CREATIVE MALAYSIA Fringe Programme

CREATIVE MALAYSIA Fringe Programme

CREATIVE MALAYSIA PROGRAMME Line‐up of Performers:

MEI XUAN CHAN (MAXY) Pianist, Mei Xuan Chan (Maxy), achieved her ATCL in 2010 and LTCL (distinction) in 2012 at the age of 17. In the following year in 2013, she emerged as the Winner of Pop and Jazz Piano Solo Category in the Roland Music Festival, 3rd placing in the 1st EuroAsia Youth Music Competition, received a Gold Award in the Asian Piano Competition for the Asian Work Young Adult and received an “Honourable Commendation” for standout performances in the Jarrod Radnich’s Pirates of the Caribbean Worldwide YouTube Piano Competition. Mei Xuan is currently studying Foundation in Music at UCSI University where she has been awarded a four year full scholarship to pursue her Bachelor of Music degree.

10th Penang Island Jazz Festival 2013


SIXTH SENSE Members of Sixth Sense hail from Sabah and Labuan, coming together with a shared passion for Soul and Pop music with deep grooves. Vocalists Gabby and Genie, whose combined interest and inspiration in music started at a young age with music lessons and listening to international singers such as Diana Krall, Julie London and Norah Jones, performed with the group “Spice of Tones” in The KK Jazz Festival in 2011. Following that they decided to form Sixth Sense with Damian Paul on guitar and Marc Elvin on keyboards from Sabah and the Lau brothers – Peter and Simon (both well‐sought after musicians in Labuan) on drums and bass respectively, Sixth Sense performs a repertoire of originals and re‐arranged covers.



AMRITA SOON Self‐taught singer songwriter who likes country music, novels and sunsets, Amrita, started writing songs at the age of 12 and has to date a number of songs, amongst them, are Clues, Red and Paper Planes which she has performed on local TV and Radio, Internet Radio and in various private and open‐mic events in KL. In 2012, Amrita realized a dream when she attended The Country Music Festival in Nashville where she sang at some venues and also performed at Berkeley's Freight & Salvage with veteran singer‐songwriter ‐ Alan Senauke. Her video “Dandelion Days” was awarded by BEAT100.com a gold award for a well written original song, silver for being one of the BEAT100 team's favourite videos and bronze for a high quality original video with good production values. Amrita, who organizes the Tree House Open Mic sessions, was also picked as Digi’s Breakthrough Youtube Star at the 2013 Digi WWWOW Awards.



FUNKCOUSTICS Natives of the island of Penang, Funkcoustics, are an acoustic duo consisting of Darrin Rozells and Alvin Chong. Darrin picked up the guitar at the age of 10 and by the time he was 12, was already proficient in playing songs of the Shadows and Eagles. In 2004, Darrin played bass with the band ‐ AMPM who won the "Yamaha Asian Beat" competition Northern Region finals. Together with Alvin who possesses a smooth yet raspy “soulful” voice with the aspirations of being a recording artist, this young and talented duo have spent many hours reworking on arrangements of songs and developing a unique sound of their own.



FAZZ Theatrical, Flamboyant, Humorous and Passionate ‐ these are the words that best describes the band “Fazz”. Fazz began as a concept of bringing entertainment on stage using the dated 1940s style and infusing theatrical broad‐way feel into modern day poetry. Kevin, the Vocalist who has a penchant for unique and catchy melodies and Keyboardist Grace who has an ear for uncommon chordal harmonies were the initiators of the band. After roping in Bass player Farouque, who contributes on the pop arrangement, the band has over a period of a year made their mark in the industry by being the first crowned champions for 'Diamond in the Rough' competition at the Venue and snatching first place for 'Sonica Song Writing Competition'. Fazz focuses on delivering entertainment not just by original materials, but also by their quirky theatrical presentation and unique style.



KELVYN & THE BLUES Penang born guitarist, songwriter and producer Kelvyn Yeang, is no stranger to the indie scene. Brandishing an electric guitar and a loud personality, he is known as the one behind jazz/rock fusion group “Ocean of Fire” and a love for anything “red”. His passion for music has seen him initiating a number of musical projects, forever pushing musical boundaries and this time teaming up with a bunch of friends, the blues is the focus! With Jay on bass, the gifted Josh on drums and Hazel fronting the group, the band serves up original numbers as well as the familiar sounds of the blues and funk with extended guitar solos and instrumental odysseys as well as original arrangements for familiar songs.



PALADIN Made up of members who are professional classical cellists, Paladin, whose name derives from a synonym of the malay word “Pahlawan” which stands for Warrior, is a Cello Rock Fusion band based in Malaysia. Its name best expresses the constant struggle and extreme difficulty of the band’s objective which is to use classical cellos and techniques to play heavy contemporary music in the most credible way, and make their way into a contemporary music scene normally dominated by contemporary instruments. Members of Paladin are Aidil Khaizir, Iqbal Hisham, Rasyid Iskandar, Florian Antier, Aamil Suleiman and Ahmad Hazik. Since it’s formation, Paladin has performed at every single live music venue in Kuala Lumpur, been featured at the Kakiseni Arts Festival, TV and is currently the only known cello rock band in the South East Asia Region.



HAMEER ZAWAWI Petaling Jaya resident, Hameer Zawawi is a singer‐songwriter with a Computer Games Development degree – a unique combination that he has used to his advantage by taking experiences and inspirations from the video games industry and writing and singing songs featuring fantasy‐like lyrics and epic melodies that depict vast worlds and environments that can only be seen in the confines of his small bedroom, living room or backyard. Hameer, who has been playing ever since August 2012, has been actively going for every ‘Open‐mic Series’ that has ever existed or been organized in the Klang Valley and is currently working on finishing up on his EP recording, ‘National Fantasy’.



VIV ADRAM & THE NORTHERN JAZZ UNIT Designer by Day and Singer by Night ‐ Vocalist Viv Adram, grew up on a potpourri of musical styles from top 40s to rock but finds singing jazz best suited for her. She is backed by The Northern Jazz Unit which was formed in late 2011 by members of Northern Jazz Ensemble to explore jazz in a combo setup. Together with The Northern Jazz Unit led by Jerome Quah on keyboards, Viv Adram and The Northern Jazz Unit have performed in a number of venues and events in Penang and Kuala Lumpur. Other members of the Unit are seasoned Bass player and music instructor Bakri Mohd and Drummer Cain Peterson, who comes from a family with a long lineage of talented Penang musicians.



MOMAIN BLUES From The Land Below The Wind comes Momain Blues, a band formed purely out of the love and chemistry of four musicians playing blues music. Formed in 2009, the band comprises of four established and experienced personalities from within the Kota Kinabalu/Sabah musical community. Members of the band are Principal lyricist Ahmad Aziz who plays the Drums and Percussions, Nazri Hussin on Guitars and Vocals, Naza Hussin on Bass and Vocals and veteran musician Sonny B on Vocals, Guitars and Harmonica completes the line‐up. Momain Blues who won the “Favourite Song” and “Most Popular Artiste” awards while performing at “RTM Sabah’s Local Charts Awards” final 2011 has the distinction of being the first musical group in Sabah (in recent history) to use the Blues as the basis for their music and image. Momain Blues Appearance at The 10th Penang Island Jazz Festival is Supported By KK Jazz Festival



JUNK JUNK is an instrumental jazz‐fusion band consisting of 5 members from very diverse backgrounds ‐ a doctor, photographer, and a group of IT engineers who play together for the love of the same genre of music. The name JUNK is derived from the words "jazz" and "funk" ‐ although admittedly, a fair amount of different, peculiar styles often surface from time to time in the band’s repertoire due to the various interests and musical styles and senses of each member. The band consisting of Siang Xi (Keyboards/Piano), Eizaz Azhar (Electric Clarinet/ Saxophone/Flute), Eizhan Azhar (Bass), Brett Lee (Drums & Percussion) and David Chin (Electric & Acoustic Guitar) are a versatile outfit, playing all forms of music from hard rock to contemporary ballads to blues and swing and even traditional folk rhythms; however the band's true forte lies in jazz fusion, several of which are original compositions.



THE RUBBERBANDS The Rubberbands are a Penang based “nerd rock fusion” band formed in 2010 when Vocalist Eric (who also plays the Guitar) was introduced to Lead Guitarist ‐ Ruth. After a brief pow‐wow and a few jam sessions, they concluded that they were nerdy enough to start a band. They were later joined by Hazama on drums (later replaced by Buddy) and Bassist, Max. With loud guitars and catchy grooves, The Rubberbands, delivers an upbeat, energetic performance of their own materials from the ‘generic’ blues song, “Cina Blues” to a grunge influenced number like “Hypocrite” and occasionally a few cover songs done it their own “nerdy” musical style.




FARIDIAN JAZZ TRIO 02 Students of Berklee Graduate Gambus/Guitarist Farid Ali of the Faridian Jazz Guitar Programme, the Trio comprising of Marina Zaini and Lim Fang Say who recently graduated and Albert Loo who will be graduating in February 2014 have been selected and been trained by Farid Ali himself for their upcoming performance. Armed with basic music knowledge, the Faridian Jazz Programme is the first time that the three of them have been provided with proper guidance in jazz guitar studies. Their discipline, dedication, talent and guidance by Farid have given them the opportunity to perform occasionally with Farid in his gigs and Farid considers the trio’s performance on the Creative Malaysia Fringe Programme as the highlight of the year.

For more on the Penang Island Jazz Festival, visit http://penangjazz.com

http://penangjazz.com/

Entertainment & Humor

CREATIVE MALAYSIA Fringe Programme