PRESENT
Liyana Fizi plays a mix of acoustic tunes tinged with folk, bossa, and jazz. Gaining acknowledgment for her melodic songwriting, the singer/songwriter made her first debut as one of the founding members of Malaysian indie-pop band Estrella. Everyday musings and inward thoughts are the main elements of her music, using simplicity as the main staple.
Currently singing and playing rhythm guitar as a solo artiste since September 2009, Liyana performs with her permanent band of sessionists, and takes a vast interest in using music as an outlet for expression.
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Formed in 1999 by four Tokyo natives as an antithesis to the omnipresent Japanese pop scene. MONO wore their influences on their sleeves, colliding the ugly washes of noise pioneered by My Bloody Valentine with the beautiful, subtle guitar figures of Slint and Mogwai. Not groundbreaking, but certainly magical. Eventually, MONO developed into a whole different species: Their classical influences broke through, pushing the music to structural and emotional extremes that owed as much to Wagner and Beethoven as it did Black Sabbath and Neurosis.
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Their musical form developed from the design theory, with math-like equation, encompasses a mixture of cartoonish joyous melodies. Influenced by Japan’s rich musical expression, it’s said to be the most beautiful manifestation of a diverse mix.
With a decade of music history, it’s one of the few Malaysian bands across multiple music scenes. Having done numerous overseas tours and performances, its music has transformed from rage to peculiarly interesting and lively; focusing on creative and joyous absolute music as its musical blueprint.
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The band have earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the bands on the forefront of Malaysia’s Chinese indie music scene. Theirs is a vastly intelligent brand of instrumental rock with an added knack for exotic Oriental melodies, somewhat akin to Explosions in The Sky meeting Ride during Chinese New Year.
Strictly local, gorgeously global.
Citizens of Ice Cream create a sound as delicious as the name implies. Track from the debut EP “Leave it to the Ants” tantalizes the senses with twangy guitars, punctuating synthesizers, and skittering drums.
Dominated by a non-linear movement, the track expresses a spatial freedom that is overwhelming, captivating, and all together blissful. The different instruments dance around each other as the layers smoothly gel, regardless of the configuration.
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Deng Deng Etc started as a collaborative effort of members from Nao and Guan Yin. The band took part in the 2005 Tiger Powerhitz Nationwide Band Search, and emerged as the grand Champion.
After a few rounds of line-up reshuffle, the band finally settled down with Hoong (Vocal, Guitar), Mad (Bass) and Ian (Drums)
It’s rare to find a local Chinese indie band that provides the thrills of punk rock legends like Fugazi, At The Drive In and Nirvana, with noisy and buzzing guitars and the aggressive elements of hardcore punk, the trio will certainly become a strong force of the local indie music scene.
In 2005, the band embarked on a playing tour to Beijing and was invited to perform at 13 Club, one of Beijing’s hottest underground gigs venue, along with other bands from Sweden, Norway, Japan and China.
Their debut, “Wanton of The Proletariat” is a great little EP. 6 short and aggressive songs, a mixture of grunge, hardcore and society punk songs.
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Lang Mang is by far the most successful Chinese singing indie bands from Malaysia. They sold the most records compared to the rest and they received rave reviews from the mainstream media. The band comprised of Stephen Chua (Vocalist/Guitarist), Eric Wong (Bassist) and Roo (Drummer). Steven and Roo are both art graduates, while Eric is one of the most sought after recording engineers in the local indie music scene.
Their debut album “The Crow” was released in 2004. The real joy in Lang Mang’s music is their ability to strive for the balance between beauty and experimentation.
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