Freedom through music
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Loading... - Asuka Chiba
- 05 Sep 2022
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The way people listen to music has undergone a radical transformation ever since mass media began to dominate the industry. People can be seen gravitating toward pop songs, contemporary music, and modern, more innovative genres such as K-pop, which can be heard in practically every form of social media, including music streaming applications.
Despite all this, Malaysian underground music culture is a little-known phenomenon that few people have heard about. The well-established, specialised underground culture in Malaysia is known as the Malaysian independent (indie) or urban music scene, and saw its heyday in the late 1990s.
It is not difficult to pin down what exactly is meant by the term “underground music” these days. Musicians in the underground demand a great deal of creative freedom, and do not rely on the mainstream media too much.
In Malaysia, mainstream music refers to performers who have contracts with big record labels and make commercially popular music, while underground media is subculture-focused.
Underground music includes styles and subgenres rarely heard in popular music, whether pop, techno, rock, metal, or jazz.
The Malaysian underground scene is dominated by guitar-driven bands with a preference for rock music, but there are also other groups with a variety of musical influences, such as hip-hop, electronica, and dance, which may be heard on the scene.
The majority of musicians in this local scene are self-organised, DIY-focused bands or collectives that emphasise making, sharing, and enjoying music collectively. Read More...
