raphael Goh)"

Written in 2023 during sabbatical, this song took a long time to record and complete. Raphael was recommended by Joel to lend his vocals. Many songs explore themes like heartbreak or social and political issues. This song takes a different approach, delving into the world of Edvard Munch's iconic painting The Scream. I tried to capture the essence of depersonalization disorder, translating the painting's intense emotions and turmoil into lyrical form. Each verse takes the listener in the protagonist's surreal and distressing experience, bringing the haunting artwork to life through music.

SleepingBagStudios review of 'scream'
Stereo Stickman review of 'scream'

The Prescription
2024 Single

myqo:
"The Prescription (feat Ryou)"

myqo is a new beginning after some musical heartbreak during the sabbatical of 2023. Feeling that I was stuck in a rut, I needed to make music differently, so that I have a better chance of better musical output. I decided that collaboration is the way to go. I teamed up with Avalea Studios and Joel Gan for the recording and production, and leaned on Roy (aka Ryou) to do the vocals, for The Prescription, which was first included in Blue Straits. I thought the vocals was too demanding for what I could do then, and Ryou could bring it to a higher level. This song is about defying a known-good prescribed path towards success but wakes up to the reality of desolation. I wrote it as a refinement to post-punk revival, and paired it with Ryou's distinctive pain-stained j-rock inspired vocals to bring a new twist to the sound.

Blue Straits
2021 EP

Damon:
"Blue Straits"

I vented my frustrations in the structurally weird "A Minor Dent", writing about a song that no one cares and no one knows. "Warning!" was inspired by a Gilbert Koh's poem "Warning to a lover" There was something special about "The Prescription" for me, the core of the song was written in a very short time while I'm doused in Interpol's Matador album. "Elemental" is my song about the inaction to climate change.

Damon Koh · Blue Straits EP

Embers
2020 EP

Damon:
"Embers" was named after a bandmates' daughter ('Amber') but the parents decided to change her name at the last minute. This eclectic collection of songs starts to depart from the gloomy and sombre tones of "Insecurity". If "Songs for Frey" is about death, "Insecurity" is about loss, "Embers" is about rebounding from it.

"Green" is one of the first few songs I wrote, about someone thinking of a person who has departed. "Now Here We Go" was combining sketches written after watching Punch Drunk Love and the song is about a socially awkward person looking for love, and elements of Mat Rock. "With You" was taken off another poem "So Many Things" "Marina Coastal Expressway" started off as an songwriting exercise passed to me by a dear friend / bandmate JM, but the end result turned out totally different from the initial material. This song attempts to paint a slice of life of foreign labourers in Singapore.

Damon Koh · Embers

Insecurity
2018 EP

Damon:
"Insecurity" is a prominent feeling i have for 2017. Where is my career leading to? Am i happy? How should i handle my songwriting drought? Am i spending enough quality time with my children? Am i engaging my bandmates sufficiently, or am i over-doing it? Am i living my life fruitfully?

The collection of songs captures a definite gloom but offers some positivity in the last track. "Stay a little Longer" is a rework of "Stay", found in the first Regular Expressions EP "Songs for Frey". "Something for the souls" is the first composition that The Regular Expressions has written together - but wasn't recorded outside the jamming studio. The idea behind "Now that we're over" was to deconstruct my favourite Arctic Monkey's track and work with the "Insecurity" theme. Finally "Has to be Love" was the song that took the longest to write and record - even so, i am still not entirely satisfied with the current version and still seek to improve it.

Damon Koh · Insecurity EP

Escape to Keong Saik Road
2016 EP

Damon:
'Escape To Keong Saik Road' EP is my solo EP (the only one without Roy!) about escapes to your personal sanctuary. The stories are not uniquely Singaporean, but it is not difficult to imagine a substantial segment of the Singaporean population shares or emphatizes with these same stories. These songs are minimally mixed and produced, primarily due to limited resources, time, experience and expertise.

"What Can Go Wrong" is about rediscovering love. The refrain can be first interpreted as contempt, then as fear of a false assumption, and finally emerge as assurance. This song is mainly influenced by Alex Turner / The Arctic Monkeys. "Be With Me"'s opening line "Never Let Me Go" came from Ishiguro's novel (adapted into film which i caught). The main theme of the song is about a long-distance relationship. "On The Verge of Euphoria" was composed over many late night drinks in solitude while defending ancients. Initial versions of the song used a harsh megaphone effect on the vocals.

Damon Koh · Escape To Keong Saik Road

Songs for Frey
2015 EP

Damon:
"Songs for Frey" is the first EP from Regular Expressions, written for and dedicated to the Man.

One of my favourite compositions, "Stay", was written in close collaboration with all members of the band. The song describes the dissolve of a band and the bittersweet memories of the last few jamming sessions. "The Sun and the Air" was inspired by The Smiths, and a song about contemplating near the end of life. "Out of Time" was the more experimental track of this EP with a blazing bass part by Wei Ping during the bridge.

Damon Koh · Songs for Frey - The Regular Expressions

In 2014, I made a resolution to write and record songs, at a pace of around 3 songs per year, for the next 10 years. 7 years and 21 songs in, I learned a lot - from the more tangibles, writing guitar lines, to singing, songwriting, mixing and learning new intruments, to the more intangibles, on perseverance and self-reflection. As i write more songs, I have a stronger urge to capture some parts of Singapore, and my memories of Singapore and encapsulate them into songs. The lonesome journey in creating songs is tough and has quite some grind. But when I hear the songs, usually after some time, it is very personally rewarding to feel the emotions that I wanted to elicit. I guess the only way, is to keep trudging on.