A KIWIMO’S MALAYSIA + SINGAPORE DIY TOUR GUIDE (2015)
Carb went to Malaysia at the start of this year and it was sick. They have a super strong and earnest DIY (mostly punk) culture at the moment, which was an inspiring perspective and real cool to experience. And though its mildly intimidating to tour from the outside, its actually really easy to get around, and really cheap once you’re there. Flights even get pretty cheap from Aus (AirAsia mostly - I saw some for as cheap as $137 one way + baggage etc), but not NZ :( (more like $500 each way). This is me recommending it.
- Disclaimer - this is just from my experience and advice from some people I met, feel free to contribute if you think I’ve missed something or I’m not quite right - My experience is with peninsular Malaysia, but you can definitely tour Borneo too. Makes a lot of sense to start or end in Singapore (also once you’re in the region, its pretty cheap to fly around - Indonesia, Bangkok and a couple of cities in Vietnam are options too). May as well bring up cost up front, basically, compared to NZ and Australia, you get paid very little. There’s no chance of making back your flights as a DIY band. BUT covering most of the in-country costs is possible, but to be honest you’d want to have a few hundred dollars spare to enjoy yourself more. RM is Malaysian Ringgit, was around 1/3 of NZD when we went. Expect 0-150 RM per show = 0-50 NZD + merch (which people get real into - probably make as much as from the show or more from merch) It’s not much, I know, but in context: Decent meal - 6-12RM = 2-4 NZD
Bus tickets between cities - 15-40RM = 5-14 NZD
Dorm bed - 15-25RM = $5-9
Decent hotel room for 2-4 people - 80-130RM = 26-43 NZD
Public transport - 1-5RM = 0.30-2 NZD
It’s worth mentioning its overall a pretty PUNK scene, and the aesthetic can come across pretty strong, but even the dudes in the \m/ grindcore \m/ bands we played with were welcoming. Speaking of dudes, in terms of bands its very MEN. There were women at the shows though and they outwardly appreciated when other women were on stage.
So going South-North (and all on the West Coast), the options are: Singapore
Some people don’t rate Singapore but I lived there for a while as a kid and always love going there. They don’t have the same DIY culture as Malaysia, partly because regulations, property prices and everyone living in high-rise apartments means it can be super hard and expensive to put on shows. I have heaps of respect for the people who keep fighting to put on good stuff. For example, the venue we played at, maybe slightly bigger than Great Job, probably smaller than Black Wire cost $120 per hour (!) to put on a show. But anyway, thats for the local peeps to worry about. Venues seem to change a lot, and don’t really promote shows, try: Prohibited Projects: (punker end of things) http://prohibitedprojects.blogspot.co.nz/
Other Sounds: (indie end of things) https://www.facebook.com/othersoundsmusic
Johor Bahru Used to be a pretty dodgy place, but way chiller and safer than it used to be. Just across the border from Singapore Try Embrace Hall: https://www.facebook.com/groups/242518063120/?fref=ts
Batu Pahat
The main venue there The Wall burnt down recently, but there have been heaps of fundraisers and stuff lately, think they’ll probably be up and running in a little while. Keen to help, they offered us a show out of the blue when they heard we were coming to Malaysia. The Wall: https://www.facebook.com/thewallbp?fref=ts
Malacca
We didn’t go here but played with a band Loch from here who were super friendly, they’d point you in the right direction. Loch: https://www.facebook.com/lochmusic?fref=ts
Kuala Lumpur
KL is a big city, has more indie stuff going on then elsewhere.
Indie/experimental shows at an art gallery: Findars - https://www.facebook.com/FINDARS?fref=ts Punx as (Carb wasn’t punk enough to suit playing here really): Rumah Api - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rumah-Api/157888934276502?fref=ts Other: BTNK - https://www.facebook.com/btnk.btnk?fref=ts The Wknd (a pretty big Malaysian music media site) is also based in KL and can probably give you tips and other options, they were super helpful and nice to us, and helped me with this guide.
- https://www.facebook.com/thewknd?fref=ts
Ipoh
A smallish city north of KL, these people Toothache Splinter put on sick shows there, with really nice posters and promo, and make tickets for the show which are badges and stuff. They’re great. They also put out the Carb album on tape.
Toothache Splinter - https://www.facebook.com/toothiesadventure
Penang
Nicest city we went to, food actually lives up to the huge hype, some killer vege restaurants. Try Soundmaker Studio (pretty much across the road from the water and a world heritage site, also have a hostel room you can stay at, the guy who runs it, Cole, is super nice):
Soundmaker Studio - https://www.facebook.com/Soundmakerstudio?fref=ts
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Cool yeah, and if you wanted to go to Borneo or other cities just ask some of these people, almost everyone’s happy to help in my experience. PS. Get merch made there otherwise your prices will just be too high. Just ask around.