Saturday 12th November 2005: UNCLOGGED RETURNS!

Yup! Unclogged is back! And it’s going to be held at no other place than, jeng, jeng, jeng… NoBlackTie!

Warped Confessional
Unclogged #? ( I’ve lost count!)

Azmyl Yunor / Meor / 360° Head Rotation / Fathullistiwa Soundscapes / Sampah Masyarakat / Kuchalana

Saturday 12th November 2005
RM12 / 8 pm till late
NoBlackTie, Jalan Mesui, Off jalan Nagasari, KUALA LUMPUR
[ Jalan Mesui is situated behind Istana Hotel, which is situated on Jalan Raja Chulan ]

drum roll…

Azmyl Yunor
Americana-influenced battered guitar troubadour transplanted (terpelanting-ed) to the deepest Bangi. Broke his voice and lifted many a downtrodden spirit as “that busking Malay dude” in the city of Perth, Australia before becoming one of the “coolest” living lecturers ever at a local private college. Nowadays undergoing a reawakening as a Johnny-Cash-that-eats-belacan-too, so I’m expecting lots of foul-smelling Malay tunes that would make M. Nasir feel like some long-discarded tempoyak masam.

website

Meor
When it comes to gritty, nature-loving but world-weary Malay poetry ala the long gone 70s art movement Anak Alam, Meor is THE man! Mix that oft forgotten reflective rebel sensibilities with an old acoustic guitar and tens of great songs delivered with passion and sincerity and you’ll have an explosive package. At the very least, you’ll scramble home to find old copies of literature by Usman Awang, Pak Samad, Keris Mas and their now forgotten ilk.

website

360° Head Rotation
As local “indie-rock” bands go here in Boleh-land, the 360 Degrees is one of the very, very few original bands around. In a sea of combos trying to be just like another band that sounds like another band ad nauseam; Rafil, Jack & gang don’t belong to any one of those boxes which people likes to put themselves in. Essentially influenced by late 70s post-punk and early 80s indie-guitar bands, blessed with raw blues-rock trimmings courtesy of excellent guitarist Jack, the 360 Degrees walks their own path. Humourously black, self-hating and bitterly morbid, the band will have you singing along self-deprecating songs in no time!

Note: For this particular installment of Unclogged, 360° Head Rotation will appear as an acoustic duo, with singer/guitarist Rafil & lead guitarist Jack dishing the basics.

website

Fathullistiwa Soundscapes
Soon to release its debut album, Fathullistiwa Soundscapes is a “projek Fathul and kawan-kawan” marrying a myriad of diverse influences that brought together Japanese-style sleazy RnB and Javanese-style indie-pop wrapped in deep-voiced drum-machined and swaggering gothic drama! You may have heard of Fathul with the grinding monster Infectious Maggots and also the charming bad boys Spiral Kinetic Circus, now check out the man in a more seductive pimping incarnation.

Note: As with the 360 Degrees, Fathullistiwa Soundscapes will feature Fathul and a friend or two in an acoustic setting.

website: Fathullistiwa @ MySpace | Fathullistiwa @ i-bands

Sampah Masyarakat (unconfirmed)
An occasional project by the boys at UBU; a mixture of rough, uncouth and ugly political/personal poetry by Rahmat Haron accompanied with an unschooled beginner attempt at acoustic folk by Black and friends. Sometimes it works, sometimes it falls flat; whichever it goes the boys always deliver a smack to our collective ignorance and apathy with a huge gunslinger smile.

no website (yet!)

Kuchalana (unconfirmed)
Very talented bunch of handsome boys who ply quite a rare path of mixing punk rock with roots reggae. Live at a full-blown punk rock show, Kuchalana will skank the whole house down with much excited sweaty glee, however on an acoustic setting they will set the sun down low; just like when Georgie would make the fire-lights, logwood burnin’ through the night…

Kuchalana has just release a fine 6-song EP a few months ago, it’s called “The Input For An Output” and available on both CDs and cassettes at the nearest record store.

website

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NBT has reopened quietly on Monday night, October 24th at a new premise, which is actually on the same road as before (Jalan Mesui, off Jalan Nagasari), only a few doors down from the old NBT.

To those who haven’t been to NBT before, at the back of the Istana Hotel is a nice mamak restaurant called Baidushah, the road in front of that restaurant is Jalan Nagasari.

If you’re coming from the area where the Arab Malaysian Building are facing The Weld on Jalan Raja Chulan, head straight towards Istana Hotel (on the right). Just before the hotel there’s a small junction (also on the right side). Take that turn and go down the hilly bit, now you are on Jalan Nagasari, from here you can see Baidushah on the left, go pass the restaurant and take the first right turn into Jalan Mesui. Halfway through that street, you’ll find NBT in the middle of the two-storey blocks on the left side.

I’ll put up more info, map and flyer here right after I’m back in KL after raya.