Advertisement
PostMag
Life.Culture.Discovery.
Editor's Letter
PostMagCulture

This week in PostMag: a Cantopop dance revival and a dream trip to the Bahamas

DJ Fabsabs leads a joyful Cantopop resurgence, Singapore does art with intention, and sun-drenched escapism beckons

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
The cover of this week’s print edition. Photo: Jocelyn Tam
Cat Nelson

Hello, January! I hope you survived the first proper work week of 2026. I’ve been going through the avalanche that is my inbox and am barely hanging on.

Luckily, this week’s cover story offers a burst of energy as Hsiuwen Liu plunges into the Cantopop revival currently filling Hong Kong’s dance floors. She hits the tiles at Cantomania and finds what started as an underground party is now a full-blown movement, joining a wave of Cantopop nights around town.

Cantomania’s DJ Fabsabs (real name Pete Sabine) is a staunch evangelist for the power of music to bring us together – and as someone who loves the dance floor, I heartily concur. The resurgence of 1980s bangers and Y2K hits might sound like pure nostalgia, but as Sabine tells us, it’s something deeper. Cantomania is catharsis, community and culture preservation disguised as a dance party. “Regardless of politics or whatever people think about the city, it is still our town,” he says. “Music is just how we say that.”

Advertisement

We also travel around in this issue. Andrea Lo takes us to Singapore for a look at its upcoming Art Week (January 22 to 31), which spills far beyond the White Cube. From karaoke installations honouring domestic workers to forest squares planted on former school fields, this edition is brimming with intent – the theme of the Singapore Biennale, part of the week, aptly titled “Pure Intention”. Whether you’re into Impressionist heavyweights or interactive game design, the city is reimagining how art can reflect, and even reshape, urban life.

If your January energy leans more towards featherweight than philosophical, Tara Loader Wilkinson’s escape to the Bahamas is pure holiday daydream. There’s cracked conch, secret snorkelling bays and steamed guava duff so drenched in rum butter sauce it might knock you horizontal. Just reading about it made me crave sun on my skin and sand in my shoes, and maybe a horse ride along Harbour Island’s famously pink shores.

Advertisement

In the world of interiors, Peta Tomlinson explores the 2026 trends, and this year, it’s less about pure style and more about feeling. The stand-out theme? Emotional resonance. From AI-assisted cocooning spaces to the resurgence of white – sorry, “Cloud Dancer” – it’s clear that homes are sanctuaries for our souls as much as anything else. And that’s exactly what we need in this chaotic world.

Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x