It has been raining quite frequent off late, being the only two ‘seasons’ of weather that we have in Malaysia : Rain, or shine. Rain, day after day after day and it does not look like its about to end anytime soon. What would usually be best thing to do on a post rainy evening? Sit in your room snuggling under your favourite blanket, drink your favorite tea and watch your favorite movie would usually be part of the list, but on the night when Ólafur Arnalds came down to Malaysia for his “For Now I Am A Writer” tour fans all over evidently would rather choose to be at The Bee, Publika instead of watching their favorite movie with a mug of tea at home.

No opening bands, no shenanigans, and no Air Conditioning (Oh No!), Ólafur hit the stage straight to his grand piano with the assistance of a cellist, Paul Grennan, violinist, Victor OrniArnason and with the help of his trusty MacBook, they hit the stage. Needless to say, there was pin drop silence in the venue waiting for the composer to hit his first note. Well, at least till someone asks for an order or somebody dropped something in the kitchen. Other than that the ambience was serene, justifying why the air conditioners were switched off.

Opening the set was ‘GleypaOkkur’ , a track from his previous album “And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness”, a subtle start to his set. Enthralling the audience with every note haunting them from within. Personally, it even gave us chills down our spine. Moving on to his next piece, took a bit of time to show off his persona on stage by sharing a story of how the next song was written; “Poland”. The song related to his adventures to Eastern Europe enjoying what they are famous for, of course nothing other than, Vodka. Progressing into his set, several The pupils who were with us this Tuesday had a great time exploring the free school supplies and getting involved in a range of activities created by Mrs Tait and Mrs Wallace. other notable songs were played from his found songs collection to his latest album, even Victor (Violinist) and Paul (Cellist) slotted in a solo of their respective instruments to flair up the night.

Ólafur’s uncanny humor gave a more gleam feel to the gig (Its funnier with his Icelandic accent really) he took pauses in between songs to interact with the crowd, telling them stories like how he used to be in a punk rock band so the heat doesn’t effect him at all or that he actually wrote a song about bath tubs, ‘Ljósið’ and people misinterpret it to be something deeper than it actually is. Or that he’s seen nothing but his hotel, the highway and the mall that we were in leaving him to only be able to say “You guys have nice highways”. He has his eccentric sense of humor but when he started playing the piano, every stroke of the instrument is a haunting experience. Making your mind travel deep into a lake of emotion. Especially with the absence of lyrics, you are free to interpret how the music touches you on your own. It could be empowering, joyous or even just down right depressing.

Other notable songs to the night would be ‘Alltvarðhljótt’ , a song that Ólafur wrote for a film where “The main protagonists kills her friends” thus summing up the entire movie of, The hunger games. His finale to his set was “Near light”, a song that gave him a standing ovation from the entire room wishing they could have more to hear but to only leave them with nothing but what the internet people would say , “The Feels”. (Zafran Aqil)

KUALA LUMPUR 1 AUGUST 2013 — Silent Discotek will make its festival debut of at Good Vibes Festival (#GoodVibesFest) on 17 August at the Sepang International Kart Circuit. Silent Discotek’s tent will feature a rotation of DJs to keep the crowd dancing from 5pm to 10:30pm near the festival’s food bazaar, Good Bites.

Silent Discotek is a unique entertainment concept where two DJs perform different styles of music simultaneously in silence to a large audience wearing Silent Discotek headsets. Party-goers can switch between either DJ on their headsets at a range of 100m. Embedded LED lights in the headsets even pulse in time with the DJs beats. Silent Discotek is Mile High Sounds brand.

“Party-goers can choose to listen to whichever music that suits their mood. Rather than having to scream over blasting music to talk to friends, guests enjoy complete control over their party experience,” says Dean Richards, founder and director of Silent Discotek.

Although the idea of silent disco traces back to the late ‘60s, it rapidly gained notoriety in 2005 as a way to overcome Glastonbury Festival’s noise restrictions. A few years later the term swept across Europe and even made it into the Oxford Dictionary.

“We can essentially add layers of music over any outdoor space, room, or venue. Whether you’re 16 or 60, anybody can enjoy Silent Discotek at Good Vibes Festival,” says Reuben Samuel, director of Mile High Sounds.

The inaugural Good Vibes Festival is a one-day festival in Sepang organised by Future Sound Asia (FSA). The festival will feature international headlining acts Smashing Pumpkins, Modest Mouse, Ash, and Japandroids, as well as acts from Malaysia and around the region.

Ticketing details

PRE-SALE RM158 (24 June – 16 August)

AT THE DOOR RM188

VIP (only available online) RM258 (24 June – 16 August)

BUY IT AT www.myticket.my OR all Rock Corner Outlets

Silent Discotek

Silent Discotek was founded in December 2012 & officially launched in May 2013. Silent Discotek is Malaysia’s only unique entertainment concept that offers multiple audio channels simultaneously on wireless headphones. Silent Discotek has already tied up events with Sony BMG & Universal Music.

Mile High Sounds

Mile High Sounds (partners with Silent Discotek) bring to the stage a diverse mix of music and entertainment for any type of festival or event. Silent Discotek aims to be the best and most innovative wireless headphone event & hire company in Asia. Silent Discotek’s aim is to provide and explore the possibilities of how wireless technologies can benefit the community and to bring exciting entertainment concepts to the industry.