The coming together in Melaka of these 19 bands and/or individual solo artists is a major event in itself. Emerging from the notoriously merciless Malaysian musical scene where public indifference, lack of government and commercial support, along with a host of other obstacles, cultural, legal and financial, regularly crushes and silences so many talents--each of these artists has managed to achieve prominence in his or her genre, producing EPs and CDs (available for purchase at IN-FEST) of their own original musical compositions. Visitors at IN-FEST will have the opportunity to experience a representative selection of the cutting edge of the “indie” musical scene in Malaysia today. And, playing together as a group for the first time, the musicians themselves may well achieve the mutual stimulation and cross-pollination necessary to push their art form to new heights. If something of this sort happens, IN-FEST will have succeeded in one of its primary aims.
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Day 01
Date: 30.Sep.2011 Time: 8pm
TRANSGRESSIONS IN SOUND:
Scandalous live tunes from some of Malaysia’s best experimental Indie/DJ-musicians
Line up:
• MadAcoustic
Website:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/MadAcoustic/207753692580682
• Yong Yandsen + Goh Lee Kwang
KL-based Yandsen is a woodwind musician, a veteran lead vocalist and band leader of the Malaysian Chinese rock band Mouxuan in the late 1990s. He was music program coordinator for Notthatbalai Art Festival 2007, performed at Choppa Eclectic Improvised Music Festival 2008 (Singapore) and at the Mosaic Festival Singapore 2009. Goh is an internationally recognized sound & media artist. His extraordinary versatility stretches from sound and sonic-visual interactive installations to electro-acoustic improvised musical performances to soundtracks for theatre, dance and independent movies. His works have been presented at a great many festivals in Malaysia, India and Europe.
Website
http://www.gohleekwang.tk/
Peigen, who has just graduated from the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing where he studied conducting, plays the traditional trumpet-like Chinese instrument called the suona. MadkitG a.k.a Khim is a guitarist from Ika who avidly explores the outer limits of musical sound. The two pair together to try for their own kind of New Age Music by combining traditional and experimental instruments.
• Team InFest
A free jamming group consisting of music lovers, with participation of other sessionist friends and strangers as well ! “We have a unique touch in twisting and interpreting free jamming sessions, ranging from contemporary covers to transitional music…a strong application of post-rock indie flavor.”
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Day 02
Date: 01.Oct.2011 Time: 3pm
BREATH OF LIFE:
Solo artists (some with a little help from their friends) cocoon you in intimate indie tunes, moving you, challenging you, releasing the butterfly of your heart!
Line up:
• ONNO
A newly formed 3 piece band from Penang, an island where the old colonial heritage rubs shoulders with the contemporary and modern. Born and bred in this environment, the group “slips in between vintage warmth and digital madness” to create ‘little tunes’ using laptop, guitars, loops and traditional music to ‘fresh up people’s minds.’
• Jia Ming
This KL-based solo guitarist and Grand Champion of the 2007 Malaysia International Guitar Fingerstyle, was awarded a Diploma in Music Production from Ocean Institute of Audio Technology. Receiving his Yamaha Guitar Instructor qualification at age 20, he constantly teaches guitar and performs regularly nationwide. His playing style was once much influenced by Roger Wang and Tommy Emmanuel. Now it is often in the style of Kotaro Oshio —fast, technically complex, with percussion sounds made directly on the guitar.
• Sulyn Ooi
Originating from Kedah, she moved to New Zealand at age 18 to study music and is now a singer/pianist based in KL. As a songwriter, she merges pop and jazz to achieve an ‘adult contemporary/ easy listening’ sound. She has already released an EP in New Zealand and a full-length album is in the offing.
Website:
http://www.youtube.com/user/sulynooi
• Siang Kok
A Penang-based solo singer-songwriter with a strong ‘social realist’ edge to his work, “There is no modification to the rough distorted guitar sound reflecting the cynical abuse of the environment.” His concerns focus on “those abandoned people found everywhere in society…quietly enduring all kinds of unfair treatment and social transformation.”
• Long Story Short
Sometimes performing with a group, sometimes solo, KL- based Mike’s solo performances have been described as “a bit of honest, gimmick-free story-telling. A man and his guitar.” Every one of his songs achieves a personalized sense of intimacy and community by addressing listeners ‘you.’
Website:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Long-Story-Short/43922027875
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Day 02
Date: 01.Oct.2011 Time: 0530pm
NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS:
Stimulate mind and body with Malaysia’s best Indie band music !
Line up:
• Gene’s Escape
These 4 Melaka-based artists from diverse cultural and musical backgrounds share a love of alternative pop rock. To bring an element of drama to their performances, they openly transgress musical boundaries and are ‘very unpredictable on stage.’ They promise to “rock your socks off!”
Website:
http://soundcloud.com/geneoutcast/genes-escape-i-do
• Dian Bang
Based in KL and known as the ‘Laptronica band of Malaysia,’ the band uses laptops and contrasts the opposing musical styles of two individuals, a percussionist and a female vocalist. “Technology may have made things easier, but it doesn’t make our music less vibrant.”
Website:
http://www.myspace.com/dianbang2005
• Hourglass
A Melaka-based hard rock band with influences from such as Megadeath, Metallica, Rage Against the Machine and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. An EP featuring five original songs comes out soon.
Website:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Hourglass/227924233915922
• Ika
Organic and natural, this duo group pairs the female singer/songwriter Aki with the guitaris Khim to present their own easy listening brand of music. With a voice that is undeniably confident and mature, Aki effortlessly breathes new life into her acoustic-sounding collection of songs that can be enjoyed over and over.
Website
http://www.myspace.com/ikasound
• Xerpent
Their musical style tagged as ‘brutal metal,’ this KL-based grindcore band (“the one and only Chinese singing one on the scene”) focuses on social concerns with black humor with “high-speed tempo, blast beats…growls and high-pitched screams.”
Website
http://www.myspace.com/xerpent
• Kokkamango
A KL-based electro-pop group: “the sound is laid back…sweet, spacey, dreamy…reminding one of Nouvelle Vague, Caroline, Imogen Heap.” They sing most of their songs in Mandarin.
Website:
http://www.myspace.com/kokkamango
• Fetus
“We’re fed up with the real world and want only to be inside mother’s body.” This KL-based group is influenced by the Japanese ‘ero-guro’ (erotic-grotesque) band mucc. They seek to “wake up the forgotten stories…”
Website
http://www.myspace.com/fetusindieband
• Like Silver
“If we were a TV show, we would be Outer Limits.” This KL-based electro outfit “charts an ethereal trajectory’ with stories of androids in love, time travel and the n\meaning of being human. Inspired by Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, the duo Adlin and Teoh “jump into hyperspace with beats and quirky sounds.”
Website:
http://likesilver.bandcamp.com/
