We are the ears of their music, and we are the home of their works. There’s nothing more exciting than listening to our local heroes showing off their amazing music. This year, we have compiled our 10 best local picks to recommend you some of the best albums which were released in 2014. From the current hype such as Tulus, to the up and comer like Gerald Situmorang. 2014 is full of beast music!

Bedchamber – Perennial

Why we love this album: The newcomer offers a fresh lo-fi indie pop, intertwined with youthful bass and beats that will make you nod along.

Our favourite pick: Petals

Danilla – Telisik

Why we love this album: Telisik is Danilla’s debut album. With her soothing voice and poetic lyrics, she will take you back to 40 or 50 years back and let you imagine what young musicians and college students does in the 60′s with the sweet sound of bossa nova in her tracks in this album.

Our favourite pick: Buaian

Dried Cassava – Vol. 2: Sensitive Explosive

Why we love this album: More mature. They know how to balancing their sound to touch their listeners.

Our favourite pick: Morpheus

Elephant Kind – Scenarios: A Short Film

Why we love this album: We could dance our body throgh an eerie trance state with sound of jangly guitars and soulful synths! They deliver a concept of life with a scenario from short film.

Our favourite pick: Downhill

Gerald Situmorang Trio – Time Is The Answer

Why we love this album: No lyrics needed. That was just it. Gerald Situmorang Trio easily hit the emotions from each tracks in their debut album ‘Time Is The Answer’. When we listen to the album, all of the sudden, their modern jazz music rubs off the typical urban hectic life and turns it into a solid soothing tempo. Gerald Situmorang Trio is worth a listen.

Our favourite pick: Waving

Maliq & D’Essentials – Musik Pop

Why we love this album: The album is undeniably very well-polished. With contribution from Indra Lesmana, the album succesfully bring notable tracks such as ‘Himalaya’ and ‘Ananda’. What we can underline from ‘Musik Pop’ is Maliq & D’Essentials embrace and revive the golden quality of Indonesian Pop in the 70s and 80s.

Our favourite pick: Ananda

Matajiwa – 1

Why we love this album: The combination of Reza’s distinctive percussion and Anda’s bluesy voice makes unpredictable twist and turn in each tracks. These two geniuses sure knows how to make a delightful surprises.

Our favourite pick: Woman

Neonomora – Seeds

Why we love this album: A modern pop music with a sensation classic components of coustic guitar, synthesizer, glockenspiel, and bold RnB into one fine full-length album.

Our favourite pick: Republic 106

Tulus – Gajah

Why we love this album: In this second album, Tulus brings out more cheerful tunes to swing along to. It’s so easy to fall in love with the groove he delivers.

Our favourite pick: Baru

Vague – Footsteps

Why we love this album: One of 90′s revivalist. Guitar disortion, bass raw, drum chaos, and vocal anger. We need to release our emotion and they tell us how.

Our favourite pick: Inadeaquate

(Reviews by : Andriani N, Michael Reily, Tiara Ayuwardhani, and Alcander Alonzo)

You are busy, and that’s pretty much the reason you miss all of the updates about the albums which are released in 2014. In the past eleven months, we have been sitting in our HQ to listen and curate some of our favorite albums this year, each of us picked our best ones to give you some of SVANAPaper’s best picks in 2014. These albums should be in your i-Tunes player.

(Sorted in alphabetical order)

1. Chromeo – White Women

After more than 10 years in the business, this Canadian boogie-duo is still at it, with more grooves that will awaken your inner dancing queen and force you out on the dance floor featuring collaborations with Toro Y Moi, Solange Knowles and Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig. The Toro Y Moi collaboration on”Come Alive”transporting them back to their electrofunk roots;the rippling guitar lines and pluckybass linesgiving way to a slick, multi-layered chorus.

Recommended Track: Come Alive (ft. Toro Y Moi)

2.FKA Twigs – LP1

Brit musician TahliahBernett hit it on the nail with her first full-length album, LP1. Being a shortlister for the Mercury Album Of The Year Award, FKA Twigs bring something fresh to her twist of Hip-Hop. The album highlights her growth that has been tended to since her first EP with “Water Me” and now is blossoming to something we’re all eager to listen to.

Recommended track: Video Girl

3.Interpol – El Pintor

After the disappointing release of their self-titled album in 2010, Interpol has showed us that they still have some capabilities under their belt with “El Pintor”, 39 minutes album which loaded with the songs that resembles the tracks from “Turn on The Bright Lights”, the album that leaped them into the big league. However, this album is still leaving the famous question, “Will Interpol ever topped Turn On The Bright Lights?”,hanging, Even though this album is not the legitimate answer, it is not a cheap take on that attempt but a nearly-there.

Recommended Track : Anywhere

4. Kasabian – 48:13

Kasabian are surely taking their latest album to the next level. With changing their musicality from the previous ones to have more electronic tunes. Eventhough 48:13 receives mixed reviews and debates regarding the changes of their style, we still praise Tom Cs’ effort to bring something new to the table. This may not their best work, but the album evolves their signature riffs to catchy synthesizers, and everything flows really well. All we can say is 48:13 adjusts with how modern a rock band can be, as we all know Kasabian have always been big with their status, and this predominantly electronic style, they might be starting for something bigger in the upcoming years.

Recommended Track : Bumblebee

5.Lana Del Rey – Ultraviolence

A whole package musicality is in here. Pretty persistence lyrics, hot and cold tension ambience of music. Not to exaggerate everything, but ‘Ultraviolence’ should be considered as today’s masterpiece of music albums. With Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys produced it, the songs are composed with a beautiful dark tunes and combined with a sad and seductive of Del Rey’s voice. ‘Ultraviolence’ definitely reflects a maturity version of Lana Del Rey and the album is strongly giving an elevated soul of romanticism.

Recommended Track : Ultraviolence

6. Mac DeMarco – Salad Days

It’s hard to tell if Mac DeMarco is a merry prankster or a tortured soul, but either way, that ambivalence is one of DeMarco’s defining traits. Salad Days, his second full-length release, sees a richer and more assured refinement, as DeMarco becomes continues to grow in his slacker-rock ways. The laid-back melodies of his guitar creating a warm, watery groove that just begs for you to jump into. Layered with his quietly eloquent lyrics, Salad Days is as welcoming as a backyard hammock swaying in the wind.You’re unlikely to hear any other album this year with so many mentions of people’s mothers, but no one nails it like Mac does.

Recommended Track: Treat Her Better

7. Mø – No Mythologies To Follow

Karen Marie Ørsted adheres perfectly to the ever growingscene of electro-pop songstresses Copenhagen is producing. Being an album dedicated to the perplexities of young adulthood, you can expect this long awaited album to be carefree and full of life – just like the eccentric musician herself.

Recommended track: Pilgrim

8.Royal Blood – Royal Blood

It was hard to believe that this band is only consists of two persons when we hear their single, “Little Monster”, on our HQ. Royal Blood has delivered something that we haven’t heard in ages. Rhythmic sounds composed beautifully with a melodic riff that came from a tweaked bass. Nobody would have thought of that at the first place. We could easily spot another monstrous and festival-approved riffs on “Come on Over”, “Careless”, and “Out of the Black”. We won’t be too surprised if they emerge as a festival headliner in the future.

Recommended Track : Little Monster

9. SBTRKT – Wonder Where We Land

The second studio album from SBTRKT gives the same cool mood like what they give us in ‘SBTRKT’. ‘Wonder Where We Land’ highlights our favorites of SBTRKT’s music bass and R&B’s mixture of deep house. The album sounds very neat, moody yet very solid with help from quality vocals of Ezra Koenig, Raury, and Sampha. The core of ‘Wonder Where We Land’ gives a vision of chill ambience which once you dip your ears to the album, it swallows you to the deepest nuance of each well-structured tracks. Quoting from Paste Magazine, “This is an album about vision, movement and manifestation. It’s about removing oneself from the familiar to tap into the brain’s ability to create unprecedented and inspiring art. Success”.

Recommended Track : Temporary View

10. Warpaint – Warpaint

Forget the Haim sisters or Lauren Mayberry from CHVRCHES. The girls from Warpaint were known as the most adorable girls of indie scene (take a look at Swim Deep’s references of Jenny Lee Lindberg on their hit single, “King City” for example).  After setting off with their first album, “The Fool” in 2010, the girls from Los Angeles, California are back with their second self-titled album. This album has all the formula that catapulted them into the atmosphere. Layered guitar followed by Cocteau twins-esque vocals is a thing that we could still barely hear on this second album. However, they’re more daring to experiment on this second album. Even though there are several new and hip all-girl bands who are riding the stream, Warpaint will always remain as a titular queens of the 00s indie rock.

Recommended Tracks : Disco//Very

Here is the playlist of the recommended tracks from each albums, you’re welcome!

Urbanscapes, Malaysia’s month-long creative arts festival, have added Kimbra and Jagwar Ma to the line-up for the festival’s finale on Dec 6 at the Horse Ranch, Resorts World Genting.  In addition to a wide-range of visual and experiential art offering, Urbanscapes’ festival finale features a diverse music line-up that caters to all aural palates by moving beyond the indie music genre. Urbanscapes will kick-off its twelfth year with month-long activities that include satellite shows, a host of pop-up parties and pocket events throughout the month of November.

Grammy Award winner Kimbra (“Settle Down”, “Cameo Lover”), the New Zealand-born mononymous art-pop songwriter will make her way from Melbourne to Genting Horse Ranch for a performance that draws inspiration from a wide musical spectrum. Her latest album The Golden Echo is a vivid, vivacious, and ambitious arc of pop and funk that conveys an array of questions and insights. It’s at once a dancing record and thinking record, inspired by such diverse musical touchstones as Prince, ’70s R&B, ’90s pop (the first single is affectionately titled “90s Music”), and The Mars Volta, but heralding the full arrival of a distinctive artist. Kimbra became a global presence via her ear-turning role on Gotye’s international No. 1 hit “Somebody That I Used to Know,” which earned her and Gotye honors for “Record of the Year” and “Best Pop Duo/Group” at the 2013 Grammy Awards.

An army of music gatekeepers in the likes of NME and Pitchfork all believe the Sydney-based psychedelic/dance band Jagwar Ma (“The Throw”, “Uncertainty”) deserve acclaim — and there’s no questioning why. Known for their signature juxtaposition of voice and electronics, Jagwar Ma started as a musical project born out of studio jams and home recordings, radio frequency manipulation, TR808 patterns, MPCs loops, vintage amps and a treasured 7-inch collection. This serendipitous string of events and obsession have given the band  a sound much like J-Dilla playing Primal Scream covering the Beatles.
 Expect an electrifying set with soul this Urbanscapes.

Staying true to its brand as a full-spec creative arts festival, Urbanscapes will play host to a myriad of unconventional festival activities that invites guests to explore, experience the festival with all senses. Urbanscapes is turning that assumption that stables are just for horses. A wander through the festival grounds will take the crowd to ‘The Democratic People’s Republic of North Bangsar’, a mock parody country with a back story that is laugh-out-loud hilarious — and perhaps, plausible. Produced by Terry & The Cuz and Kuah Jenhan, North Bangsar offers an experience much like walking onto a film set. Festival goers get to meet its mayor — Jenhan — and explore the town, get a ‘prescription’ from a Chinese Medicine Hall and participate in the ‘local’ activity of choice — real serious bolster fight skirmishes.

Urbanscapes has always been a platform for emerging artists to showcase their talent. Organisers will invite muralists like Oak & Bindi, Ian Mutch, Jojo Yusof and TRUSK to showcase their work on upcycled canvases put together by Arthur Lamon.

The Generalists return with a collaboration befitting the landscape of Urbanscapes’ new-found home, this time with teepees to present their Market of Experiences. Walk through this market and expect to be surprised; uncap little stories that tumble out of a dispenser reminiscent of a typical Malaysian childhood. Let go anxieties by doing what our mothers told us not to — smash glassware just for fun. And if fate truly lies in the stars, ask a Singapore Poetry Slam Winner to improvise a tarot card-inspired poem.

Relive childhood play and help water move through the channels, and explore the sounds, shapes and power of water with The Biji-Biji Initiative’s interactive water tower. This tower will also light up in the night — turning it also into an art installation.

As previously announced, on Dec 6, festival-goers can look forward to soak in the anthemic sounds of the Los Angeles-based indie rock band Local Natives (“Gorilla Manor”, “Heavy Feet”) that Pitchfork described as a “sort of West Coast ‘Grizzly Bear’ [the band]”. Playing alongside them will be the legendary American college rock outfit The Lemonheads (“It’s a Shame About Ray”) whose cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs Robinson” paved a way to a breakthrough in their salad days.

Scottish synthpop band Chvrches (“Recover”, “Lies”), will perform at 7 pm, Nov 19 at KL Live. The trio, whose track “The Mother We Share” was featured in the opening video for the 2014 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony in Glasgow, Scotland this year. American comedy rock duo Tenacious D (“Tribute”, “Wonderboy“), featuring actors/musicians Jack Black and Kyle Gass will play Urbanscapes’ third Satellite Show on Dec 1 at KL Live. The Scottish post-rock band Mogwai (“Take Me Somewhere Nice”) often championed by the late John Peel of BBC Radio will take their brand of shoegazing, instrumental metal renditions to Urbanscapes’ Satellite Show this year on 7 pm, 30 Nov, also at KL Live.

Also completing the festival line-up are local and regional acts such as:

• OJ Law
• Ali Aiman
• Najwa
• June Marieezy
• Faiq and the Manja Mob
• Azmyl Yunor & Orkes Padu
• The Cotton Field Scarecrowes
• Cashew Chemists
• Paperplane Pursuit
• Jumero
• Dirgahayu

Highlighting a myriad of Malaysia’s homegrown entrepreneurs and artisans, expect offerings from:

• Ash Be Nimble
• Mosaic Bijoux
• Power of Word
• Psychedelic Store
• Nyo
• Trendy Bellaz
• I’ll Studio
• Third Culture
• URBN8
• CanvasPick
• Prototype gallery
• Huggaz
• Homu store
• Robe Du Jour
• Wild Baby
• Sun Off A Beach
• and more…

Ticketing Information

Buy your Urbanscapes tickets online at www.ticketpro.com.my. Tickets can also be bought at physical outlets throughout the country. For full list of outlets, look them up at www.ticketpro.com.my/jnp/ticket-outlets/index.html. Ticketing information for additional satellite shows will be announced when appropriate.

Go get your tickets for only 100k/each by showing your student card! This promo is available for limited time. Go seal your Halloween and do not wait!

Get the tickets at Vanilla Kitchen & Wine Bandung :: @VanillaBDG OR make a contact to 082240174767 (Tasha)

Have a spooktacular halloween with us, prepare yourself. Let’s dance and be scary!

For more info:

IG : @westhillfest
Twitter : @westhillfest

OJ Law describes himself as a “student of melody”. The one thing that strikes the listener when hearing OJ Law’s songs is that his melodic gifts always shine through, as he switches effortlessly between indie rock, soul, and electronica. He has had success on the Malaysian music scene with indie radio hits such asStopgap, Start/Stop, My Life As A Film, and his duet with Liyana Fizi, Fantastic Adventure. His music has even inspired an ice cream flavour to be named after him. Following the critical acclaim and success of his album “Yesterday is a Distant Dream” (TimeOut KL’s Album of the Year 2012, and a Deezer ‘Best of 2012’ pick), OJ Law returns in 2014 with his long-awaited new album, “Let’s Be Adult”, due for a summer release. Since he”ll be performing at Putrajaya Youth Festival which whill be held on 23rd – 25th May 2014, we got a chance to interview OJ Law to discuss about his influences in music, his inspirations, and also his opinions about the youth.

It”s been two years since your last album release. Any upcoming projects?

Just finished recording my new album. It’s called Let’s Be Adult, and I’m planning to release it in August.

What was the idea behind the music video of “Tongue-Tied”?

It’s an exploration of our relationship with technology. But it’s quite a fragile relationship. It would only take a few people turning off some switches to, for example, to turn off the internet. Imagine the chaos!

When researching for the video, the director, Ling Low and I discovered that in Japan, people are developing androids that can watch over patients in hospital. And even with good intentions, there’s still something very unsettling about these androids. They’re not quite human enough yet. But I guess if you project a personality onto an android, then you can overlook the flaws and they’ll seem more lifelike to you. So I hope that dynamic comes across in the video.

You’ve collaborated with Liyana Fizi for “Fantastic Adventure”. One of the more notable ones even. Did you expect it to be such a hit? And any other local acts you’re thinking of collaborating with?

It was a genuine attempt to write a pop song in the vein of The Cardigans, but you never know if people are going to actually like the songs or not. The night before I released Tongue-Tied, I was having panic attacks, because I suddenly thought the song sucked. You become to close to the songs and can’t see them objectively.

What I want to do after releasing my next album is produce an album and nbso online casino have other people sing the songs. You know, I want to be the Pharrell or the Timbaland, the guy in the background. But minus the terrible posing and freestyilng. There’s lots of great singers in KL, some of them aren’t even in the scene. There’s this guy called Faiq, he’s not even a professional singer, but he has such amazing voice! Somewhere in the vicinity of Bon Iver, Sampha, Thom Yorke… it’s This pushing the envelope on analysis is an exciting aspect of the big best-data-recovery.com analysis move- ment. pretty ridiculous. So my plan is to have him sing on my songs before anyone realizes how good he is. I don’t think he even realizes how good he is.

Where do you obtain inspiration to write your music?

The changes in weather patterns. The seasons.

Your album “Yesterday is a distant dream” was given Malaysia’s Best Album by Time Out KL. Did you expect such exposure for your music? Tell us a little more about its writing process

If you could perform anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Hook me into people’s dreams, we’re only limited by our imaginations.

Your genre on your facebook is described as “Banana Indie Soultronica”. Could you describe that to us?

Banana is a (slightly racial, but I don’t take offence to it), to describe Chinese kids who were raised in English-speaking countries. You know how you have “soul” music. Then you also have ‘blue-eye soul’, which is basically a politically correct way of saying ‘soul music sung by white people’.

So what am I? Banana soul? But if I like indie rock and electronica as well, and you mix it all together…I mean, I’d rather have no genre, just call it pop music. But people always ask for one in interviews!

If you could pick which era in time to be a musician, which one would it be?

Today is the best. You get the entire history of music to go with what’s happening now. But I’d love to know what people are listening to a few thousand years from now. Do you think people will view The Beatles and Michael Jackson like we view Mozart? Like, Mozart is cool and all, but I’m not listening to it when I’m sitting in rush hour traffic.

The youth music culture is picking up in Malaysia and you’re performing for “Festival Belia Putrajaya”, how would you youngsters in Malaysia in regards to the local music scene?

It’s all about the youth, they’re the music pioneers of the future. I can’t wait to see what music the 14 year olds start making, especially the weird kids who go onto Soundcloud and try to find underground music like mine or the other people in the scene.

Don”t forget to catch Oj Law and the other great local artists at the annual Festival Belia Putrajaya 2014 from 23 – 25 May 2014. The three-day Festival will be held at Persiaran Perdana, Presint 4, Putrajaya from 10am to 10pm.

-A Celebration by the Youth for the Youth -
Putrajaya, 24 April 2014 – The Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia is set to host the annual Festival Belia Putrajaya 2014 from 23 – 25 May 2014. The three-day Festival will be held at Persiaran Perdana, Presint 4, Putrajaya from 10am to 10pm.

This year, Festival Belia Putrajaya 2014 aims to showcase the collective talent of the youths, and spark inspiration and limitless creativity through various workshops, activities, and events. This year’s theme “Dari Belia, Untuk Belia” will allow Malaysian youths to define their own creative space and get together in a celebration of all that is young.

After attracting more than 2 million people in 2013, the Festival this year aims to draw a more diverse crowd of all ages, with more than 60 relevant activities being planned and separated into four zones. The Festival will serve as a springboard to inspire youths around the country to dream bigger and to put their ideas into motion. Fans of the local indie scene will be able to catch some of the brightest local music talents performing in an open stage over the three days within Zone Utara, Zone Barat and Zone Selatan.

Commenting on the Festival, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Khairy Jamaluddin says, “We are trying to aim for more diversity in our events this year. You will find that it is more scaled down to have that genuine feel to it and at the same time, we really want to provide events that youths from all walks of life and with all kinds of interest could participate in.”
Zone Timur will showcase activities and events spearheaded by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, such as popular carnival Jom Heboh, Youth Entrepreneur Lifestyle Valley (a showcase of local entrepreneurs), and Youth Job Fair, an opportunity to find your dream career.

This year, the Modal Insan program will feature several educational and spiritual activities to attract Muslim youths such as Tilawah Al-Quran, Nasyid competition, Kompang Formasi, Pidato and the highlight activity, Selawat.

Zone Utara, the entertainment and cultural zone will include The Other Stage with music acts, and Laman Kampung featuring Grow A Garden by Eat, Shoots & Roots – an activity to teach youths to cultivate their own mini garden in a bottle, and #ProjekPiringHitam, a listening booth of digitized music from the P.Ramlee era. Alternatively, visit The Living City by #BetterCities, an interactive exhibition to educate youths about urban growth using toy bricks.
Engage in Peperangan Bantal by RandomAlphabets, or catch Local Vintage Games 2.0 where life-sized games from your childhood past like getah, batu seremban, hop-scotch and bottle caps come to life. Another must-see is Bas Sekolah, a retrospective journey of self discovery. Nostalgia, dreams and hope come to the forefront as the audience are immersed in an unforgettable interactive trip down memory lane.
Alternatively, lend your support to the participants in Karnival Sukan Tradisional, a nationwide competition for the best in our traditional games such as sepak raga bulatan, kabbadi, tarik tali and gasing. For a dose of local culture, witness Perkampungan Warna-Warni Belia, a nationwide competition of the best performers of gendang rakyat, berbalas pantun, dikir barat and koir patriotik.
Other interesting highlights include experiential performances inside Flatland, a performance installation that offers a riveting AV experience. Festival-goers can stay on to catch the evening screenings under the starry sky at the Outdoor Cinema which will feature “Mencari Nu-santara,” a music documentary about the influences of nusantara music in today’s contemporary music, as well as other local films.
Within the same zone, the Extreme Park area will feature the Extreme Stage with activities including Real Street Showdown Skate Park, a skating competition in a custom-built skate park with unique props such as a dump truck, a picnic table and a concrete barrier.
Back to Basics music workshop will consist of a series of games, performances, and talks featuring local hip-hop artistes. The Rantai Art bazaar will feature creative entrepreneurial vendors, film screenings, music & art performances, and mural/graffiti jam, and Pekan Frinjan, a car boot sale & bazaar.
Local music acts set to take the stage at Zone Utara include Thrill Me Now, Lawa Nie Geng, Couple and Froya, Pesawat, Aman-Ra, Nadhira, Maddthelin, IndieGo, Hani & Zue, Reza Salleh, Najwa Latif , as well as #MencariNusantara, a 150 minutes performance by five acts including Monoloque, Manifesto, Salam Muzik, The Venopian Solitude and Asmidar. Alternative rock band Kyoto Protocol, W.A.R.I.S., Azlan and the Typewriter, Coex & Doomic, NAO, OJ Law, Pitahati, SevenCollar T-Shirt, The Impatient Sisters, Bass Sekolah, Platform 11 and Anna Chong will also be making an appearance.
At Zone Barat, the artistic and literary zone, attendees can anticipate Tempatan Fest, a showcase of local designer and streetwear brands; and Talk Space, intimate talk sessions supported by TEDxKL, paired with sketchnoting courtesy of sketch artist Bernie Quah. Meanwhile, budding thespians can participate in Experience + Live by Kakiseni, where youths will be exposed to performing arts via workshops, auditions and intimate performances.
Calling all bookworms: make a beeline for Big Bad Wolf, which needs no introduction! Additionally, check out the ‘Literature Zone’ and stop by Buku Fixi to catch the book launch and live readings of “Lost in Putrajaya”, and sale of Buku Fixi materials. E-Games Tournament, a national search for the best players in DotA and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) where qualifying teams will battle it out at the festival to take home the grand prize; or take part in MAKER Playground, consisting of a series of workshops with activities like silk-screening your own tees, making portable stools, Arduino hacking and 3D printing.
Zone Selatan, themed the ‘Active’ zone with an integrated space will contain Fight Club which features activities such as Seni Mempertahankan Diri, Malaysian Invasion Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) – a tournament with prominent fighters from all over Malaysia battling it out in the prominent and eye catching MMA cage, and Punching Bag, a series of tournaments, demonstrations and workshops featuring professional martial artist from all over the country.
The Malaysia Street Workout Championship, organized by MACASSO (Malaysia Calisthenics Association) is the first ever calisthenics street workout championship will also be held where the winner will get to represent Malaysia on an international level.
Sports enthusiasts can also participate in physical activities such as Motocross, a tournament where riders will have to race across the tracks and complete the challenges; Redah 4×4, a 4×4 race; Drag Moto, drag motorcycle activities – or for kicks, join a fun run at the Zombie Run and get ready to dash for your life!
Entrance to the Festival is free of charge and open to all ages. Festival-goers are encouraged to take public transportation to the festival using the KLIA Transit station (making a stop at Putrajaya Sentral) where shuttle buses will be available to take you to the festival site. For drivers, there will be a Park & Ride facility. Find out more on where to park at our website www.festivalbeliaputrajaya.com
For more information, follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/festivalbeliaputrajaya, Twitter @FBP2014 or Instagram http://instagram.com/festivalbelia2014#.

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For this year, we are set and ready to supply you with the exciting names who will rise their way to the music charts or world’s music festivals. After two months of hiatus, we are so glad to present you ‘The Next Big Thing’ which will return next week on Saturdays. Some names might have had their debut a few years ago, but we are sure that they will rock your socks off in 2014. Starting with the hip/hop sensation , Chance The Rapper; Reignwolf the Canadian electric blues band; Lake Street Dive, who will take you back to the sixties with their jazzy and soulful music; and Radkey, the brothers from Missouri. We’ve been reviewing from many music magazines (and of course our music radar) to list more than 30 names to blow your mind.

Make sure you will not miss the 44th artist who’ll start this year’s The Next Big Thing and get some space in your iPod since you’re going to have some new bands to listen to. The Next Big Thing’s Class of 2014 has arrived!

Having matured from their 2010 album ‘The Fools’, Warpaint is not to be associated with the typical “all-girl band” stereotype. They bring to the floor melancholic vibes infused with a drug-like haze, enticing the crowd with their dynamic sound. To add, the siren-like voices of lead Emily Kokal (Lead Vocalist) and Theresa Wayman (Back-up/Vocals) howls over the venue walls, well complimented by the bassline of Jenny Lee Lindberg (Bass) and Stella Mozgawa’s (Drums) beats. The rapport of the four is undeniably what makes their latest self-titled album something worth listening to.

They open their set with ‘Keep It Healthy’,a great start to build an essence of misty haze throughout the venue, transporting attendees to a mystical place. From silhouettes of Mozgawa and Lindberg flickering on the walls to bright flashing lights, the setting was perfect to fit what Warpaint had to offer. Taking a breather, Lindberg (evidently a fan favorite) introduces the next song “Hi”, highlighting her sternum-crushing bass line. It was a marvel at how tight they have their set together, switching from keyboards to synths, drums to drum pads and keeping their grip together with near to zero noticeable fumbles. Their mastery towards their music is something highly notable. ‘love Is to Die’ came up next, roaring life on stage with epileptic lights, the live version was simply beyond compare.

The level of intimacy from Warpaint isn’t something staged, it could only come from rigorous amounts of practice and training together, creating a special bond internally within the group. Also noting their natural quirkiness in between songs, it’s aweing at how they’re able to switch modes instantaneously to fit the ideal mood for a song. “Biggie” to “No Way Out” was an eye-closing, hip-swaying casino online experience, drowning the audience in their melodic yet haunting voices and “Billie Holiday” was a sit down romantic sing-along to the childlike and charming tune. A familiar tune followed after, something that wasn’t expected. A real professional rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’ filled the room, accompanied by a sea of hums from any 90’s kid.A highlight hit from ‘The Fools’ came next,‘Drive’ and ‘Disco//Very’ naturally got the crowd to jump back on their feet dancing along to every beat.

Pulling out the oldest trick in the book, the girls announce that ‘Elephants’ would be their last song (though we all know that there WILL be an encore), “ending” their pre-encore set with a cliffhanger to come back on stage with a solo acoustic by Kokal singing ‘Baby’, a more feminine twist in contrast to their other tracks. Taking a minute to have a short conversation, the four-piece band seemed somewhat dazed. “Umm…so what do we do next?” said Mozgawa, providing a light chuckle. Closing the night with ‘Elephants’ was definitely the culmination of the night. This is where they let loose and huddle over the drums – jamming and doing what they do best as friends.

It was as though we managed to peer into Warpaints inner circle tonight. Feeling a sense of comfort as though they were practicing in a garage. It’s a rare sight to see a band so in tune with each other and that’s what made the show something memorable. (Photos : Faisal N)

KUALA LUMPUR: Following up from the preceding year with the “Mexicana” theme, this year FMFA 14’ comes back with the jungle fever gracing South East Asia’s biggest music festival with a mammoth three day lineup for the event, a day bump from last years’ two-day event.

Gaining success year after year initially raking a crowd of 25,000 participants across Asia in 2012, the numbers have estimated to escalate triple of what it initially was. Yeap, a colossal 75,000 expected music lovers are to attend this years’ shindig.

Locking down the dates from 13-15 March 2014, the heavily anticipated event is going to be held over at Bukit Jalil National Stadium and opening day 1 would be a VIP exclusive kick-start for VIP weekend pass holders with Deadmau5 + friends hosting the party. Best to secure your tickets ASAP for maximum festival pleasure.

Day 2 would mark the second appearance of heavyweight DJ, Armin Van Buuren’s A State Of Trance (ASOT) 650: ‘New Horizons’. Besides Miami, Florida, Malaysia is the second known country to have a comeback of the epic rave with acts chosen by the said DJ himself. Judging from the crowd of epic proportions to have attended the event this year is rumored to be nothing less than extravagant.

The 3rd day and main event of the festival will bring about a vast range of sounds from Electronic Dance Music (EDM) to Hip Hop spreading out to four stages. Bringing to horizon long awaited acts such as The Wu-Tang Clan featuring Ghostface Killah, Methodman and Raekwon garnished with the recent Hip Hop phenomenon Macklemore & Ryan Lewis just to name a few. Plus…. Pharrell Williams will be one of the great names to roar on the final day!

Rally up your friends and nab your tickets before they run out because this years’ event is something you sure won’t want to miss!

Soundscape Records is proud to present Los Angeles all-girl quartet, Warpaint, Live in Kuala Lumpur on 12th Feb at Bentley Music Auditorium.

Warpaint weave intricate guitar lines, hypnotic vocals and driving post punk rhythms into gorgeous, sprawling songs that skirt the line between psychedelia and intimacy. Both live and on record, Warpaint sound like they’re channeling something truly otherworldly, and mystical.

The band recently announced the follow-up to their 2010 critically-acclaimed debut, The Fool. It’s self-titled, spans 12 tracks, is set to release on 20th January 2014 via Rough
Trade Records.

‘Warpaint’ was co-produced by Warpaint and Flood (PJ Harvey, Sigur Ros, New Order, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Foals), and mixed by Flood and Nigel Godrich

(Radiohead). The album was conceived after some writing and recording sessions that took place in The Joshua Tree late last year. Here the band was joined by visionary director Chris Cunningham who has partnered with them for many of the album visuals including the cover. He has spent the past two years filming and photographing the band as they made ‘Warpaint’.

The group will also contribute a cover of ‘The Chauffeur’ to a forthcoming Duran Duran tribute album released in aid of charity next year and will return to the region in February to promote the new record, starting at Laneway Festival in Australia, the four- piece will then perform in a few Asian cities, including Kuala Lumpur.

Warpaint is Emily Kokal (vocals/guitar), Theresa Wayman (vocals/guitar), Jenny Lee Lindberg (bass/vocals), and Stella Mozgawa (drums).

Pre-sale tickets at RM118 are available at Rock Corner and www.soundscape- records.com/home/shows/

Phoenix might not be the first French rock band, but they are the only French rock band who made their name into the big league of rock bands. This fuour Frenchies will be one of the headliners on Ismaya Live’s Love Garage 2014.  It’s our tradition to give you guys some fun facts about the band before they rock your world.

1. Thomas Mars, Deck D’Arcy, and Christian Mozzalai met in elementary school. They began recording when they were 11.

2. When they were 16, Laurent Broncowitz joined the band and they became Phoenix.

3. They grew up in Versailles, France. This city is also known as the pre-revolution capital of France.

4. Before Phoenix, Broncowitz was in a band called Darlin’ with Daft Punk.

5. Sofia Coppola – Thomas Mars’ wife, features Phoenix in every film that she makes.

6. In the past, they were shunned from playing in France because they only sang and wrote their songs in English. Fortunately that changed.

7. Phoenix has a rule that every record they make should be under 40 minutes.

8. The band used Oblique Strategies (a set of flash cards that is supposed to help artists break creative blocks by encouraging lateral thinking) to help them write their breakthrough album Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

9. As Big fans of Michael Jackson, Phoenix bought the recording console used on Thriller to make Bankrupt!

10. Remember last year’s Coachella when Phoenix and R Kelly did Ignition mash-up? Phoenix are big fans of R Kelly. Brancowitz said in an interview that they’re part of a secret society of R Kelly.

Southeast Asia’s largest music festival to feature a colossal list of big names which includes Deadmau5, Paul Van Dyk, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Wu Tang Clan, Baauer, Eric Prydz’s first ever appearance in Asia and the return of Armin Van Buuren’s legendary ‘A State of Trance 650: New Horizons’ plus many more at The Mines Wonderland, Mines Resort City from 13 – 15 March 2014  

KUALA LUMPUR: The organizers of Future Music Festival Asia, Future Music Australia and Livescape Asia today announced its biggest festival yet by unveiling its line-up of epic proportions for next year’s massive festival. The festival will take over the Mines Wonderland, Mines Resort City’s entire vicinity from 13 – 15 March 2014 with an estimated 75,000 fans expected to converge over the three-days.

Slated to be Southeast Asia’s biggest music festival ever, the organisers take cue from the success Future Music Festival Asia has obtained over the past two years and promises more punch and a cosmic show that will seal FMFA as Southeast Asia’s biggest and most epic music festival. The festival next year has been expanded to three days from this year’s two.

The theme for next year’s mega event brings to life a psychedelic kaleidoscope of raw energy and wild enthusiasm as the ‘Safari’ takes over the Mines Wonderland, Mines Resort City. Punters are urged to come decked in their most inspirational Safari themed outfits as the music event unleashes its unbelievable line-up of performers onto a hungry pack of music buffs with a stampede of transcending genres.

Tickets go on sale on Thursday, 17 October 2013. With the mega line-up of acts invading Malaysia, organisers have split ticket sales into four releases that will be sold in stages. Music lovers are urged to go out and safeguard their passes, as FMFA next year is again expected to be a sold-out affair.

“It has been our vision to bring to music punters in this region a massive music experience that resonates long after the festival is over. This is our first steps in making that vision a reality by presenting our biggest line-up to date. From US to Indonesia, music lovers are crossing out their calendars for the coming festival and we can only get better from here on. This will be the largest music festival in Southeast Asia and we guarantee it will be a mind-blowing three-day event”, mentioned Iqbal Ameer, Director of Livescape Asia.

Day 1 will be an invite only event for festival goers who purchase the weekend pass. Deemed as the ‘FMFA 2014 Opening Party featuring DeadMau5 + Friends”, the stage will be dominated by the long awaited arrival of outspoken progressive-house music producer and performer, Deadmau5. Only weekend and VIP pass holders will be allowed access into Day 1.

On Day 2, fans of trance music and Armin Van Buuren will be transported once again to intergalactic heights with ‘A State of Trance 650: New Horizons’, marking the Dutch trance legend’s return to Malaysian shores. The return of ASOT to Malaysia also marks Kuala Lumpur as the only city in the world after Miami to have hosted the show for two years running.

“Last year we had such an impressive turn-out that we just had to bring Armin Van Buuren back for another mind-blowing night. Trance fans can attest that it was not just magnetic but the energy and vibe was staggering. Playing alongside Armin are also going to be legendary names so we can guarantee that this is one night, music fans are not going to want to miss,” stressed Iqbal Ameer.

Day 3 which will be held on 15 March 2014 will see the main Future Music Festival Asia 2014 event take place which will feature four massive stages. The stages on Saturday will feature diverse sounds ranging from Electronic Dance Music (EDM), Trance, Techno, Rock, and HipHop.

Jason Ayoubi, the Director of Future Music Australia said, “I believe we have got a phenomenal line-up and I don’t think Southeast Asia, let alone Malaysia has ever witnessed a gathering of musical talents in a single event of this proportion and scale. So to the fans, I urge you to please get your tickets early. We’re expecting a sold-out show and we really don’t want to have to disappoint you because I promise you, next year, Future Music Festival Asia 2014 will be the biggest music event to happen in this part of the region”.

The epic Future Music Festival Asia, which thrilled crowds of over 55,000 in March this year, has been dubbed as the largest music festival to ever hit Southeast Asian shores. Malaysia is the only country to ever host Future Music Festival outside of Australia. Future Music Festival Asia 2014 is organized by Future Music Australia and Livescape Asia Sdn. Bhd. and is supported by Malaysia Major Events, a division of the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau, an agency under Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism and Culture. It is also supported by Mixmag as the festival’s Global Media Partner and MTV as its Official Music Channel.

“The Future Music Festival Asia 2014 represents a great mark for Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2014. The fact that Malaysia is able to host this festival for the third consecutive year in 2014 on different aspects of our hospitality and culture, once again proves that we are committed to further intensify our interactions as stakeholders in the tourism and culture sector and working towards enhancing the contribution to economic development of Malaysia,” said Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri bin Tan Sri Abdul Aziz, Minister of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia.

Tony Nagamaiah, General Manager of the Malaysia Major Events added, “Malaysia Major Events is constantly deriving ways to support activities that could drive tourism into the country. Over 75,000 revellers are expected to attend the festival next year of which over 20,000 are foreign fans. With a proven track record over the past two years, we believe that Future Music Festival Asia is a dynamic platform to attract a large number of tourists into the country and be a part of reaching our goal of 28 million tourists in 2014.”

For the festival next year, fans of Future Music Festival Asia 2014 will be offered choices to purchase either single-day passes for the 14 or 15 March 2014 or a three-day weekend pass which will grant them access into all three days of the Future Music Festival Asia 2014 Weekend. Passes to Day 1 of FMFA 2014 is not available for sale separately.

For more information or to obtain updates on the festival, logon to: www.futuremusicfestival.asia or www.facebook.com/futuremusicasia. Visit also www.astateoftrance.com for more information on Armin Van Buuren’s A State of Trance 650: New Horizons.

Tickets will be on sale from 17 October 2013 onwards at http://redtix.airasia.com. VIP Tickets go on sale on October 30 via www.galactix.asia. For exclusive VIP packages, contact Livescape Asia at +60.3.7772.6272. Tickets are also available for walk-in purchase at selected Rock Corner and Victoria Music outlets. Future Music Festival Asia 2014 is opened to guests aged 18-years and older only. ID verifications will be carried out at the door. *Ticket prices exclude ticket agent’s processing and credit card fees.

Festival rules apply. FMFA also implements a strict no re-entry policy for security reasons. The organizers also reserve the right to deny entry to any guest deemed to be in violation of festival rules.

List of FMFA 2014 acts below. List of acts by stages and days will be released in the next few days:

International acts:

• Adventure Club
• Armin Van Buuren
• Arty
• ATB
• Baauer
• Brodinski
• Carnage
• Chase & Status (LIVE)
• Deadmau5
• Deniz Koyu
• Eric Prydz (First Ever Asian Appearance)
• Gesaffelstein (LIVE)
• Knife Party
• Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
• Marcus Schulz
• Monsta
• Naughty Boy
• Paul Van Dyk
• Porter Robinson
• Rehab
• Rudimental
• Sub Focus (LIVE)
• Tinie Tempah
• Wu Tang Clan feat. Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon
• Yuna
• + more to be announced soon

Local acts:

• 2db
• Anowl
• BATE
  • Basement Syndicate
  • Bunga
  • Dangerdisko featuring Datuk Sheila Majid
  • Deer Society
  • Goldfish +Blink
  • H3
  • Mr.Nasty and GuruGuru
  • Raising the Bar
  • Tubby
  • Xu
  • + more to be announced soon