KUALA LUMPUR – Despite Covid-19 hindering large-scale concerts, TapauFest – one of the country's biggest independent music festivals – is making a return this month with a Southeast Asian lineup.
Set to take place on October 30, the latest round of TapauFest is happening virtually for the first time. It will go beyond Malaysia's borders to include acts from Singapore and Indonesia.
On the bill this year are 10 acts from the three countries. Malaysia will be represented by singer-songwriter Zee Avi, ska-punk outfit Plague of Happiness, rappers Gard Wuzgut, and garage punk trio No Good.
From Indonesia, TapauFest will bring veteran indie group Sore, Rock ’n’ roll trio Fleur!, and popular surf rock band The Panturas.
The acts from Malaysia and Indonesia will also be joined by their Singaporean peers. They are surf punk band Force Vomit, indie rockers Subsonic Eye, and math rock trio Forests.
With the tagline #lifeislive, the festival is tipped to run for 14 hours from 10am to 12am (MYT). It is aimed at providing an authentic festival atmosphere amid the implementation of new norms.
The festival is a recipient of the Creative Industry Recovery Grant (GPIK) by MyCreative Ventures under Penjana for digital events. As such, it aims to merge regional ties in the independent music community under the www.tapau.asia platform where the festival will be aired.
Moreover, TapauFest is spurring new collaborations and employment opportunities for the creative and indie communities that were deeply affected by the pandemic.
According to the organisers, TapauFest is also made up of three main components – Pentas (live music performance), Bengkel (a workshop for adopting new skills), and Layar (live production premiere).
"We have a line-up of popular and established indie musicians from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore from diverse music genres, including female representatives from each country," said Faris, the Concert Director and representative of TapauAsia Sdn Bhd, in a press release.
Faris noted that Johor-based Plague of Happiness and Zee Avi were pivotal to the burgeoning Malaysian independent scene. The latter holds the record as the first Malaysian to be listed on the US Billboard Hot 200 album chart and topped the Billboard Heatseekers chart.
No Good recently released their latest track, 'Kayaba' and while Gard Wuzgut was the recipient of the TapauAwards Jeremy Award winner (Best New Indie Artist) last year.
Meanwhile, Force Vomit – a veteran act in Singapore – is making an appearance at TapauFest after a three-year hiatus.
"Singapore is also represented by Subsonic Eye, the first Southeast Asian artist to appear in KEXP and Forest who made history as the first Asian band to have their song listed in the '100 Greatest Emo Songs' on Vulture.com," Faris said.
He noted that Indonesia's Sore is tipped to feature two special guests who will only be introduced during their performance.
"The location of the show in each country has its own attraction. This was realised with the cooperation of local indie partners, namely Qun Films from Jakarta, MonoMonday (Singapore) and Krom Studio (Malaysia)," he said.
"Not limited to performances, artists are also encouraged to share stories and interact with each other and fans through live-chats."
The Pentas segment of the festival will be hosted by popular actors Iedil Dzuhrie Alaudin and Sharifah Amani throughout the 14 hours of the event. The duo will also host live-chat sessions and handle intermission segments that offer a variety of prizes.
The Bengkel, or workshop, session will also kick off with the “Breakfast For Champions” tutorial. Bagus “Gogon” of The Panturas will demonstrate simple ways to prepare a scrumptious breakfast.
The session will be followed by the appearance of graffiti artist, Boon Baked from Singapore who will conduct a tutorial called the Boon Letter Workshop, Faris said.
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“The session will also be enlivened with the appearance of Bear who is a member of the Metalcore group 'Defoulters' from Malaysia. Bear (and who) will be facilitating an interesting 15-minute tutorial on screaming and growling techniques" he said.
Meanwhile, through the Layar segment, attendees will also be able to catch the premiere of the Ipoh City Slackers' documentary 'Indie Rock Kota Tua', directed by Nik Syazwan and assisted by Zim Ahmadi.
To top it all, TapauFest is also offering unique souvenirs, specially designed by designer GrimmyGranny and produced by Bogus Merchandise, which will also be handling international shipping.
The festival will also issue a zine with articles written by Fikri Fadzil of The Wknd sessions, writer and television producer Adly Syairi Ramly, and more. Attendees also stand a chance to win a Sony PS5, the organiser said.
Individual tickets are priced at RM30 for the Basic Combo, RM50 (“Gerek” combo), RM100 (“Keren” combo) and RM150 (“Sempoi” combo).
Group tickets for four people are priced at RM110 for the Basic Combo, RM180 (“Gerek”) and RM360 (“Keren”) until October 29, 2021. Individual tickets will be sold at RM50 on the day of the festival. All tickets can be purchased directly at di www.tapaufest.asia. – The Vibes, October 23, 2021
