KL rocks to its own beat.

(above singer / songwriter extraordinaire Azmyl Yunor)

We've lived in KL for a little over 5 years now. It's great city and we've certainly enjoyed our time here but if there was one thing I would change is the lack of live music. Or I should probably qualify that, interesting live music.

I grew up with DIY / Indie bands in the US and have seen (or heard about) similar scenes popping up around Asia, but never KL. That changed when a young Indonesian friend begain waxing about the local KL scene. Hmm, better check this out...and we did..and you can read about it in this month's Travel + Leisure SEA .

(above Mathematix perform at Cafe 1).

Shooting bands is a little new to me..but it's starting to grow on me.  Every club has its' challenges to shoot in, but as I found out no where near the challenges that the musicians themselves have finding (and keeping) venues to play in.

(above Shh Diam! below Nao Band)

But the musicians we met are incredibly optimistic about the future and for a good reason.

There is just so much untapped talent in this city that it can't help but spill out into a wider audience. (below ThinkTadpoleThink)

The scene is still rather fragmented. Clubs are closed about as soon as they open so you'll need to track bands via their MySpace or Facebook pages. Every gig we went to seemed to point to yet another future gig so it's very much word of mouth, band / fan driven.

See ya at the next show!

 

 

 

Comments

[John C. Michelson]

Great Article! I am an indie musician and love meeting like minded folks. Music is my passion in life and it reflects in my work. I will be back here often to read your new posts!

[Dave]

Thanks for tuning in, John! I am a guitar player myself so thanks for the link to your site!