Music of Malaysia
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| Southeast Asian music |
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| Brunei |
| Cambodia |
| East Timor |
| Indonesia |
| Laos |
| Malaysia |
| Myanmar |
| Philippines |
| Singapore |
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Malaysian music is influenced by neighboring Indonesian and Thai forms, as well as Portuguese, Filipino and Chinese styles (Munan, 175).
The Malays of Kelantan and Terengganu are culturally linked to peoples from the South China Sea area, and are quite different from the West Coast of Malaya. The martial art of silat, while essentially still important as a branch of the self defence form, is also popular among the Malays as an art presentation. Similar to t'ai chi, though of independent origin, it is a mix of martial arts, dance and music typically accompanied by gongs, drums and Indian oboes.
The natives of the Malay Peninsula played in small ensembles called kertok, which is swift and rhythmic xylophone music. Ghazals from Arabia are popular in the markets and malls of Kuala Lumpur and Johor, and stars like Kamariah Noor are very successful.
In Malacca, ronggeng is the dominant form of folk music. It played with a violin, drums, button accordion and a gong.
Arabic-derived zapin music and dance is popular throughout Malaysia, and is usually accompanied by a gambus and some drums. Another style, Dondang Sayang is slow and intense; it mixes influences from China, India, Arabs and Portugal with traditional elements.
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Pop music
Malaysia's pop music scene developed from traditional asli (pure) music popularised in the 1920s and 30s by Bangsawan troupes. One of the earliest modern Malay pop songs was "Tudung Periok", sung by Momo Latif, who recorded the song as early as 1930. In the 1950s, P.Ramlee became the most popular Malay singer and composer with a range of slow ballads such as "Azizah", "Dendang Perantau" and the evergreen "Di Mana Kan Ku Cari Ganti". Another popular ballad singer was R. Azmi who sang Malay lyrics to English and other European songs. In the 1960s, western-influenced pop yeh-yeh musicians came to the fore. Hail Amir and Uji Rashid introduced Hindustani-influenced music in the 1970s and in the 1990s, KRU among others developed Malay rap and hip-hop. A separate, but equally popular, nasyid pop music was developed by Raihan, Rabbani and Brothers - this is a form of Islamic religious music sung without string instruments and supported by percussions only. Sheila Majid is Malaysia's pioneer in R&B Jazz music and Ning Baizura is Malaysia's soul queen. The latest singing sensation from the Malay pop musical scene is Siti Nurhaliza.
Underground music
The Malaysian underground music scene (also known as the Malaysian independent or urban music scene, with the term "urban" introduced only in the late 90s) is an established localized underground culture within Malaysia. This is as opposed to mainstream music, which usually, in the Malaysian context refers to artists with strong ties or are engaged in direct contract with fairly large recording companies, giving them a more commercial and popular image.
Artists and musicians who are involved in the Malaysian underground scene are usually guitar-driven bands with inclination towards rock music, although there are a number of acts with differing musical influences such as hip-hop, electronica and dance music.
One of the other characteristics of this local scene is that most of the musicians are independent, entirely or partially DIY-driven groups or bands who emphasise on creating, sharing and experiencing music, together and collectively. Materials that they produce, such as albums, demos or EPs will usually be independent works, most of the time funded entirely or to some extend by themselves. Also, small musical performances known as gigs are organized regularly showcasing these bands.
The state of Terengganu was known as the Malaysian capital of punk rock throughout late 1979 and the 1980s, but there were no bands then as the punks were too poor to afford the equipment. The scene then was more a covergence of pioneering punk rockers trading pre-recorded music and fanzines acquired from pen-pals and friends from overseas while dabbling in home-made DIY punk fashion. This early Malaysian punks started in 1978/79. The early punk scene in Terengganu hit its peak in the early 80s before gradually dying out in the mid 90s. A new generation picked it up again in the late-90s with bands, DIY labels and intermittent gigs.
The first rumblings of a bonafide "underground music scene", as in real bands and original recordings. in Malaysia actually started in the city of Kuala Lumpur in the mid-80s with bands such as Punisher, Nemesis, Rator etc. These pioneers paved the way for a huge explosion of bands in the early 90s and it continues today with bands and acts of many different permutations, from political, anarcho punk to experimental, avant-garde noise.
Terengganu Punk: The Origins of Malaysian Punk Rock
The first proper punk rock "scene" in Malaysia started in Terengganu in 1978/1979. It started in a the small town of Dungun by a group of friends influenced by British music magazines such as NME, Melody Maker, Sounds, and Zig Zag, as well as their brothers and friends living in the more modern West Coast cities who would pass them the magazines and music.
By late 1979, almost every secondary school in the state had its own cliques of punk rockers. They would hang out on the weekends at the main bus station in the capital city of Kuala Terengganu, with the usual punk rock regalia (badges, studs, safety pins and such). Too poor to afford guitars or any other musical instruments, there never was an actual punk band but trading of tapes and zines were vigorous.
Most of these coming from friends studying overseas, the friends living in the West Coast cities and also punk rockers from UK, Europe and US who were kind enough to send tapes and magazines for free. Irregular trips were made to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (and Pulau Pinang, but rarely as it was too far) to dub punk rock records at the music stores or buy pirated tapes which were the only source for good music those days.
Some fishing villages would have the most punks and thus became the "centers" of activities. The main two villages were Kampung Mengabang Telipot (an hour north to the city) and Kampung Tanjung (right at the mouth of the city's river system). In Mengabang Telipot, there was a small bookstore selling magazines and music, which the kids would share. This bookstore is actually a wooden cupboard situated at one of the punk rockers' house.
The first Malaysian punk rock fanzine came out from this scene. It appeared in 1986 with the title of Huru Hara (meaning "chaos"); it was written in Terengganu slang by editor Mamat Hitam but never distributed in a large way. The first fanzine to do that was Aedes, which lasted until 1996; the first punk bands to appear there were Mallaria and later The Stone Crows. Both put out one rehearsal/demo tape.
There was a lull in activity in the mid-80s for the Terengganu punk scene, but a resurgence of bands of different persuasions appeared by the late 80s and early 90s (sparked in part by the setting up of a larger Malaysian underground music scene based in Kuala Lumpur in 1987). By the mid 90s onwards, there were constantly new bands appearing in the state and now in 2005, there are still a lot of punk-influenced bands and zines active.
See also
- Underground culture
- Malaysian hip hop
- Mainstream (antonym)
External links
- JamTank.com Indie Musicians & Fans Collective (http://www.jamtank.com)
- Ricecooker Zine – Mainly DIY Punk News + Reviews + Announcements (http://ricecooker.kerbau.com)
- Malaise Database and Forum (http://malaise.malscene.net)
- MalScene Portal (http://www.malscene.net)
- Mentharas - Malaysian Extreme Underground Music Portal (http://www.mentharas.com)
- DIY Punk Pages (http://www.punkpages.cjb.net)
- Avantgarde Malaysia (http://yat.ch) (check the links on this page)
- Overview of the State of Terengganu (http://www.hoteltravel.com/malaysia/terengganu/guides/overview.htm)
References
- Munan, Heidi. "Music at the Crossroads". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 2: Latin & North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific, pp 175-182. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0