BRASSBALLETT is a band consisting of 11 members from Hamburg, Germany and they are ready to give the ultimate festival experience at Borneo Jazz 2014. The festival also welcomes “England’s New Jazz Superstar” Anthony Strong, as one of the awaited performers on stage this year. 

BRASSBALLETT, the band from Hamburg combines brass playing with funky dance moves, which are both aurally and visually stunning. The band considers BRASSBALLETT not just as the name of their band, but also as a new musical genre.

They are known for transforming their musicians into dancers and the rehearsal room into a dance studio. It was the brain of the bandleader Wassilij Goron who founded the band in 2011. The band plays live music mixing jazz and funk based on pop, Latin and classical themes while they dance hip hop, street style, tango, salsa and many other dance styles.

Brassballett’s show is all about reaching one goal, which is giving the audience a new kind of live music experience. The band is the first and the only show worldwide, where musicians are dancers at the same time. Brassballett was already invited to many international jazz festivals and various theaters all across Europe to perform their show. 

While from the UK, pianist and singer Anthony Strong who was hailed as “England’s New Jazz Superstar” is very proud to be in Miri to celebrate 9th edition of the festival this year. His EP release reached No.1 on the UK jazz charts in 2012. He eventually signed a worldwide recording deal with iconic French label Naïve, home of multi-million selling singers Adele, Carla Bruni and Katie Melua.

In 2013, Anthony Strong beat Gregory Porter, Michael Buble and Harry Connick Jr. to become October’s No.1 on iTunes and No.2 on the www.amazon.com jazz charts in the USA.

Rod Stewart who is one of the best-selling music artists of all time and a jazz lover has described Anthony’s performance as amazing and the American blues musician BB King has called his music ‘real great music’.

He has quickly built up a reputation as an in-demand session musician, playing with artists such as Michael Bolton, Marti Pellow, Kyle Eastwood and Beverly Knight. He also quickly built up a loyal base of music fans and musicians by mixing his unique take on the jazz classics with his own feel-good songs.

This is a once in a lifetime performance to watch, so be sure to come to the Borneo Jazz festival May 9-10, 2014 in Miri.

3 more days till Borneo Jazz Festival 2014! Are you ready? I know I am :D.. Here's a sneak preview for one of the performers that night. Trying to blend in Leleng (traditional Kenyah song).

YK Samarinda is an ethnic jazz band from East Kalimantan who started out as a fusion jazz band and eventually made and combined ethnic songs of Kalimantan in jazz rhythm. 

The YK Band is a quartet from Samarinda whose music is an unique blend of Indonesian Borneo tunes built into western jazz techniques and improvisation. Yusuf and King formed the band in 2003 when they established some projects of ethnic songs. In 2005, the keyboardist and studio arranger Yin joined the group and later on Thrash Metal drummer Avant joined, which resulted in the group growing bigger. 

In 2013, Avant decided to go for a solo career, and M. Iqbal came to join the YK band. Since then the band has found more groove and has showed impressive performances at the Java Jazz festival in Jakarta and the Mahakam Jazz Fiesta in Samarinda.

Come and see them at the Borneo Jazz Festival 2014 on Saturday, 10 May in Miri, Sarawak and enjoy their South East Asian ethno jazz with a twist. 

KUCHING, Friday – The Malaysian famous DJ Roundhead has been added to the Borneo Jazz main program performing both nights on the 9 and 10 May 2014. The 9th edition of Borneo Jazz will dedicate a special DJ slot right after the mainstage show each night held at the Pavilion, Parkcity Everly Hotel in Miri, Sarawak.

Crowned as the ‘Malaysia DJ Champion’ 3 years in a row when he entered the Malaysian DJ Championship competition from 1995-1997, DJ Roundhead has recorded a long history in the Malaysian music industry with accumulation of at least 20 years performing as a DJ. Among the best moment in his artistic career is representing Malaysia in the Rotterdam Love Parade in the Netherlands for a crowd of 10,000 strong on a 34 wheel trailer while proudly flying the Malaysian flag in front of his console. He also has served as a DJ residency in Melbourne, Australia for a year before returning to Malaysia and currently attached fulltime to TraxxFM in Kuala Lumpur. Roundhead was the producer, composer and the song writer for Malaysia’s very first techno group Asian Tech for Sony Music Malaysia in 1994.

He started career with humble beginnings but at the peak of his career, he never considered himself a celebrity. His passion is music so when he was in high school, he would work part-time jobs during the weekend just to blow it all away on CD's and records. That made him the "go-to-guy" when it came to house parties from high school all the way to college. Roundhead would bring his own player and set up his own mini console and rock the crowd at the party. He did it for free of course, but only after college he join a company during the 90's called Clubworld Entertainment that supplied DJ's to entertainment outlets around Malaysia, where then only he started his professional training.

Explaining on his early passions and influences, Roundhead stressed that he was heavily influenced by the styles and technique of DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Terminator-X, DJ Rob Base, Jam Master Jay when it came to hip-hop and Frankie Knuckles, Masters at Work, Armand Van Helden and CJ Mackintosh when it came to dance music.

For Roundhead, the major challenge for any real DJ is being able to perform under pressure. Studying the crowd that you are about to perform to can be real nerve wrecking because everyone has different taste in music. A real DJ can tell if a record or a song is going to be a hit or a dance floor filler. The most interesting bit in his humble opinion is studying the crowd earlier before any performance without undermining their expectations of entertainment. Eye contact plays an important role once he hit the stage.

Building a real relationship with the music played for his own approach is very important. According to Roundhead, knowledge is the key for everything. It's the main ingredient for a DJ like him to know what he is playing. “When you have knowledge of what music is all about, diversity becomes your ultimate weapon. Being able to perform just 1 particular genre might make you good in your craft, but being able to play any concept or genre and the showmanship that comes with it makes you immaculate” he added. Deciding what record to play next comes from the heart and soul, not to mention observation of the crowd and being confident.

DJ Roundhead is welcoming his fans and festivalgoers to Miri next weekend to celebrate the Borneo Jazz. “You have already gotten tickets to a world class event with world class performers supported by world class sound and lights. The DJ set will introduce to you the sound of the Future Past. Never experienced before in Malaysia. Classy, sexy, and prepare yourself to get lost in bass” he added. 

Sarawak Tourism Board, the organizer of Borneo Jazz has added value to the programme format this year by adding a Club Setwith DJ Roundhead after the nightly stage shows. Although the organiser encourage the public to come to the 2-nights festival, those who are only able to attend the clubset will be allowed in after midnight at a cover charge of only RM10.

Eight international bands has been confirmed for this year’s festival. Program detail as well as the pre-sale promotional tickets to Borneo Jazz are still available online at www.jazzborneo.com .