meet the team
EDWIN WALIMAN
PARTNER / DIRECTOR – OPERATIONS
Edwin started his journey into the music industry as the bassist of pop/rock band The Summer State, performing at various music festivals across Asia and opening for international rock bands, Simple Plan, Yellowcard and more.
Edwin’s curiosity for the business aspect of the music industry led him to join Secret Signals in 2013 and eventually became a full-fledged partner in 2017. Edwin oversees all day-to-day operations of the business, leading PR & marketing campaigns for clients as well as developing new opportunities in the region with partners.
Edwin is also the co-creator for the cultural phenomenon EMONIGHTSG under the collective Look Ma, No Hands!, making waves in the nightlife scene and providing a platform for the alternative-rock community and subculture in Singapore. EMONIGHTSG has performed at major festivals (Singapore F1 Grand Prix, Singapore Rugby Sevens, Baybeats Festival & more) and hosted scene legends Ryan Key (Yellowcard), Shane Told (Silverstein) & Kyle Patrick (The Click Five).
audrey ong
PARTNER / DIRECTOR – PARTNERSHIPS
Audrey has 10 years of experience in the fashion and arts industries. Her positions as a creative strategist and project manager have led her to work on the conceptualisation and curation of a plethora of lifestyle and entertainment projects in Southeast Asia as well as Japan and Italy.
From managing international fashion week operations for luxury brands and Haute Couture designers, to developing programmes that harness the capabilities of young local creatives, to executing large-scale events placing artists and brands in a position to win new audiences.
Here at Secret Signals, Audrey’s responsibilities include pursuing opportunities for long-term growth for the company as well as maintaining relationships with clients and partners.
She is constantly on the lookout for opportunities to smash gender stereotypes, except for driving. She’s really bad at driving.
KEVIN WIYARNANDA
COUNTRY MANAGER, INDONESIA
Kevin has always found solace in music both behind the microphone under the moniker VVYND, and behind the scenes as a public relations executive.
In the past six years, Kevin has worked with multiple international-scale music festivals in Indonesia that gathered some of the world’s biggest acts. His experience has allowed him to acquire a solid grasp of the art of connecting artists across various genres with relevant media outlets that are capable to further amplify the artists’ storytelling.
With years of experience under his belt within the music, arts, culture, and media landscape of Indonesia, Kevin is responsible for bridging the acts in Secret Signals’ vibrant roster to the ever-growing entertainment scene of the largest archipelago country in the world.
It is only recently that Kevin has found the perfect confluence of the duality of his musical aspirations as he is also currently working on releasing more music in the near future.
RENE ANN WONG
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
Rene first entered the music industry with her solo career as a pop-rock singer-songwriter, performing at multiple festivals and events across the country. An independent artist herself, she has a keen interest in both the creative and business sides of the industry.
Prior to joining Secret Signals, Rene was a project manager for a music charity based in Singapore. She has collaborated on a myriad of programmes and events with organisations across Southeast Asia.
Aside from her interest in music, Rene’s passions lie in creating an equal and sustainable environment around her. She is particularly invested in issues related to social equality and climate justice. Respect, growth, and integrity are the most important values to her.
NICOLE LONG
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
Nicole is a nightlife ninja with three years of experience in events and project management in Singapore’s indie and alternative music scene. Her involvement in the creative community had its genesis in EATMEPOPTART and NEVER Singapore; where she produced projects for Converse Singapore, New Balance Singapore, and Morph Audio.
Through these engagements, her experience in music and entertainment range from event conceptualisation and execution, programming and rostering, to artiste and talent engagement and liaison.
Outside of Secret Signals, she freelances in social media marketing and digital community management.
ESMOND WEE
FOUNDING PARTNER
Esmond has collectively 20 years of experience in the music and arts sub-culture as performer, advocate, manager and business owner. He was one of the key figures in Wake Me Up Music (WMUM), an events, promotions, music retail and management label that was best known for creating and developing some of Singapore’s best-known music events and artists. WMUM was known for the impact it made on the youth and local music culture in Singapore and Southeast Asia through the iconic Baybeats Festival.
He started his entrepreneurial journey in 2010 by representing streetwear and action sports brands like Obey Clothing and Macbeth Footwear as a distributor in parts of Southeast Asia, thus developing a keen understanding of the region for business and the creative sub-culture through marketing and support of different communities through the brands he represents.
In 2012, he started Secret Signals with Sameer with the goal of helping musicians and labels develop their audience in South East Asia.
He is passionate about people and youth development and is happily married with four children. He's not a huge fan of his kids' Spotify playlists but understands it an important part in understanding the youth of today.
SAMEER SADHU
FOUNDING PARTNER
Sameer Sadhu is a partner at Secret Signals and is currently based in New York City.
Additionally, he is currently the VP of A&R at Nettwerk Music Group. Sadhu has built a roster that has amassed over 1 billion streams globally. The rosters includes the likes of Andrew McMahon In the Wilderness & Miami Horror, cult favourites Miya Folick, Tim Atlas, & Vacations, indie darlings altopalo, cehryl, Elliot Moss, Miya Folick, Harmless, Wild Rivers and buzz worthy acts such as Abby Sage and Danny Dwyer.
In 2015, Sadhu moved to Los Angeles having joined Nettwerk Management in 2015, managing Grammy-nominated artist Mike Posner, Christina Perri, Mansionz, MILCK, SHAED, and Good Old War.
Prior to joining Nettwerk, Sadhu worked at Hong Kong-based Love Da Records as Head of Digital and Marketing (Singapore and Malaysia), working with Mumford and Sons, Two Door Cinema Club, Metric and more.
Photos by Jared Rezel.