SabahSongs

Heavy metal music event Destroy Shred Destroy at Chocolate Factory KK Times Square by Shockwave event manager

Destroy Shred Destroy [Sabah]: Shockwave’s Chee Bros establish themselves as serious event managers

A few months ago, I was talking with a guy who grew up in Kota Kinabalu then moved to Wellington, New Zealand. I was telling him about how I went to my first metal gig in Asia City and witnessed my first mosh pit. “Really?” he said. “They have that kind of thing in KK?” … Continue reading »

Photo1 by Brandon Christian of Quick Reverb

Thrashed Guitars, Slammed Bodies: Shockwave Entertainment Hits KK

The crowd was heaving now, strobe lights showing glimpses of the moshers’ leaping bodies thrashing, crowd-surfing. The Cowboy Bar in Asia City was as it was supposed to be, today: dark, smoky, sweaty, and throbbing with excellent sound, local bands giving it their all on stage, and slamming bodies in the middle of the floor. Continue reading »

5th Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival 2011: Day 1. A Dream Come True

Guitarist Safri played a simple haunting melody. Singer DAYANG NORAINI walked on stage, and their voices entwined in a duet of long, spiritual notes which hung in the night air, clear and hypnotic. Shimmering cymbals lifted their song like a magic carpet, carrying it across the harbour out to sea like a Sabahan prayer. I was honoured to hear it… Continue reading »

KL big guns Man Keedal and Tom Anuar come to Suara Mega for recording work

“This is the first time I am recording in KK,” Man Keedal said. “When I came with Haji Barrie and saw all this, I just made a decision to record now. I had to call all my musicians and fly them to KK. There are big studios in KL also, but this one – to me it’s something special – the people, it’s a different atmosphere. I have a lot of friends in Sabah.” Continue reading »

Momain Blues: Tanjung Aru 2nd beach! Birthplace of the Sabahan Blues

Be true to the music of your heart, and make your own luck. Quintessentially Sabahan blues band Momain Blues are from Tanjung Aru. They wrote the song “Blues Kita, which ”won the ‘Most Popular Song’ category at RTM’s Carta Lagu Artis Sabah (CLAS) 2011. Continue reading »

Sabah fingerstyle guitarist Roger Wang, Hezekiah Asim plays the Sape

Roger Wang & Friends 2011, fundraiser at the Sabah Trade Centre

Roger introduced Hezekiah Asim, of the Sabah Theological Seminary, who specialises in ethnic instruments he uses in Christian music. He had a Sape (stringed instrument) and a Fu Lu Seh (a recorder with a gourd shaped neck). We were graced by Sabah that night, as there are not many places in the world where you could hear such a unique performance. Continue reading »

Jesselton Philharmonic Orchestra at the Tip of Borneo by Cheong Kok Ann feature

Sunset symphony, sand, sea, sky: Music in a Kudat paradise

KUDAT. This is the place where my great-grandparents first arrived in Sabah. It was the 1880s, and they were on one of the first three boats of Hakka Chinese Basel Christian families, brought over when the British needed labourers to clear the land. Today, we came to hear the Jesselton Philharmonic Orchestra play their sunset … Continue reading »

4AG is KK’s Chinese Metal Band!

They’re a Chinese band, right? So they play soft pop music with easy chords, and sing about broken hearts? Wrong. 4AG stand alone. 4AG [For Aggressive Gentlemen] is the only full-on Chinese heavy metal band in Kota Kinabalu. Their shit is LOUD, and when they play, it’s like Hell woke up and set their instruments on fire. Continue reading »

The Crowd at My Story Starbucks by Habeeb Safri feature

My Story #5 at Starbucks in 1Borneo is a massive HIT

Then – from his debut album My Tribal Roots, Atama did “Can’t Stop The Sumazau”, and the whole place erupted. Everyone stood up, doing the Sumazau, mating calls filled the air. I turned round and saw Jon Tse’s young videoman, Sam Vun, in the middle of a happy, rowdy crowd, arms outstretched like the wings of a bird. It was completely awesome. Continue reading »

The science of Art: meet Nasier Lee, Photographer

I met NASIER LEE at The Ultimate Band Search, 2010 and asked him if I could use a few of his photos of the bands in my review of the event. Since then we have worked many times together to capture the essence of music events through his photos and my words. Nasier strives to … Continue reading »

You say Goodbye [2011] and I say Hello [2012]. Momain Blues, Jiaja at Bella

Jiaja and Momain Blues played New Year’s Eve at Bella Restaurant in the Jesselton Hotel. They needed to set the atmosphere for Chef Leo’s ESPAÑA New Year’s Eve menu, and deliver a medley of nostalgia songs fitting for the night. Nazri Ji, Naza Aja, Sonny Bahari and Ahmad Aziz sound-checked in the long dining room. … Continue reading »

2011. The Year In Review

January began with Bro Langau’s On9fm’s Mini Jam and 1st Birthday, where I was honored to sit on the same table with the Revolution on Motion team. We were just getting to know each other. I guess the big article of the month was Moses De Silva making a big point that RTM Sabah promotes … Continue reading »

Bella’s got “Happy Red” news! Sharon Chong’s in KK for CNY, catch her playing my Nord on Jan 21, 28

P24PNZ7JMDXS Just a quick post – I will update this with something much longer. Sabah’s lovely keyboardist Sharon Chong, who has played the regional music circuit and is currently working in Kuala Lumpur, is back in Kota Kinabalu for Chinese New Year. She’ll be playing at Bella restaurant in the Jesselton Hotel, on two consecutive … Continue reading »

A personal post at Christmas

I don’t usually make personal posts, because SabahSongs isn’t about me, it’s about music and all of you. But I’m making an exception, because Christmas brings nostalgia whether I want it or not. Christmas was always a musical time, even before coming to Sabah. I was organist at a church in London for 11 years, … Continue reading »

Carols by JADE Sisters, fine food by Chef Leo – have a Bella, Bella Christmas!

It was the beginning of December, and Chef Leo wanted to make one more Fine Food & Music event for 2011. I WhatsApped Chris Pereira and asked about the availability of JADE Sisters. He came right back. We were on! THE MENU Friday, December 16th 2011 SOUP Pumpkin Soup served with Crab Cakes SALAD Smoked … Continue reading »

Pot Amir talks about the band Al Mawlid, at Suara Mega studios

Soft-spoken Pot Amir is no stranger to making music in Malaysia. “I’m from a group called Innuendo, which started in ’93. Our first album was out in ’97.” He was in Kota Kinabalu to perform at a wedding with the band Al Mawlid, and he brought the rest of the band to Suara Mega, the … Continue reading »

SABAH PROPERTY MAGAZINE PRINTS 6 PAGES ABOUT OUR MUSIC INDUSTRY!

This appears in December’s Sabah Property Magazine, distributed throughout Malaysia. Click on each image once, let it load, and then click once AGAIN to see the magazine page full size – then you can read the words too!

Theatre Dining: Lady Shaula sings at Bella Restaurant

Classical opera singer Lady Shaula was in Kota Kinabalu, after her Bangkok gig was cancelled due to floods. Because of that, Bella Restaurant in the Jesselton Hotel hosted a fine night of entertainment: Songs from the musicals sung by Lady Shaula, together with a special Theatre Menu. THE MENU: Prawn Bisque Mixed Green Salad with … Continue reading »

Element Tree Music House presents lovely new singer “WEN”

I opened up Gmail the other day. In my Inbox there was a photo of a smiling, pretty young woman with long eye lashes, and the name “WEN” underneath, in very big letters! The email was from MaTLaNKIdZ… you cannot read my blog and not know about this guy aka Raimon bin Sukudat. Matlan said … Continue reading »

Stompin’ Sabah 3 at Tanjung Aru 1st Beach: Sabah Talent? Bring it on!

SabahSongs thanks the many contributors of photographs to this post. Naiart Phodeography OnlineFM Stompin’ Sabah And not forgetting the musicians Boy Sunny, Janice Lorna Lansing, 3rd Dice, Pesawat Tanjung Aru 1st Beach was privy to a two night full-on musical free-for-all, as the Stompin’ Sabah festival [brought to us by Contagious Concepts for the third … Continue reading »

Bella Italia brings “Arabian Nights” tastes and sounds to our doorstep

Tables were set for 40 people, beneath ornate chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Tapestries of burnt sienna and gold were draped across the room, bringing to mind sand dunes and blood orange sunsets. So, where are we? Under the canopy of a magically resplendent marquee in the Arabian Desert? No, we’re at Bella Italia for … Continue reading »

Didi Moo leaves behind her whirlwind experience in Korea…for now!

Among the thousands of new students wandering from class to class at UMS today, there is one young lady attending her first courses for a Music degree. But MBC Star Audition contestant Didi Moo harbours a whirlwind tale inside her, one which — in a matter of weeks — took her to Korea and back, … Continue reading »

Our blog post about Roger Wang & Friends 2011 is republished in Sabah Property Magazine

Sabah Property Magazine has republished with permission a blog post about Roger Wang & Friends 2011 fundraising charity concert at Sabah Trade Centre in Likas, written earlier this year. Lovely layout, as usual.

Didi Moo meeting Datuk Masidi. Press clippings in local newspapers

Here are two press clippings of Didi Moo, from the Daily Express and The Borneo Post. Nice to see a good result. I think she got coverage in another paper as well, but I don’t have it here. Click on the image once, then again to ENLARGE, that way it’s easier to read. The writers here … Continue reading »

Didi Moo receives cheque for RM 2000 from Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment for representing Sabah so well in Korea!

Yesterday, we said the story of Didi Moo’s progress through Korea’s MBC Star Audition talent search was exclusive to SabahSongs…Today, the local newspapers and RTM have it. Am I sad? No way! Because YB Datuk Masidi Manjun, Sabah’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, was so impressed with Didi, he wanted to offer financial support … Continue reading »

Jade Sister Didi: “The judges talked in Korean, I didn’t understand. Then they pressed their voting buttons, and I saw that I got through!”

Tamparuli’s 20-year-old Didi Moo [singer, songwriter and one of the four JADE Sisters], is in the middle of a fairy tale. While waiting for her Malaysian Higher School Certificate, or STPM, her friends asked her to do some covers of songs. Didi was searching YouTube for Korean pop songs, known as K-Pop, when she found … Continue reading »

Exclusive Story! Sabah’s Jade Sister Didi Moo makes it to the next round in Korea’s MBC Star Audition Season 2 talent search!

You make your own luck. Nothing truer could be said about our girl from Tamparuli, Didi Moo, one of the JADE SISTERS. Above is a picture of Didi holding up her name card in Korean, because she’s made it to the qualifying rounds of a global talent search, MBC Star Audition Season 2. From what … Continue reading »

EP Review. JON PARADISE

We say Sabah is growing, in terms of size and complexity, both as a society and as an economy. “Progress” brings ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ for sure, but the music that Jon Paradise is making must surely be an indication that there are many ‘pros’ ahead. Jon Paradise is a Sabahan alternative rock band. They write … Continue reading »