Music

5 Up-and-coming Malaysian music acts that should be on your radar

23.01.2019

By Su Fen Tan

5 Up-and-coming Malaysian music acts that should be on your radar

Leaism

One name that has really been making rounds in the live gig circuit as of late is Leaism. This singer-songwriter with soulful, raspy vocals performs a riveting blend of RnB and electro pop that will leave you wanting more. Already a fan? Here’s a piece of good news: Leaism is set to release her debut album this year!

Check out her music on Spotify, and find out where you can catch the songbird live on her Instagram page. 


Insomniacks

For a dose of easy listening pop-rock, turn to Insomniacks. Hailing from Petaling Jaya, the band is made up of Danial Doodye on guitar, Syed Mir Iqbal on guitar and vocals, Wan Arif Iskandar on bass and vocals, and Gavin Wong on drums. They started out in 2015 making acoustic covers, and are now signed under Sony Music Malaysia with a couple of singles to their name, including ‘Pulang’, which has 1 million hits on both YouTube and Spotify.

Listen to Insomniack’s music on Spotify, and keep up with the band on their Instagram page. 


Hade$

The local hip-hop scene is definitely not just the boys’ game right now, as seen by the serious dose of girl power in Joe Flizzow’s freestyle cypher show 16 Baris. One such talent that caught our eye is poet/rapper Melissa Heidi a.k.a. Hade$, who coolly held her own against the likes of Kayda and B-Heart, earning the respect of the industry and landing herself a spot in the Ruffneck Clique collective.

Listen to her rapid rhymes on Soundcloud, and follow her on Instagram for more updates.


Milo Dinosaur

Founded in 2017, Milo Dinosaur has quickly climbed the ranks with their brand of post-emo-meets-punk rock. They didn’t make fans wait too long before dropping their debut album Dengan Ikhlas in September last year.  No stranger to the more underground live music venues such as Live Fact and Rumah Api, the four-piece band consists of Zul and Azim on guitars, Falique on bass, and Alang on drums.

Head to Spotify to listen to ‘Dengan Ikhlas’, and get updates on their upcoming gigs on Instagram


The Frankie Sixes

The Frankie Sixes started out playing music for lindy hop dance sessions, but it wasn’t long before their feel-good swing jazz covers graced the stages of music festivals (both locally and abroad) as well as KL’s go-to jazz club No Black Tie—not that surprising, perhaps, considering the familiar faces in the band. A side project of singer-songwriter Reza Salleh, the band is composed of Reza himself on main vocals, and well-known local jazz musicians Ee Jeng, Che Wan and KJ on the keys, double bass and drums respectively.

Find out where to catch them next through their Instagram page. 

 

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