Bunkface, Joe Flizzow are among the new attractions at KL Jamm
WHEN the upcoming KL Jamm Music Festival was first launched last January, only a few names were announced to taking part in the inaugural event in Kuala Lumpur from April 26 to 28.
Datuk Ramli Sarip, Datuk Sheila Majid, Datuk Afdlin Shauki, Datuk Zainalabidin, and Zamani were announced as among the main acts during the three-day festival organised by Music Unlimited International (MUI), which is part of the KRU Group of Companies.
They will be joined by OAG, Sheezay, Rabbit Mac and Amelina among others.
However, as the festival is being organised on a grand scale with 10 different concerts happening throughout that weekend, more performers are expected to take to the 10 stages spread out on two floors of the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Mitec), located off Jalan Duta.
As promised, MUI revealed the final lineup for the festival recently.
Other artistes include Bunkface, Ruff-Jamm (made up of some members of Ruffedge, Innuendo and Nine (of Billy Zulkarnain duo), Joe Flizzow, SonaOne, Alif, Ila Damiaa, Yung Raja, Faris Jabba and Abubakarxli.
There will also be a few local Indian performers who are well-known among listeners of local Tamil music such as VJ Emergency, Dr Burn, and Santesh who will be performing at the Malaysia Pasangge Concert on the first night.
Festival director Datuk Norman Abdul Halim said: “It’s going to be a yearly festival where icons and legends as well as new artistes share the same platform. Music lovers can appreciate artistes from various decades, and to better get to know the country’s most memorable stars.
“There will also be one or two international stars, to remind us that we should aim to put our music on the world stage.”
FOREIGN ACTS
The renowned K-Pop boy group sensation, NCT Dream will be performing at this festival. This will mark the band’s debut performance here.
NCT Dream, the third sub-unit of South Korean boy group NCT, will also be joined by DJ Sura, who will enthral the crowd with her signature K-Pop inflected and dance music.
MUI also announced its collaboration with the prestigious Hong Kong Asian-Pop Music festival (HKMAF) for this musical event. HKAMF will be represented by Canto-pop star J. Arie, the winner of HKAMF Super Nova Award 2012. “We’re grateful and proud to be in collaboration with the prestigious regional music festival such as HKAMF to help us make KL Jamm a success.
“We look forward to further strengthening this collaboration with the involvement of more regional artistes especially for Asia Pacific Music Exchange (APEX) stage, which will be a platform to promote the upcoming artistes in the Asia Pacific region,” said Norman.
“There has been a long collaboration between the Malaysian music industry and HKAMF. We’re excited to see KL Jamm’s emergence in driving the same course in advancing Asian recorded music and live entertainment.
“There are enough talents around and we’re honoured that J. Arie has been invited to take part in this event,” said Ricky Fung, HKAMF representative at the event.
Said J. Arie, “It is my greatest honour to be the ambassador for HKAMF and I look forward to participating in more music exchange programmes with Malaysia and other Asian countries in future in order to unite the diversified Asian cultures.”
KL Jamm Music Festival is also not just about concerts and music performances; it will also be a platform for global music and digital-related trade, with the inclusion of MusicXpo (trade exhibition) and Forumuzik (a symposium).
Besides the main stage lineups, there will also be other artistes who will be performing at the APEX stage, which is co-organised by Global Creative & Media Agency, an established global agency specialising in public relations and marketing of major media entertainment festivals such as Midem Music festival and the recently-concluded Asian Television Awards.
Asked if there was any reason on why most performers are men, Norman smiled and said that it was not intentional.
“The selection had been based on the artistes with their own followers, who would be able to bring a mix of fan bases. We also chose them based on the various genres, so as to make this festival a more inclusive event, gathering fans and artistes from various backgrounds.
“We hope that having artistes from various eras will also make the festival fun for music lovers of various age groups,” he said.