Thursday July 13, 2006
ALL ABOUT SONG
Getting your music heard isn’t as easy as you might think, but on the local front, there exists endeavours that constantly put music above all else, like KL Sing Song 2006, a two-day event held at the KL Performing Arts Centre (KLPac), starting tomorrow. The show, organised by Troubadours Enterprise, with support from the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage and KLPac, takes off on its second voyage to once again bring music listeners quality entertainment.
Jerome Kugan, a member of Troubadours Enterprise, says that KL Sing Song 2006, a singer-songwriters performance and workshop, is a showcase of the best singer-songwriters in the Klang Valley and distinguished this year’s event from the previous; “The first one, a collaboration with International College of Music (ICOM), was more educational. The stable of artistes was sourced regionally with some of them coming from Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia, but playing alongside local talent. This year, we are focusing purely on home-grown artistes.”
Though the show features singer-songwriters, Kugan feels that it’s meant to reach out to all who love music.
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Troubadours main men (from left): Tan Sei Hon, Azmyl Yunor and Jerome Kugan. |
Artistes performing include Nusantara campaigners Pak Pandir and Meor, jazzers Rhapsody and Mia Palencia, songstress Shelley Leong, Pete Teo, Reza Salleh, Shanon Shah, Ariff Akhir, Mei Chern, Broken Scar and electronic purveyor Fathulistiwa Soundscapes.
Fellow organiser Tan Sei Hon reveals that the selection of artistes was based on certain criteria. “Obviously, they have to be local and have had to be around for a while, at least. We want to highlight local artistes doing original material and representing different genres. If you look at the acts, it’s even racially balanced. There’s a good variety.”
Diversity certainly plays a significant role among the acts and every artiste is expected to bring his own fare to the table.
“With people like Pak Pandir and Meor, you have intelligent and though-provoking lyrics. Many of these guys have worldviews coming through their music, which is so different from what is being peddled in the mainstream. Subject matters include personal experiences and social commentaries, too,” added Tan.
Musically, the performers will be running the entire gamut of popular music with flavours from the schools of electronica, rock, pop, folk, jazz. “Basically, we’ll have something for everyone,” he announced.
The auspices of the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage certainly lends a greater degree of credibility and prestige to the event.
Azmyl Yunor, another member of the organising committee divulges that it was fortune that provided the ministry’s support. “I guess we were lucky because our dates fell within the celebrations for the KL Festival.”
Apart from the performances, KL Sing Song 2006 will also feature workshops conducted by a variety of industry names. Clinicians include Shelley Leong, Az Samad, Pak Pandir, Shanon Shah and Pete Teo.
“These artistes were selected because they are more involved in the industry – they are independent musicians who did what they did on their own and broke themselves onto the scene, taking it as far as they’ve been able to,” explained Azmyl.
Response towards the show has been encouraging, though the World Cup has affected its promotion. “We hope people will come for the shows. We’re definitely trying to take this genre out to a wider audience and hopefully there will be greater appreciation for it. Audience participation is an important element with the clinics. We’re trying to sell music that’s not slick or ‘packaged’ in any particular fashion,” Tan concluded.
Ticket prices for the performances are RM25 for adults and, RM15 for students, the elderly and disabled (limited to 50 seats) while workshop admission is a flat rate of RM20.
Tickets can be purchased at KLPac’s box office counter or call 03-40479000 or e-mail troubadourskl@gmail.com for more details. Browse klsingsong.blogspot.com.
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