The music director of the 881 movie soundtrack did not originally plan for an album release, and certainly never expected one to sell well locally.

Defying the odds, the 881 movie soundtrack has surpassed expectations by becoming the best-selling local music soundtrack with 12,000 copies sold. 

The Observer spoke to the producers during the album promotion and concert in NUS on Sept.12 . 

Eric Ng, the 31-year-old music director of the soundtrack, said, “We never expected the soundtrack to sell. All we wanted was for it to be different from other soundtracks, and to hope for the best.” 

Ng, who is also the executive director of the Funkie Monkies record label, said serious consideration on recording an album occurred only one month before movie production wrapped up. 

Ng's said he felt the relatively small music market in Singapore lacked critical mass and was a deterrent to producing an album. 

He said, “To give you an idea, usual CD sales for a normal commercial pop album is around 1000 to 2000 (copies).” 

With the first album breaking the local sales record, a second soundtrack is in the works and is scheduled to be out soon. 

Ng added that the success of the 881 soundtrack is an interesting phenomenon in Singapore. 

“This was done almost entirely in Singapore, and we’re in the process of making a new soundtrack for the movie,” he said. 

It is also the first professional album produced under the Funkie Monkies label. 

Assistant producer Wu Jiahui, who is also the singer of the theme song, “One Half”, said he has never produced an album before this. 

“I didn’t have any relevant experience, and yet we still managed to pull it off,” he said. 

Current album sales has covered the initial production costs of about $100,000 and is making a profit. 

Part of the success of the album can be attributed to the poignant realism of the songs. 

The song, Black May, or Shen Wai Wu (mortal beings), was written as five friends died unexpectedly in the month of May during the production of the movie. 

Wu said, “It is a song that shows that we are all mortal objects – that everything is temporal.” 

Traditional Hokkien songs were arranged with contemporary music in order to make them appealing to younger Singaporeans. 

He said, “If we throw the Hokkien songs wholesale, the youngsters won’t be really drawn to it. 

“That’s the power of pop culture. It shows that music is language-less." 

However, Ng said the success of 881 does not mean that the future of the local music industry is certain as Singaporeans are generally apathetic and unappreciative. 

He cites the largely unreceptive response from NUS students during their performance as an example. 

The Observer noted a handful of applause from a small group audience members after the lunch-time performance at the Central Forum. 

“I noticed Singaporeans have this low burning passion. People in the schools that I’ve been to respond very little to us,” Ng added. 

Sunil Mandalia, a first-year arts and social sciences student, said, “I think a possible explanation for this is that NUS students are generally more familiar with English songs than Chinese songs. But I enjoyed myself. I thought the performance was good.” 

Ng explained that many local musicians are not willing to take the risk and start out too early because it is not a lucrative business. 

As a result, no new generation of young musicians are willing to go professional because they lack local support. 

Ng said, “Anyone in the creative industry has to be willing to step out, willing to do something that the others are not doing. 

“If you want to do something for passion, you cannot expect practical returns.”