Sunny Singh (filmographer)

Sandeep "Sunny" Singh is an American filmographer, programmer and music archivist, who primarily records and uploads footage of hardcore punk performances under the name hate5six. Triple J referred to him as "the internet’s hardest working hardcore videographer".[1] In a December 2019 article for Billboard, writer Eli Enis referred to the accessibility of his content as "the biggest factor" for the popularity of hardcore in the late-2010s.[2]

Sunny Singh
Born
Marlton, New Jersey, U.S.
Other namesHate5six
OccupationFilmographer, programmer, music archivist
Years active2000–present
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2011–present
GenreMusic
Subscribers109 thousand
(21 September 2020)
Total views28.6 million
(21 September 2020)
Websitehate5six.com

Singh also often releases footage of spoken word performances, protests and political speeches,[3] providing a platform for support of causes such as indigenous rights[4] and anarchism.[5]

Biography

Singh grew up in Marlton, New Jersey. His parents immigrated from India in the 1970s, which led to them being one of the only non-white families in the town. In the 1990s, he gained an interest in music through his old brother being a fan of musicians like Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, Ace of Base, Soundgarden, Rage Against the Machine.[6] In particular, Rage Against the Machine led him to listening to hardcore through vocalist Zack de la Rocha's previous band Inside Out.[7]

He began online tape trading in the late-1990s through uploading a copy of Rage Against the Machine performing at the Dragonfly in California in April 1996, which he had bought at a stall in Moorestown Mall.[6]

In 2000, Singh began recording footage of performances by local South Jersey bands,[7] however by mid-2004, he had stopped due to beginning college.[8]

In 2006, he recommenced filming after buying a Canon GL2, and began filming more well known bands, such as Floorpunch.[8] Singh began the website Hate5six.com in 2008 as a way of hosting his footage. The name "hate5six" was a reference to the 856 area code of Marlton.[6] In 2009, he filmed Burning Fight festival in Chicago, which saw the reformation of many 1990s metalcore acts such as Disembodied, Trial, 108 and Unbroken.[8]

In 2011, he released his first DVD, titled The Hate5six Diaries: Volume One, a live compilation that featured performances by groups such as Converge, Damnation A.D., Have Heart, Kid Dynamite and Touché Amoré. The proceeds from the release were donated to the charity One Hundred For Haiti, in support of Haiti citizens negatively affected by its 2010 earthquake.[9]

In March 2018, Singh departed from his full-time job and began doing his videography and archiving full-time.[10]

On March 14, 2020, Singh recorded Code Orange performing at the release show for their album Underneath, which was closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When livestreamed, the performance gained over 13,000 viewers.[11][12][13] On March 20, 2020, he also livestreamed Year of the Knife performing, who were set to tour with Code Orange on the cancelled tour.[14]

Website

Singh has described Hate5six.com as a "democratic, community-controlled system", by having viewers vote for what video will be uploaded through Patreon.[6] Patrons also vote for charities that 8.56% of the proceeds go to.[15]

In 2017, Singh expanded the website to include SAGE (Sage Analyzes Graph Embeddings), an artificial intelligence system that recommends bands based on listening patterns.[6]

Equipment

When Singh first began professionally filming in 2006, he used a Canon GL2 camcorder.[8] In 2014, he designed and created his own skycam, which is controlled by an Xbox controller, however some events such as This is Hardcore Festival have banned him from using it.[16] In a 2015 interview with No Echo, Singh stated that he used a "Canon XF100 [camera] and a Zoom H4N audio recorder".[7]

Politics

Singh is an anti-capitalist[8] and anti-fascist.[17] Hate5six's logo is a take on the hammer and sickle, a common form of socialist iconography.[6] He has outspokenly supported transgender rights and Black Lives Matter.[15] He has cited his favourite biography as being that of civil rights activist Malcolm X.[18]

He follows both a straight edge and vegan lifestyle.[15]

The proceeds from his 2011 film The Hate5six Diaries: Volume One were donated to the charity One Hundred For Haiti, in support of Haiti citizens negatively affected by its 2010 earthquake.[9]

In June 2020, Singh's first-hand footage of Philadelphia police teargassing peaceful protesters on I-676[19] during the George Floyd/Black Lives Matter protests was cited by The New York Times,[20] resulting in an apology from the City.[21][22]

Select filmography
  • The Hate5six Diaries: Volume One (2011)

References
  1. Redbeard, Joshua. "Meet Hate5Six, the internet's hardest working hardcore videographer". Triple J. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  2. Enis, Eli. "Is Hardcore Punk's Current Boom at Odds With Its Outsider Ethos?". Billboard. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  3. JORDAN, PIERCE. "ARCHIVE OF STAGEDIVES: SUNNY SINGH & HATE5SIX". Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  4. Bender, Albert. "A National Day of Mourning for U.S. Indigenous". Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  5. "Education, Infrastructure, Insurrection: Mark Bray On Francisco Ferrer And The Modern School". Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  6. Kochhar, Nazuk. "hate5six is the internet's hardcore goldmine". The Fader. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  7. Ramirez, Carlos. "Sunny Singh (Founder, Hate5Six.com)". Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  8. YANICK, JOE. "Hate5Six Captures the Hardcore Shows You Wish You Were At". Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  9. "HATE5SIX to Release Live DVD to Benefit 100 For Haiti". Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  10. Macomber, Shawn. "Rage Without End: Peerless Hardcore Archivist Sunny Singh is Taking hate5six 24-7". Decibel. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  11. Horaczek, Stan. "13,000 fans moshed at home as a metal band streamed from an empty venue". Popular Science. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  12. CONTE, GABE. "How One Hardcore Band DIY-ed a Concert for 13,000 Fans". GQ. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  13. "CODE ORANGE'S 'UNDERNEATH' RELEASE SHOW: SEE BADASS PHOTOS OF "LAST ONES LEFT" EVENT". Revolver. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  14. "LIVESTREAM HARDCORE UPSTARTS YEAR OF THE KNIFE'S "TOTAL INCARCERATION" SHOW". Revolver. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  15. SIEVERS, ALEX. "For The Love Of Hardcore: An In-Depth Interview With hate5six". Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  16. hate5six: Behind the Rage. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  17. "WATCH: Zack de la Rocha speak out against fascism in America back in 2007". Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  18. "SUNNY SINGH (HATE5SIX)". Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  19. "Incident on 676".
  20. Koettl, Christoph; Tabrizy, Nilo; Xiao, Muyi; Reneau, Natalie; Jordan, Drew. "How the Philadelphia Police Tear-Gassed a Group of Trapped Protesters". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  21. Rushing, Ellie; Palmer, Chris. "Philly Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw, Mayor Jim Kenney apologize for teargassing of protesters on 676". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  22. "Kenney, Outlaw admit they were wrong about 676 tear-gassing, officers to be fired". WHYY. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
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