With a good mix of newcomers and big names alike in the scene, Urbanscapes has grown into a platform that players and fans in arts and culture aim to be a part of every year.
Taking place all throughout the city from 16 to 24 November, here are some of the Malaysian acts you can catch this time around.
SonaOne
SonaOne is no stranger to the local hip hop scene. He first gained popularity through his graffiti art. Since he was 12 years old, he began producing music, which later caught the attention of Joe Flizzow. He was later signed to Kartel Records, gradually making his mark in the music industry. After releasing his mixtapes “Illegal Downloads Vol 1.” And “Tuna Spaghetti” in 2010, he attracted the masses and his music career skyrocketed from there. He eventually released his debut album in 2016 which had a mix of Malay, English and French songs, being of French-Malay heritage. Now, holding local awards like Anugerah Industri Muzik and Anugerah Juara Lagu under his belt, SonaOne is one not to be missed.
Date: 17 November
Time: 5.30pm to 10.30pm
Venue: The Godown KL
Lost Spaces
Lost Spaces started as a musical project by Sam Lopez. It was a safe place for him to get away and clear his mind to give himself the freedom to write and create. Influenced by musicians like HalfNoise, Seoul, LANY and Toro Y Moi, this solo project is brought to life on stage by his band, which consists of Imran Marshall on bass, Kuszanagi on synths, Kyle on drums, and Shien on guitar. They have been playing around Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur ever since. With a combination of cute sounds with lush synths, fuzzed guitars and syncopated drum beats, Lost Spaces makes music for people to vibe, groove and get lost in.
Date: 21 November
Time: 7pm to 12am
Venue: Sentul Depot
Iqbal M
Iqbal M consists of guitarists Johan and Fei, bassist Shah, lead singer Iqbal and drummer Aidil. As the lead singer, Iqbal Othman began performing as a solo artist under the name Iqbal M in 2010. He later decided to form a band with the same name in 2013. On stage, he is easily identified as the one who wears a straitjacket or Spider-Man suit. The band’s unique approach to alternative rock is a reminiscence of the underground indie scene from the 2000s, but with a modern twist in their experiment with sound and lyrics. This has attracted a whole wave of local fans to the band. Iqbal M now has a full-length album, Eps and multiple singles in the bag.
Date: 24 November
Time: 12pm to 12am
Venue: Sentul Depot
阿尔梵 Arvan
Arvan was formed in 2017 with Aki Huang as the lead vocalist, Gideon Alu8khan Chen as guitarist, Lo as lead guitarist, Ken as bassist, and CY as drummer, all with 10 years of experience in the music industry. The band’s music style is a mix of metal, post rock and ballad with lyrical genres. You can hear this in their debut album released this year, ‘Musicsynthesis’, which takes their music into a space that is not limited to just one genre. Since debuting, Arvan has gained the attention of both local and Taiwanese audiences alike. They are currently signed under local record label Jumuro Music.
Date: 20 November
Time: 7pm to 12am
Venue: Sentul Depot
變胎 BandTai
A band hailing from Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, BandTai is proud to tell that the members consists of a middle-aged otaku, sportsmania, singalingam, and plumber. It has been said that the band was named after an inside joke. Their music has gradually phased away from their early music inspiration ‘Misshitsu kei’ into a melting pot of genres that combine evergreen, grit, nursery rhymes, rock and roll, retro wave with hedonism, romanticism, and cliché stories. With over a decade of presence in the local music industry, they recently released their debut album this June. The band has since collected a wide audience in the Mandarin music market, having toured around Malaysia as well as Taiwan.
Date: 20 November
Time: 7pm to 12am
Venue: Sentul Depot
Hullera
Hullera is an up and coming female rapper, representing Bukit Jelutong to break through the male-dominated industry. After a local hip hop broadcasting station introduced her to the scene, she started collaborating with friends on tracks like “BJ in my DNA”, as well as freestyles in “Panadol” and “Siapa Punya”. And with ’16 Baris’ further increasing her popularity, she made a bigger name collaborating with Indonesia’s Ramengvrl, and finally released her debut single “Biarkan” this May.
Date: 24 November
Time: 12pm to 12am
Venue: Sentul Depot
LOCA B
LOCA B is yet another aspiring artist in the Malaysian hip hop industry with a strong vision in marking her footprints in music. She carries notes of women and self-empowerment in her music. After appearing on ’16 Baris’, she join the likes of new emerging rappers from the local scene. Although she is still very new in the industry, she has hosted and emceed many underground hip hop concerts, events and interviews, which made her a young expert in the local hip hop culture.
Date: 24 November
Time: 12pm to 12am
Venue: Sentul Depot
Gard
Gard, who hails from Kepong, started as a beatboxer and progressed into a full-fledged artist. On his journey, he picked up rapping, songwriting and producing for artists like Rauzan Rahman, Emir Hermono and Imran Ajmain. Some of his projects include a solo mixtape titled “GARD vs KORANG” in 2016 and a collaborative album with Kidd Santhe ‘Api’, released earlier this year. His most recently collaboration effort is an EP with Wuzgut called ‘CPR (Club Perenang Rohani)’, which may just be his most successful one yet. Since its release, the EP has gained over 100,000 Spotify plays in total with a few weeks.
Date: 24 November
Time: 12pm to 12am
Venue: Sentul Depot
NYK
NYK’s debut single ‘FWB’ has already gained over a million plays, his success as Malaysia’s new up and coming artist is without a doubt. The Subang Jaya lad started his music career by posting song covers on YouTube at the age of 16. He later had the opportunity to become the opening act for Singapore band Sam Willows when they performed in Kuala Lumpur. After that, he decided to release his original songs on YouTube as well, which led to his debut single ‘FWB’ in 2016. This song caught the attention of international record label Sony Music, and they decided to sign him on as their newest artist. And the rest is history. NYK went on to record a single with rapper Airliftz, “Make It On Me”, followed by an EP titled “Unlovable”. He now has over 75,000 followers on Spotify and counting.
Date: 16 November
Time: 5.30pm to 11pm
Venue: The Godown KL
SHN
Chloe Soh, or better known by her stage name SHN, she is an electronic pop artist who can sing in both English and Mandarin. Although she only speaks English in her daily life, she decided to learn Mandarin and remain in her record label Jumuro. She later released to singles that became instant hits, “I Won’t Go” in Mandarin and “If You Don’t” in English. This caught the following of a significant audience in Malaysia and overseas. This year, she finally released her self-titled debut album that consists of more than ten songs. Music lovers would appreciate her interesting story and strong passion for music as you listen to each song.
Date: 16 November
Time: 5.30pm to 11pm
Venue: The Godown KL
Playburst
Playburst is a project consisting of former and current members of local bands, such as Couple, Tools of The Trade, The Fridays, Crack Guilty, Jalan Sehala, Code Error, Kah-Roe-Shi and Pakatan Haram Jadah, formed this year. As they connect through their love for punk rock, math rock, midwest emo and hardcore music, they explore a side of music that they didn't get to try in their original bands. Soon after formation, they released their self-titled casette EP in June, with four tracks of lovesick lyrics and rocking rhythms. An outlet to experiment their love for emo music, Playburst is set to follow up with an album at the end of 2019.
Date: 17 November
Time: 5.30pm to 10.30pm
Venue: The Godown KL
Shuuna
Shuuna is a three-piece band with members Shuu on vocals and guitar, Moja on guitar and synths, and Fai on drums. Together, they play with indie electronic sounds. Moja is currently an active member of the band, Monalyssa, which Shuu was invited to sing for as a guest. Soon after, Shuu and Moja joined as a duo to create Shuuna in 2016. While experimenting with their sounds, they ventured into the indie-electronic territory. The following year, they released their first ever EP together, 'Torsades de Pointes'. The duo recently got Fai along to join, who plays with other bands including A. Limin and Dataran Kertas.
Date: 17 November
Time: 5.30pm to 10.30pm
Venue: The Godown KL
LOCH
LOCH is an instrumental rock band from Negeri Sembilan and Malacca. Since forming in 2011, the band’s music has evolved tremendously, while still staying to their identity and style, with strong influences from Western progressive rock bands like Tera Melos, The Fall of Troy and ASIWYFA. Last year, their debut album titled ‘Everywhere We Go, We’ll Make This Feel Like Home’ was released. LOCH has since toured around Peninsula Malaysia, and even in neighbouring countries like Singapore and Thailand.
Date: 16 to 24 November
Time: 11am to 10pm
Venue: Medan Pasar
Massacre Conspiracy
Massacre Conspiracy is possibly the band to revive the local metal scene. The six-piece band comes with energetic fresh riffs and epic breakdowns in all its metal glory. They deliver a unique blend of metal styles, while maintaining the heaviness of metal to fans nationwide. Many international metal titans that came to Malaysia in the past years have invited Massacre Conspiracy to be their opening act, including Suicide Silence, Unearth, August Burns Red, Bring Me The Horizon and more. Of course, their music is recognised around the country, as well as from the mass media and professional critics. Over the years, they managed to bridge the gap between mainstream and underground music in a powerful way, without being affected by the stigma surrounding metal music.
Date: 17 November
Time: 7pm to 11pm
Venue: Drum Asia
Kaya the Band
Kaya is made up of a bunch of self-taught musicians who started out as teenage musicians jamming at each other’s homes. Founding members Emmanuel Joseph and David Harding first performed at a band competition called Talent Experiment, in which they won. Inspired by different music genres like rock and roll, blues and reggae by music icons like Chuck Berry, The Beatles and Bob Marley, you can already tell of their colourful identity. After completing the band with more members in 2016, Kaya has performed in many local gigs and shared the stage with local musicians like Steve Thornton, Zainal Abidin and Salam Musik. They continue to grow in the local scene over the years and recently released their first album, ‘On Toast’ consisting of six original songs.
Date: 17 November
Time: 12pm to 8pm
Venue: Lorong Bandar 13
TY: DEL
Based in Kuala Lumpur, indie pop band TY:DEL consists of members Ritchie Retita, Timothy Long and Carlson Kam. As newbies in the modern music scene, their music blends ambient synths, jazz-inspired guitar tones, soulful vocals and airy beats, combined with the passion for the craft. Their playful aura and passion for the art are clearly seen through their charisma and charm portrayed on stage, especially drawing inspiration from international bands like LANY, The 1975 and HONNE. TY:DEL has released two singles this year, “No Turning Back” and “LDR”.
Date: 17 November
Time: 12pm to 8pm
Venue: Lorong Bandar 13
Yana the Red Panda
What started off as a solo act in 2015 turned into a five-piece pop punk outfit, with Yana on lead vocals, Acap on drums, Irwin/Calvin on guitars, Nate/Josh on violins, and Watari on bass. Earlier this year, their debut single “Nebby” was released, as heard on Spotify, iTunes and more through Warner Music. Their skills are undeniable as they were nominated for two categories in last year’s VIMA Awards, going against big names like Kyoto Protocol and An Honest Mistake in ‘Best Rock Song’ and ‘Best Guitar Goreng Riff’. The band has also performed in venues like ATAS by Bijanfx, Publika and Urbanscapes House, to name a few. They are currently working on their first EP and a second single scheduled to release soon.
Date: 24 November
Time: 3pm to 3.30pm
Venue: Kwai Chai Hong @ Lorong Panggung
There are plenty more to that list, so for more artists and where and when to catch them, visit the Urbanscapes website, Facebook and Instagram.