Given the relatively small size of the Malaysian music scene and industry, getting noticed as an artiste here is perhaps not that difficult, if you’re good enough. But the realities of life can wear you down after a while. After all, not many independent bands out there can attest to being able to earn a living through making music. To be able to go through the cycle of constant practice sessions,, performing at show-after-show while writing and putting out music year-after-year, requires a cert

There’s almost a punk rock spirit in the way Lunadira approaches her music. It seems ridiculous when you consider just how far her music is from the messy and inconsiderate cacophony of The Sex Pistols. But the spirit feels similar. And it’s not because she casually drops an F-bomb in a song that doesn’t sound like it should have one. Mostly it’s because like the forefathers of anarchic music, she seems to have an infectious lack of self-consciousness in her songwriting and how it’s portrayed

There was a time when Brazil was the spiritual gatekeepers of football. They played football the way football was meant to be played - bright, positive and entertaining. So they won a lot of fans in these parts. But over the years, Brazil have lost some of their way, reverting to robust European type in the 90s and in recent times, severely underachieving at the world stage (who will ever be able to forget that 7-1 home ground mauling by Germany in the last tournament?). But new coach Tite has r

At the final whistle on the night of 22 June, the spotlight shone brightly on one person near the center circle at the conclusion of the Group D game between Argentina and Croatia. Croatia had battered and bossed one of the tournament’s favorites and emerged well-deserved 3-0 winners and in the process, nullified one of the supposed stars of the tournament. Lionel Messi, so often Argentina’s saviour-elect, the golden child of his country’s footballing prospects and the person regarded by most people as probably one of the greatest footballers to walk God’s earth, stood dejected on the field, washed with a feeling he probably rarely feels in a FC Barcelona shirt. He managed only a paltry 20 touches in the first half, created little and almost never threatened.

As part of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s efforts to trim the national debt, he’s instituted the cancellation of a few mega projects, namely the High-Speed Rail (HSR) line to Singapore and the MRT 3 Line with a host of others under ‘review’. This has led some to label him as having an agenda against mega projects. But what most people may have forgotten is that under his initial spell as Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir launched and instituted many mega projects, a few which still stands today as beacon

His nickname may sound a little haughty but it may not be so far from the truth this season. Regular viewers of the English Premier League would not be surprised that Son has made the top of this list. He’s just completed a remarkable season with Tottenham Hotspur, where they have finished third, above the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal. Son was one of the team’s stars, clocking in 27 starts for the team and scoring an impressive 12 goals. He’s gone from the fringes of the squad just tw

What are some stand-out lessons we can learn after the dust has settled on the Group Stages? But what has been the recipe of those that were successful? Or the folly of those that have not been so far? Is it just a matter of having players of more superior pedigree? If so, how would you explain the result Mexico got against Germany? Given it’s a team sport (Cristiano Ronaldo may wink to that), we thought it would be timely to look back at the group stages to see what lessons we can take from

The Impatient Sisters have thankfully returned, not with a bang, but a sigh. “Hanyut” is the latest song from the Kuantan-born sisters. Soraya, Nazeera and Irena Taib have built a strong local following on the back of effortless melodies and flawless harmonies. No gimmicks, just bread and butter songwriting. From the evidence of this latest track, it would seem nothing’s changed but yet it feels like everything has as well. Built around a hypnotic, creaking guitar line, the song stays somber

There’s a sense you get with JAIE that she’s not making music from or for a specific place, but that she’s making music as a citizen of the world. This largely comes from her being so well travelled (she’s lived in New York, Copenhagen and Berlin amongst other places). There’s a worldliness and spunk about her that’s missing from so many bedroom artisans. But who is the mysterious belle behind the songs? And why is she even making music? Her answer, “I’ve never felt the same connection to other

Naavin did weigh in that a lot still needs to be done for Malaysian football to properly compete on the international stage, “We have to be intentional in developing our players physically and mentally from the grassroots.” However as mentioned before, the tournament is very much a tournament to unearth unknown stars so it’s less about the effectiveness of our training regime and sports science and more about how many of our boys and girls are out there every evening kicking a ball around a fiel

Takahara Suiko is like an atom bomb that was dropped on to our unsuspecting music scene. Since debuting with her band of musical misfits and gypsies The Venopian Solitude, she has been on a warpath to effect and re-orientate the status quo. Her music is in-your-face, quirky and blood-and-guts honest. But the most important thing is that she would have no qualms with making you feel uncomfortable if it means being herself. And people have bought into her Kool-Aid, given that it’s an absolute

What’s in a name? In the case of bands, it could be a lot. From Toad the Wet Sprocket to Dogs Die In Hot Cars, band names are very much an essential part of band-lore. One could argue Death Cab for Cutie’s meteoric rise could be initially equally attributed to their zany name, as much as their delicious indie pop sound. It’s never certain though. Just look at Coldplay. Nobody’s going to be rushing to attribute their world-conquering antics to their tepid moniker. But we can all agree an ‘interesting’ name can get you noticed. And more importantly, what is the story behind how they got those names to begin with? Wouldn’t you want to know how Jaggfuzzbeats came to deciding on their name? As such, we tracked down a few Malaysian bands to find out just what is the story behind their zany band names.

Youth Portal takes a leaf out of the languid indie pop of Chicago band Smith Westerns. It’s not terribly complicated, but it’s got buckets of charm. It’s a straightforward cut built around a driving 4/4 backbeat, a singular guitar hook and two wonderful sounding chords. Sometimes that’s all you need. It’s the kind of music that inspires you to want to make some yourself, by just how easy and effective it all sounds.

It’s not easy being an Introvert in this world. After all, the tenets of modern society requires one to not be constantly alone and inward but to reach out and connect. It has become accepted by introverts the world over that if they want to excel in the working world, they would need to stretch out their more extroverted attributes. The common misconceptions remain, that introverts are not as sociable as extroverts or not as expressive. This definition is not accurate if we are using MBTI as a measuring stick. The only difference between an introvert and extrovert is what activity energises or drains them. An introvert can be as sociable or even more socially apt than an extrovert – it just takes more energy out of them.

Singer-songwriter Amrita Soon is clearly a whimsical creature. One only needs to roughly comb through her blog entries to clearly see that. She talks about experiences like being able to hear her audiences’ conversations while she’s playing or about missing her brother’s laughter because she’s been too busy. But mostly, it’s in the way she talks about music, like it’s not just a large part of her existence, but the reason for it. This is after all a girl who at the tender age of 15, paid her

Much like most musical genres these days, division lines can be drawn pretty intricately on hardcore music. Initially a more aggressive offshoot of punk rock borne out of the streets of Southern California with pioneers such as Minutemen and Black Flag, the genre, much like most genres, has gone through metamorphosis over the years. It has branched out to sub-genres such as metalcore (an amalgamation with metal) up to Nintendocore (look that one up).

It was legendary lyricist E.Y. Harburg who once said that, “Words make you think. Music makes you feel. A song makes you feel a thought”. Within the first few notes of Noh Salleh’s gorgeous “Sarawak”, your thoughts are transported poignantly to another time and place. Of maharajas breezily making their way across padi fields on their elephants while large hand-held fans are waved beside their faces to help them brave the tropical sun. Of maidservants slowly making their way back to palaces w

To call Bittersweet Britpop revivalists would be somewhat incorrect because to them, it never went away. In their world, Damien Hirst remains the artist extraordinaire, Justine Frischmann is the belle of the ball and Oasis is still the loudest band in the world. The single “Inspire Desire” is their latest love letter to Suede. If you think that’s blatant labeling, then pause this song’s music video at 2:31. Bittersweet has never been apologetic about their allegiances. The rich tube-driven g

They say that it’s always lonely at the top, which makes you wonder what would possess the frontman of one of the most popular bands in these parts, one that consistently sells out shows and records, to record and release a solo album. Yet that is what Noh Salleh of Hujan did recently with his solo album ‘Angin Kencang’. But wait, doesn’t he already write all the songs for Hujan? “I guess I wanted to try something on my own,” says Noh, “I’m a big fan of SORE (Indonesian band) and I’ve always dreamt about writing retro French-style pop songs but singing in ‘bahasa’ Nusantara. That’s not really Hujan.

Today marks the 8th death anniversary of much-loved film director Yasmin Ahmad. Her loss was one that was felt by all Malaysians. If you did not resonate with her brilliant films, you would definitely have been touched by her moving festive-themed ads for Petronas. The growing mainstream interest in Malaysian films since the mid-2000s can be attributed to her 2005 film ‘Sepet’, a simple interracial love story that captured the hearts and minds of Malaysian viewers from all walks of life. Here are a list of directors who, like Yasmin, have in one way or another made an impact on Malaysian cinema.