ABSTRACT
The Second World War led to a virtual standstill of the recording industry in Southeast Asia. In the late forties, the industry resumed business as usual. For example, in Singapore in May 1947, eighteen months after the Japanese capitulation, Pathé (known locally in Malay as ‘Chap Ayam’ or ‘the chicken brand’), a subsidiary of the Anglo-American owned Columbia Graphophone Company, issued new record catalogues. Rival record company His Master’s Voice, a subsidiary of the Anglo-American The Gramophone Company Ltd., followed suit. The two companies advertised for popular hybrid Malay and Chinese song repertoires typical of the pre-war period. No sign of musical innovation or a restructuring of the industry could be yet observed.
