Were you there at the 2nd edition of Asia Music Festival? No? You have no idea what you've missed people! This was my 2nd time covering this event and here I am, sharing with you,my dear readers, my experience.

Before the actual event starts, strolled along the EastWood Valley Musical Corridor and watching the visitors getting their tattos. I was so tempted to get a tattoo but I've told myself, wait till I gain more weight and if i were to do a tattoo, it would have a meaning to me. Something that really impacted my life and it would be there as a constant reminder. (Checkout the slide show above. *pictures taken on day 1 and 2).

The evening started off with DrumCall. A group of percussionist mostly based in Kuching,Sarawak beating the beat out of their instruments. It was a slow start at first but not long after that, you can see visitors starts storming the front stage and dancing little by little following the rhythm of the drums. 

In between the band performances, the crowd was entertained by one of the best DJ's in the industry, with at least 20 years of experience, once crowned as the Malaysian DJ Champion for 3 years in a row, DJ RoundHead. From Old Skool Hip Hip to the latest hits on the decks. That kept the crowd grovin'.He even did some frestylin'. As seen on the picture above, Dj RoundHead taking the crowd to a whole new level of frestylin' emcee.

Second up on stage was Pisco from Taiwan. How did they got their name? PIano + Disco = Pisco.. What I love about this band? The the lead guitarist and bassist was a girl! The bassist, probably the cutest bassist I've ever seen,with her bob cut hair style, small sized girl-next-door look can really slap that bass. Who would have known that this Apple App Editor by day, a turn into a badas* chick at night. Not to miss the lead guitarist, if you've seen through the slide show I've made, is purely rocker chick but still cute at the same time.

The third band that was performing that night was Masia One from Singapore. The first band that played reggae which got the crowd really grovin'. I mean, how can you not move to Reggae? Honestly, based on her autobiography, I was expecting her to perform more Hip Hop based genre but I had fun listening to her as well. It shows that Masia One has really developed into a multi-genre artist.

This band was one of the bands that I looked forward see performing on the first night. Pancake80 from the Philippines and they didn't disappoint me. The vocalist was very versatile with her notes and they played my all time favorite song which was Cryin' by BonJovi. The lead vocalist plays the harmonica and guess what? Their guitarist looks like Jacoby Shaddix (PapaRoach vocalist) too. :D. 

This was the last band that was performing night. A band that was no longer a stranger in our local music scene. SalamMusik from Kuala Lumpur.

Misaluvi and Motion Family was the opening act for Day 2. Although this group doesn't sing or play any musical instrument, the energy they brought with them was definitely there. Not much I can say about this group as we, the Sarawak Bloggers was busy taking our group picture during the performance. Sorrrrrryyy.....

Next up was SoulMate all the way from India. Being the 2nd performer up for the night, bringing blues rock genre was really soothing after the energetic performance by Misaluvi & Motion Family. Tipriti, the female vocalist/guitarist is considered one of the finest female singers to have emerged from the North East India, paired with Wallang, who is considered one of the respected blues guitarist of India, you know they're gonna make your heart skips a beat with their performance. I personally fell in love with Tipriti's soulful voice. They really know their music well.

This one here, is a proof that music knows no language. Retrospect from Thailand.Although they sang mostly/if not all, in Thai language, it didn't stop the crowd from jumping around rocking to their music. I have to say that this band, was the cherry on top of the cake.

MAD August!! I love this band! Somehow they remind me a lot of one particular Hong Kong Band, Beyond. MAD August stands for Make A Difference and August was included in the band's name because the band was formed in August. They performed a few of their singles and did a cover of Nirvana's Song, Smells Like Teen Spirit.. Two of the band members got tattoo-ed earlier that day at the tattoo expo too.

The last band to perform that night was Ras Muhamad representing Indonesia. Known as the Indonesian Reggae Ambassador, Ras didnt disappoint the crowd that night. From the start of his performance till the end, you can see the dance floor was packed. Towards the end of the performance, they did an impromptu performance with Masia One and Salamusik. 

Need I say more? Let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Well, that was one of the best events I've attended so far.  Before I end this post, I would like to thank Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) for the opportunity, the performers, my fellow Sarawak Bloggers, members of media from all over the world, and the volunteers who made this all possible. I kid you knot, I'm already looking forward to the next event by them.

If you wish to read more on the event coverage, below are the links of my fellow bloggers who covered the event as well.

Abang Joe
Elena Aradia
Miss Alvy
Cik Reyyana
Fabian
Pei Pei
LadyBird Eileen


Pictures?
You can find them Here
Or  if you want to see the pictures taken by the official photographer, Andy Kho, below are the links.
*Note : Please take note that all pictures, be it taken by me or anybody else, if you wish to use them, please give credits to the owner of the pictures.

Asia Music Festival Day 1 By Andy Kho
Asia MUsic Festival Day 2 By Andy Kho

MIRI – Eastwood Valley Golf & Country Club, the venue of Asia Music Festival will offer free shuttle bus service to the event venue on both festival days Friday 3rd October and Saturday 4th October.

 

Shuttle bus service operated by the Eastwood Valley will be made available free to shuttle festival attendees to Asia Music Festival or just to reach their golf club and hotel property located at Jalan Miri by-Pass. According to Rebecca Wong, Eastwood Valley’s Director of Marketing, shuttle bus will leave Eastwood Valley every hour from 5:00pm until 9:00pm. This bus will drop off and pick up at the Boulevard Shopping Complex (entrance next to KFC), Imperial Shopping Mall (lobby entrance of the hotel) and Bintang Mega Mall (mall main entrance, near Coffee Bean).

 

The first schedule that runs from Eastwood Valley at 5:00pm will first reach Boulevard Shopping Complex approximately around 5:15pm, then Imperial Shopping Mall around 5:30pm and Bintang Mega Mall around 5:45pm. The shuttle bus will then return to Eastwood Valley and will continue its service for 6:00pm, 7:00pm, 8:00pm and 9:00pm before returning to Eastwood Valley at around 10:00pm.

 

The major purpose of this service is to provide easy access to festival goers to attend the 2 day festival and at the same time to ease traffic congestion at the venue. 

 

The festival organizer, Sarawak Tourism Board who is promoting “greening the festival” program is also encouraging festival goers to use this free shuttle service to reach the venue while reducing the carbon foot print. “Festival goers are encouraged to help and put into practice the greening effort as their small but worthy contribution to save the environment” says Dato’ Rashid Khan, CEO, Sarawak Tourism Board.

 

At the inaugural event last year, the event drew more than 3,000 people over the 2 days of the festival. The 2nd edition of Asia Music Festival this weekend will feature artists from Asian countries namely from India, Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

 

The festival will also add a DJ gig into this year’s program by featuring  Malaysian famous DJ Roundhead who will be playing an array of famous dance music at the post-festival late show on both nights which will last until 2:00am. Festival gates open at 5:00pm both Friday and Saturday.

 

Other than music, the festival will also incorporate a range of Asian food namely from Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, India, Malaysia and more. The Festival will continue to feature a tattoo exhibition which has attracted more tattoo experts this year from Indonesia and Philippines. 

 

Entry tickets to Asia Music Festival is currently on pre-sale offer at only RM25 for adults and RM10 for children/student (aged 3-18). Visit the website www.asiamusicfestival.net to purchase online. Tickets also available at Visitors Information Centre in Miri (+6 085-434180), Kuching (+6 082-423600) and Sibu (+6 084-340980). Door-sale tickets are priced at RM30 for adults and RM15 for children/students.

KUCHING – The Asia Music Festival will be featuring DJ gig for the first time this year by adding the Malaysian famous DJ Roundhead into the program. DJ Roundhead will be playing at the post-festival late show on both Friday and Saturday night, 3rd and 4th October. He will also be playing a huge array of famous dance music during a break between each bands both nights.

Performing as a DJ for with at least 20 years experience, DJ Roundhead was once crowned as the ‘Malaysia DJ Champion’ 3 years in a row when he entered the Malaysian DJ Championship competition from 1995-1997.

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. 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 career.

Among his best moment 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 played as a DJ residency in Melbourne, Australia for a year before returning to Malaysia and is currently attached to TraxxFM in Kuala Lumpur.

The major challenge for any real DJ is being able to perform under pressure. The most interesting bit is studying the crowd earlier before any performance without undermining their expectations of entertainment. According to Roundhead, a real DJ can tell if a record or a song is going to be a hit or a dance floor filler. Knowledge is the key for everything.

Asia Music Festival now in its second year will bring again the very best eclectic mix of live music together for one mind-blowing weekend in Miri, Sarawak. The inaugural festival last year saw incredible performances from headliners from Asian region as far as India, Thailand and Korea. With the main goal to develop the brand of Asia Music Festival to be an iconic music festival of mixed genre in the Asian Region, the festival has recorded around 3000 music fans attending the first edition of the festival last year.

Asia Music Festival will also incorporate a range of Asian food as well as tattoo exhibition so there will be something for everyone. The festival will start at 5:00pm daily with a tattoo exhibition as well as food and village mart. Stage performance will begin at 7:30pm until midnight, followed by the DJ set with DJ Roundhead until 2:00am.

Eight international bands has been confirmed for this year’s festival. Get your tickets now at a pre-sale price, only RM25 for adults and RM10 for children/student (aged 3-18) at www.asiamusicfestival.net . Tickets also on sale at Visitors Information Centre in Kuching (+6 082-423600), Miri (+6 085-434180) and Sibu (+6 084-340980). Door-sale tickets are priced at RM30 for adults and RM15 for children/students.

KUCHING – Asia Music Festival is back for the 2nd year running and this edition will present to you Female Rapper from Singapore, Masia One.  She is all set to thrill the audience at the coming event to be held at Eastwood Valley Golf & Country Club, Miri from the 3rd to 4th October 2014.

In 2003, Masia One, began her own record label known as M1 Group (later renamed The MERDEKA Group) and subsequently released her debut album, Mississauga.  The album was well received and the music video for the lead single “Split Second Time” was nominated in the category of best rap video by the Much Music awards. Masia’s second studio album, “PULAU” was released in 2009. The album attained the number one slot on the Canadian College Radio Charts as well as charting on both CBC Radio 3 and South East Asian Radio.

Masia has developed into a well rounded multi-genre artist. Her sound reflects inspiration drawn from touring through North America, Jamaica and Asia and sharing the stage with acts such as The Roots, Floetry, Mos Def, DJ Neil Armstrong, Lady Saw & Ron Sexsmith.

Courted by Grammy Award-winning Aftermath producer Che Vicious (Produced for Lauren Hill, Kanye West and 50 Cent to name a few), Masia began working on what would later become the album “Bootleg Culture”. “Bootleg Culture” was released in September 2012.
and is currently nominated for “Urban Recording of the Year” by the Western Canadian Music Alliance.

In February 2013 Masia One won three South East Asian VIMA Music Awards. Best Hip Hop Song (Warriors Tongue), Best Collaboration (Errrybody feat. Pharrell, The Game & Isis Salam) & Thank You For Existing Highest Honor Award. She was nominated in eight categories, including nominations for Best Overall Female Act and Best Pop Song – “Make Up”.

In May 2013 Masia One got the opportunity to perform for the first time in Europe. She did shows in Germany and Sweden as well as working with Swedish producer team Musicano.

Watch Masia One performing on stage at Asia Music Festival. Other confirmed line-up this year includes SoulMate (India), Salammusik (Malaysia), Pancake80 (Philippines), Pisco (Taiwan), Retrospect (Thailand), Ras Muhamad (Indonesia) and Mad August (Malaysia).

Get your presale tickets now at only RM25 for adults and RM10 for children/student (aged 3-18) at http://asiamusicfestival.net/tickets/ . Tickets also available from all STB’s Visitors Information Centre located at Sarawak Tourism Complex, Kuching (+6 082-423600), Jalan Melayu, Miri (+6 085-434180) and Jalan Tukang Besi, Sibu (+6 084-340980). Door-sale tickets are priced at RM30 for adults and RM15 for children/students.

KUCHING – Reggae music is not new among listeners and music lovers. The 2nd edition of Asia Music Festival this coming October 3-4 in Miri, Sarawak will bring you Reggae Ambassador of Indonesia, Ras Muhamad. He will entertain you with reggae music that will leave you mesmerized

Ras Muhamad believes that through the power of music especially Reggae, people can share and learn each other’s cultures through the messages it conveys. To find similarities and common ground, setting aside petty differences and finally celebrating life and all its dynamics through music. Such as the core and heart of Reggae, it’s a universal expression and a message of love.

Ras Muhamad musical influences other than Reggae, Ska, Dancehall and Rocksteady ranges widely from Hip-Hop, Indonesian traditional and pop music, Jazz, Metal and World Music. Besides Bob Marley, his Reggae “heroes” are Lee Perry, Peter Tosh, Augustus Pablo, King Tubby, Sizzla, Garnett Silk Gregory Isaacs and a very long-list of others. Lyrically, he draws many inspirations also from Hip-Hop icons such as Rakim, KRS-One, Nas and Wu-Tang. If one listens closely to any of Ras Muhamad’s tune his rhyme structure has subtle undertones and akin to a Hip-Hop lyricist.

Not just active in the Reggae Culture, Ras Muhamad challenges himself to collaborate with other genres in the Indonesian music industry. To express himself as an artist and give the “Reggae breath” to other forms of music is challenging to an ever-growing and evolving artist.

As an example, Ras Muhamad collaborated and recorded music with Indonesian Pop Icons such as Glenn Fredly, Tompi and Element. Indra Lesmana, a jazz legend in Indonesia also had experience in working with the Reggae Ambassador of Indonesia. Renowned, Indonesian Punk Band Superglad also collaborated with him in 2013 for their album.

Lyrically inclined, musically dynamic and Jamaican-influenced yet still Asiatic. Oneness Records boldly releases Indonesia’s first Reggae international album on July 25th 2014, Ras Muhamad’s “Salam”.

Among the many awards he received are; 2013 Nomintaed Best Reggae Composition for “Negeri Pelangi” by “Anugerah Music Indonesia, 2013 Best Reggae Song “Prosa Tinju Lima Jari”, 2012 Best Reggae for Indonesia Cutting-Edge Music Awards.

Watch Ras Muhamad performing on stage at Asia Music Festival to be held in Eastwood Valley Golf & Country Club, Miri, Sarawak. Other confirmed line-up this year includes SoulMate (India), Salammusik (Malaysia), Pancake80 (Philippines), Pisco (Taiwan), Retrospect (Thailand), Masia One (Singapore) and Mad August (Malaysia).

Presale tickets is currently on sale only at RM25 for adults and RM10 for children/student (aged 3-18) at http://asiamusicfestival.net/tickets/ . Tickets also available from all STB’s Visitors Information Centre located at Sarawak Tourism Complex, Kuching (+6 082-423600), Jalan Melayu, Miri (+6 085-434180) and Jalan Tukang Besi, Sibu (+6 084-340980).  Door-sale ticket are priced at RM30 for adults and RM15 for children/students.

KUCHING – The second edition of Asia Music Festival this coming October 3-4 will be enlivened by the presence of the Malaysian band, MAD AUGUST.

The band consisting of 4 members who have their own musical skills and are ready to amaze the audience with their live performance for the first time in Miri, Sarawak.

The concept behind the name “MAD” is actually an abbreviation of a philosophical slogan – “Make A Difference”. It pledges that everyone can make a difference in life, even with a least of strength and the words “August” which in numeric 8 refers to success, opportunity and strength.

MAD AUGUST plays Modern Rock and Emo Rock music. They create an icon via music as a medium to manifest their ideology. This icon is a leader, an image and a symbol of encouragement about living life to its fullness with courage.

Asia Music Festival promises an extraordinary weekend of fun, music and more, against the stunning backdrop of the venue, Eastwood Valley Golf & Country Club. A mixture of live music will be featured throughout the two days event and will include a mix-genre of music from regional, national and local talent.

Other than MAD August, the confirmed line-up of performers includes SoulMate (India), Ras Muhamad (Indonesia), Pancake80 (Philippines), Pisco (Taiwan), Retrospect (Thailand), Masia One (Singapore) and Salammusik (Malaysia).

Presale tickets are still on sale only at RM25 for adults and RM10 for children/student (aged 3-18) and available online at www.asiamusicfestival.net . Tickets also available from all STB’s Visitors Information Centre located at Sarawak Tourism Complex, Kuching (+6 082-423600), Jalan Melayu, Miri (+6 085-434180) and Jalan Tukang Besi, Sibu (+6 084-340980). Door-sale ticket are priced at RM30 for adults and RM15 for children/students.

VOLUNTEER APPLICATION FOR 2014 FESTIVALS IN SARAWAK NOW OPEN

 

Registration is now open for the Rainforest World Music Festival, Borneo Jazz and Asia Music Festival 2014 volunteer programme. 

SARAWAK, Malaysia – The 17th annual Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF), to be held in Kuching city as well as the 9th annual Borneo Jazz and 2nd annual Asia Music Festival, both to be held in Miri city, Sarawak is currently accepting applications for volunteers.

The 2014 RWMF will be held on June 20th - 22nd, while the Borneo Jazz 2014 and Asia Music Festival 2014 will be held on May 9th – 10th  and October 3rd – 4th respectively.

The Festivals are made possible year after year because of the hard work of over 200 volunteers yearly. Next year, all the three Festivals are looking for individuals or groups to help in the logistics, technical and operational aspects of the event management, event marketing and its operational plan. This volunteer program is designed to provide an overall understanding of the operational aspects of the festivals in order to ensure the success of the musical events organized by Sarawak Tourism Board.

Those interested to volunteer for these musical events in Malaysia may register respectively on RWMF website at www.rwmf.net, Borneo Jazz website www.jazzborneo and Asia Music Festival Website www.asiamusicfestival.net. This is only the application process where those interested in taking part are registered, while the successful applicants will later be notified via email or telephone.

The festival event management areas will require volunteer skills as liaison officer for performing artists, as well as schleppers for handling of the musical instruments among others. These volunteers are required to work during the workshop as well as concert and practice sessions. Volunteers for the event marketing management will participate in sales promotion, product development of festival tour packages, management information, media and public relations program as well as Media Centre operation. Event operation management areas will oversee the site readiness, vendor management, admission and gate operation, event secretariat, equipment and materials preparation and transportation.

The volunteer program has seen many repeated volunteers and it provides not only a learning platform but also a time to get together. Although ideal employee attributes will vary from role to role, all volunteers must be able to conduct themselves in line with the Festival’s core values, which is integrity and teamwork.

With more than 500 officials, media and performers making up the team at the Festivals, the volunteers are sure to meet new friends, sharing experience, learn the new skills, and most importantly gaining new experience in event management.

The festival organizer will provide T-shirts to be worn while on duty. The volunteers will be assigned to perform duties on shift, which covers day or night festival program. The volunteers maybe needed to run the selected management areas a few days before the festival starts in order to ensure festival readiness.

Closing date for Borneo Jazz and RWMF submission form is on 4th April 2014, while Asia Music Festival submission form will close on 4th September 2014.

Other information about the Festival such as the program, packages and many more will be updated on each websites from time-to-time. 




Note : Guidelines for the form is as follows

Borneo Jazz : Programs > Internship & Volunteers > Download the form at the bottom of the page.

Asia Music Festival : Programs > Volunteers > Download the form at the bottom of the page.

This was my second event coverage under Sarawak Blogger and for someone who plays music, Music festivals are something to really look forward to and since this was the first time it was held here in Miri, I didn't know what to expect, what genre of music would be played or how the audience would be like. Thanks to Sarawak Bloggers and Sarawak Tourism Board, I was given the opportunity to cover the event under Media Pass. So in this my sharing and my point of view on the day itself.

As i was occupied that morning, i didn't managed to attend the tree planting ceremony and the press conference but I took the effort of coming early to the venue and see how things was going prepared before the actual event starts.

I arrived at the venue around 2pm and slowly people starts coming in to check out the booths,the logistics were busy with the instruments, the sound engineer was busy fine tuning the audio and visual equipment. Im impressed with Sarawak Tourism Board and EastWood management as there was so many things to do and everything was organized.

So after checking out the venue, met a few Radio Djs, Kiyoshi from Hitz.fm, Afick from Era and Daffy from Radio Brunei. Awesome people I must say! Chit Chat with them till it was around 4pm and after that Kiyoshi and Afick started to giveaway free 2 days pass to the festival, and us being the over-friendly bloggers, helped out.

As the sun sets, more and more people starts filling up the musical corridor,Bob Yusof took the stage and sang a few of his numbers. One thing i realized a bout Bob, He is much more smaller in real life then in TVs or pictures*hahaha*. His voice was superb and i love his quote which goes like this "musik itu tiada sempadan,dari mana pun kita, musik menyatukan kita" which translate to " Music has no boundaries, where ever we come from, music unites us". None the less, Bob Yusof is an all rounder, traditional music, pop, u named it, he can sing it.

First international band to go on stage was Soesah Tidour (Susah Tidur = hard to sleep) from Indonesia. Dangdut never sounded so nice till you heard it live. One of my favourite song played by them that night was Salome( Satu Lobang Rame Rame), i know it sounds kinda kinky in our language but I think it means something else*i hope*.. But the beat was catchy.. the song got stuck in my head for about a week.

Bringing the traditional music with a modern pinch was Tritha from India. Her music was something new to my ears, no its not the type of music you hear from the Hindustan Movies you watch on the weekends, Its very unique and at the very beginning of her show, i totally cant brain her music but after a few songs, u tend to get the vibe. To explain it here its totally impossible I must say, if you were there, you'll know what i mean. But if you weren't, too bad :P

Bembol Rockers with Kamal Musallam. I love this guys.. From the way they played their music, I can tell that their music was influenced by Elvis and talking about Elvis, U know its a taboo just to sit down and listen to it. U gotta get up and rock and roll! Double bass and semi hollow guitar to Elvis like music, what could go wrong?

Last performance of the night was Vstar from Korea. Who say u cant rock a modern song with traditional instruments? They played quite a number of Kpop hits such as  Nobody and Gee by Wonder Girls. They made a rendition of Let It Be by The Beatles which was totally awesome and got the crowd singing. And finally, they played one particular song that is well known all around the world and when you hear that song, u know its Korean. can you guess?   Check the picture below to find out. 

So for the 2nd day of the event, I attended the press conference  which started around 10am. After that it was free time so we decided to chill and checkout the preparations for the second day as it was a Saturday and we were expecting more crowds that day. As the sun slowly goes down the horizon, we can see more and more people coming in and checking out the booth, enjoying beer and good music..

Around 2pm, the Media was invited to attend the press conference with YB Lee Kim Shin,Mayor of Miri and Dato Rashid Khan regarding the future plans for Miri. The next big event thats has been planned for Miri is Country Music Festival which is going to be held on February 2014. They also mentioned that the country music festival would be an annual event and Miri will be the host for the event for the next 5 years.

Back to the main stage, the first band to perform on the second day was Mountain Wind Band which consist of 5 band members, playing country music. It didn't took that long before the crowd created a line and start a Poco - Poco dance sequence. 

Next up was another local Iban artist that goes by the name Melissa Francis. I've heard of her name but never really got the chance to listen to her music except during semi-drunk/totally drunk karaoke sessions back at the longhouse during Gawai or Christmas. Her voice really caught me by surprise as I didn't expect that her voice would go that high and still sounded good. 

Third up was the Starlets band. Yes, they performed on the second day too. Honestly, I didn't enjoyed the 2nd day performance compared to the first day. Maybe it was the song selection or my expectation was too high.

This is one band that I was looking forward to see was Fakhrul Razi and Camouflange. It was because I know the drummer and the keyboardist personally. I didn't knew who was Fakhrul Razi until I did some research when STB released the list of performers for the event and  I listened to one of his songs by the title "Salahkah Aku" and straight away fell in love with it. The best part of all was hearing him sing the song live. Literally just a few meters away from me. *hahaha..fan boyyy*

Up next was the Boy Thai Band. From the name you can guess where these boys came from. Delivering a super energetic performance and I can tell that the saxophonist was the favourite among the girls, judging on how the girls went crazy when he starts going down the stage, walking around the the musical corridor  engaging the crowd.. Some even took selfies with the saxophonist. That was something new..  One of my favourite performance by them was when the bassist starts to rap in Thai.  Although I have no idea what he said but it sounded gangsta. XD

The energy that the Boy Thai Band managed to transfer to the next performer, which was Anthony Dassan Yen Party. Indian music full of energy mix with over excited crowd and wallah! suddenly everyone knows how to do the Bhangra dance including me..Hahahaha..

 
And the last one to perform that night was Foxy Girls from Indonesia. First song that came out from the speakers was their rendition of Aku Yang Tersakiti by Judika. This song is one of my favourite song due to the lyrics. I can relate so much to this. Back to the main topic, Foxy Girls gave a superb dangdut performance paired up with the famous "gelek gerudi".  As the night comes to an end, double thumbs up to the performers for the memorable first ever Asia Music Festival.

Here are the main points that I would like to highlight during my experience as Media during the event.

• The distance between Media Center and the Main Event area is too far. Its really quite troublesome to move to one point to another point because of the distance.
• Limited Wi-Fi coverage. Usually I don't complain much on Wi-Fi coverage as I depend a lot on my mobile data but since during this event, my phone  was having issues with network coverage, I didn't managed to "tweet/instagram on the go" as Wi-Fi was only provided at the lobby area.
• Pit Pass - No security was seen at the pit area, public can easily go into the pit area without a pass and stay there as long as they want. We ended up asking the Schleppers to help up and asked the public not to enter the pit area as it was getting a little too crowded.
• Venue - I would prefer if the event was held in an open area similar to Rainforest World Music Festival and Borneo Jazz Festival as I find it quite scary/unsafe to organize an event on a floating platform. When the crowd starts jumping, I can feel that the entire platform was wobbling. 

Apart from those 4, i can still say that Asia Music Festival was a great event. As it was the first ever, there's still a lot of rooms for improvement for the event. Once again I would like to thank Sarawak Tourism Board and Sarawak Bloggers for this opportunity to cover this event. Looking forward to cover more events in the near future.


As for pictures,you find them HERE and HERE.

And finally.....

Fakhrul Razi was the only Bruneian who got into the final stage of the World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) that took place in Hollywood, California earlier this year. He will perform in Miri, Sarawak for the first edition of Asia Music Festival held at the Eastwood Valley Golf & Country Club this Friday and Saturday.

As an independent Brunei singer-songwriter, he began writing his own songs when he was 14 years old. He has performed in numerous shows and events in Brunei and International arenas since 2004. Against his career in the music scene, he is also a TV host for the morning show Rampai Pagi at Radio Televisyen (RTB), a Radio announcer at Kristal FM, an independent radio station in Brunei and one of the most sought emcees for important and exclusive event in Brunei Darussalam.

Fakrul had impressed the judges and crowd at WCOPA in Hollywood as he won gold medals in the R&B/Jazz, Original Works and Open Vocal (Male) categories. He had also won two silver medals for the Broadway and Pop categories. At Asia Music Festival, Fakrul will also perform together with local band from Miri, Camouflage.

Tritha was born in Kolkata. She started training in North Indian classical music at the age of five, and never stopped. She has forged her own unique, inclusive sound and has already gained critical and popular acclaim for her songs. Tritha’s dusky tones and throbbing intensity, vibrating and moving emotional commitment, thrills her audience and leaves the public spell bound.

For the past four years Tritha has also toured in Europe, including performances in famous venues such as Lieu Unique (Nantes), Il Posto (Verona), La Bellevilloise, Cabaret Sauvage, Bus Palladium, Satellit Café and St Eustache Church (Paris). She is a true global artist, always eager to discover new cultures and sounds.

As a woman, Tritha has suffered her share of harassment and discrimination in her country. She feels that her live performances, as well as her recent success as an original musician in India, are giving confidence to other women to assert themselves and follow their dreams. She is an ardent supporter of women’s rights in the country.

She includes her ideas in her songs with “Lyrics that deal with women’s liberation, social oppression and sexual exploitation” (Hindustan Times). In June 2012, she was featured on a full page in Marie Claire India as one amongst the ten most interesting young Indian women, and also that same month, in Tehelka Magazine. Tritha’s picture has been traveling all over the world in 2011 and 2012 with the exhibition Women Changing India, organized by the Magnum Photo Agency and BNP Paribas.