11 Homegrown Indie Bands That Might Just Give Your Favourites A Run For Their Money
Time to add some local flavour into your playlist.
By John Lim — 14 Jan 2016, 06:24 PM
1. Reach For The Skies (RFTS). Founded in 2013, RFTS is a rock band consisting of ex-members from An Honest Mistake. They released their debut EP, 'Aviaries' last year.
Consisting of four members from different performing backgrounds, Reach For The Skies (RFTS) is a local rock band that is based in beautiful Kuala Lumpur. With the rise of the entertainment scene here in Malaysia, Jeffery Wong, Nehe Ting, Danny New and Kevin Tan have been performing together for over a year now and have performed at Malaysia Day Band Fest 2013 and C3 Church Subang for the Alpha Youth Course.
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The debut ep, Aviaries consists of 5 tunes filled with sonic atmospheric guitars and creative drum fills. The band's inspiration from ambient music is strong, as they put an emphasis on guitar tones and epic atmospheric sounds over traditional rock n' roll.
Follow RFTS on Facebook for more updates.
2. Son Of A Policeman (SOAP). With its quirky name, SOAP plays, as what they call, indie rojak because it's a mixture of different genres of music.
Son Of A Policeman (SOAP) are a Malaysian band based in Subang Jaya, Selangor. There's no clear-cut way to describe their music as they've got all kinds of influences from smooth jazz to R&B and heavy-hitting rock.
In 2014, the band entered Tune Studios’ Battle & Win contest. SOAP emerged up top to win an album deal with the studio and is currently finishing up their debut EP, 'Sleepless In Subang'.
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Follow SOAP on Facebook for more updates.
3. KissKillMary. Fronted by YouTuber Jenn Chia, KissKillMary is known for their electro-pop dance sound, with a tinge of indie rock.
KissKillMary was formed in 2011, and the band has been writing their own music and performing ever since. Over the years, they’ve been featured at places like IndiePG, No Black Tie and Laundry Bar. Still not sure what they’re all about? Don’t worry, they’ve summed it up for you.
“Think of KissKillMary as a hard blend of dance elements and indie rock. Something like adding whisky to Coke while having dark chocolate.”
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The band just released their debut EP not a long ago. Titled 'Labyrinth', the album talks about how music has played a part in the lives of each member. Jenn, who already has experience as a singer-songwriter prior to the formation of KissKillMary, clearly shows off her voice with much authority in every track.
4. AMOURA. What makes this band stand out is its diverse background, with members coming from Malaysia and Korea. Inspired by the likes of Beyonce and Paramore, you can expect smooth R&B mixed with fast-paced and guitar driven punk rock tunes!
A Malaysian-Korean punk rock band, AMOURA is a smashing five-person combo: Carolyn Park (vocals), Adrian Lim (lead guitar), Wesley Wong (bass), Maskurnia Sayuti (rhythm guitar) and Jo-Vi Pan (drums).
Formed last April, AMOURA’s career began to take off after appearing in the May edition of Soundstruck, a show hosted by fellow band Wanted Symphony. Since then, they’ve performed in various shows and venues throughout Kuala Lumpur, including The Bee and Laundry Bar, and have garnered a strong following of their own.
If you ever attend any of their gigs, you can expect smooth Korean vocals ground with the sounds of heavy Malaysian punk guitars and rhythms – something new, exciting, and wholly different!
Follow AMOURA on Facebook for more updates.
5. Reharmnation. Soulful feels and funky licks are part and parcel of this unison of five passionate young musicians who are looking to make a name themselves in the local music scene.
Reharmnation is a band formed by 5 passionate musicians back in April 2014. They started off playing together in college and were invited to play for numerous events hence decided to give the band a name – Reharmnation.
Back in March 2015, they did a tribute to Justin Timberlake alongside their talented friends. Recently, they released 4 singles–– 'Wait For You', 'Gravitate', 'Like The Wind' and 'Get Up' on the 15th of August 2015.
Follow Reharmnation on Facebook for more updates.
6. Fazz. While it's common for bands to play rock music these days, but only a few like Fazz that plays blues and swing music.
The 4-piece band consists of vocalist Kevin Michael, keyboardist Grace Cho, electric double bassist Raja Farouque, and drummer Jone Yeoh. Kevin has a voice so mesmerising that it’s almost chilling. Their original track, 'That’s Life', was awarded 'Best Song Composition' in the Sonica Song Composing Competition 2012, which was held in Hard Rock Cafe KL.
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Fazz is a collective, and not weighed down by band stereotypes – Kevin contributes the melodies and lyrics, Grace the chords and musical movements, Farouq the overall arrangement, while Yeoh drives the machine along with his swinging grooves and energy.
The band also recently returned from a stint at the Haneda International Anime Music Festival in Tokyo, Japan, and took on a few more venues since it was already there.
Follow Fazz on Facebook for more updates.
7. Jumero. Chill - that's the one word everyone can use to describe the band. Often performing in slippers and khaki shorts, the band is all about laid-back aesthetics.
Jumero desribes itself an acoustic, hippie beach pop, soft rock, indie band. Jumero is made up off brothers Jared and Michael Lim and neighbour as well as their friend Ryan David Gomes.
Jumero was formed in September 2012, but have been performing, jamming and creating music together for much longer than that. Known for their unique sound, some of Jumero’s biggest influence include artists such as John Mayer, Jack Johnson and John Butler Trio to name a few.
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The trio released their debut album 'Stepping Stones', 3 years since their inception. The album features seven songs in total, including Stand Up and Fantasy Killer, which may ring a few bells for the hardcore fans of Jumero.
8. ENTERPRISE. Hailing from Subang Jaya, the band, named after the ship from Star Trek, dabbles on groovy epic cinematic tunes. Think Daft Punk mixed up with Foals, if that makes sense.
Enterprise – made up of Tariq Mamyudi, 29, Nazree Ibrahim, 30, Hanafi Ismail, 29, and Ismail Ibrahim, 26, never failed to bring us some great indie pop music with danceable grooves at every music event. They’ve established themselves as a band that focuses on creating hair-raising music, combining synthpop with sci-fi references.
The band had the privilege of performing at Laneway Festival last year. The electronica-rock foursome reckons their selection was due to their performance at the Fred Perry Sub Sonic gig in Singapore in November 2013.
9. The Impatient Sisters. Sisters Soraya, Nazeera and Irena Taib are pretty much stars in the indie scene in Malaysia. Their songs are often rooted in folk pop, can range from topics like love to difficulties living in the city.
Not your typical vanilla flavoured run-of-the-mill girl band, The Impatient Sisters writes and sings expressive tunes with bouts of romantic depth, blending together quirky soul and folk-pop to create a unique flavour. Distinctly signaturised by haunting harmonies and lyrical peculiarity, the three sisters from Kuantan are happily addicted to making their fans happy with expressive songs on love, death, heartbreak, letting go, sleeping and other random observations of modern life.
The band name came about when the three sisters, after recording a song, were about to start bickering. They didn’t have a band name at the time and figured ‘The Impatient Sisters’ would be a suitable moniker.
Irena, the youngest, is currently studying music at Berklee College of Music whilst her older sisters are pursuing their careers. They get together to perform when Irena comes back during school breaks.
Follow The Impatient Sisters on Facebook for more updates.
10. Ferns. Mixing power-pop aesthetics with catchy choruses, the quartet was named one of Rolling Stone’s “25 Best Bands on MySpace”!
In a way, the band’s name is a metaphor, signifying that they will stay true to their roots and that Kuala Lumpur is the city that brought them together. Formed in 2006, Ferns is made up of keyboardist/vocalist Abby, bassist Adrian, guitarist Johan, vocalist/guitarist Warren, and drummer Rudy. They have been a major mainstay in the local music scene as they were named one of Rolling Stone’s “25 Best Bands on MySpace”.
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Their debut album, titled 'On Botany' was a hit back in 2007, earning praises from the local and foreign press. The band then took a 4-year hiatus to focus on their personal lives. In 2011, their second album, 'Fairweather Friends' was released, which also proved to a be a hit.
Follow Ferns on Facebook for more updates.
11. Basement Syndicate. Initially started out as an instrumental jazz outfit, they are today represented by a bold, new sound that incorporates jazz, soul and hip-hop.
While Bassment Syndicate started off as an instrumental jazz outfit, who they are today is represented by a bold, new sound that arose from their time in the stylistic wilderness - the lines of Jazz, Soul, Hip-Hop, and R&B, Bassment Syndicate has dazzled audiences with their sincere and fresh approach to sonic entertainment.
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Featuring Hiran Benton on keyboards, Q Sound on trombone and vocals, Fook on bass, and Omar Ibrahim on the drums, resulting in a wondrous mixture of diverse sounds and influences that merge into a singular collective that is sure to groove you.