This Saturday, a slew of young Singaporean bands are coming together for a very special show – a memorial gig in honour of the late Jonathan Chow and Aidil Iskandar.

The show, dubbed Pay Your Respects and held at SLED Productions x Decline, will feature a grand total of 11 acts, including Bakers in Space (pictured, left), I, Devotion (pictured, right), FXTRT, Emily in Denial and more. Several of the bands' members either knew of or were friends with these two teens who tragically passed last year – Jonathan when he fell from Orchard Gateway last February, and Aidil when he was involved in a motorbike accident. Jonathan was 17 and Aidil 18. Both frequently attended shows and were particularly passionate about rapping and hip-hop.

Saturday's show, held on the anniversary of Jonathan's death, was organised by Mateen, of Unknown Serenity and rap group Undonted, who was also a close friend to both Jonathan and Aidil. Last June, he and a couple of friends organised a gig at Analog Woodlands to mark Jonathan's 18th birthday.

"He was obsessed with the idea of turning 18, or as we call it, turning legal," Mateen explained to Bandwagon. "The show was a complete success and we decided to make another show the next year for the anniversary of Chow's death." 

Aidil is in the back row, in a pink shirt and yellow pants. Jonathan is in the front row, in the centre. Photo courtesy of Mateen.

When asked how he would like Jonathan and Aidil to be remembered, Mateen was effusive:

I would like Chow to be remembered as a very positive person. Almost never depressed and always had his head up and always happy. A daredevil, a friggin amazing skater and a person people LOVED to be around with. Not the brightest person with decision making as he was always getting into trouble, but still a darn good friend and companion.

Whereas Aidil, was the most loyal, strong, religious, faithful and straightforward friend. A man of conviction, someone with not much to begin with but that never stopped him from getting what he wanted and doing what he needed to do for himself, his family, friends and his religion. Just the two best people you can ever meet. Irreplaceable.

Pay Your Respects – featuring Bakers in Space, I, Devotion, FXTRT, Emily in Denial, The Parallax Error, After Minutes, Unknown Serenity and more – will take place at SLED Productions x Decline on 24 February at 5pm. Entry costs $15.

Watch a video of the 2017 show played in tribute to Jonathan Chow below: