Independent audio criticism · Singapore
Five people staff this desk — editor, reviews editor, contributors and copy editor. Work is allocated by craft fit and conflict check, not by seniority alone. Each person below listens differently; together they keep reviews from becoming a single voice. The desk stays small so independence stays plausible.
Editor
fourteen years in editorial work · listens for structure, ethics and commissioning
Marissa commissions and edits every review on the desk. She listens first for structure and ethical signalling, then for whether a draft names technique rather than mood. Drafts return with margin questions until claims survive a second listen.
Reviews Editor
eleven years in audio production · listens for narration, pacing and scripting
Kelvin reads narration as rhythm in the ear — where breath is cut, where silence finishes a thought, and where a cold open asserts before it shows. He marks pacing on printed scripts beside the monitor, not from memory.
Contributing Critic
nine years working with broadcast archives · listens for sourcing and archive use
Priya works with broadcast archives and hears sourcing in texture: whether a bed corroborates or decorates, and whether narration admits gaps before atmosphere implies certainty. Provenance notes sit beside her drafts.
Contributor and Sound Editor
twelve years in post-production · listens for sound design and field recording
Farhan edits for attention — removing what competes with tape, muting score to test whether the reporting still lands, and logging levels before effects. Field recording taught him to wait for a room to speak.
Copy Editor and Contributor
eight years in publishing · listens for accessibility, transcripts and plain language
Joanne copy-edits for plain language, transcript habits, and intelligibility on modest speakers. She reads aloud to catch sibilance and sentences that look fine on the page but stumble in the ear.
Goodman Road · Mountbatten corridor