If the saying ‘music is food for the soul’ has any truth behind it, then KL is a veritable feast for the psyche this month. There’s musical flavours to suit all tastes, be it at festivals, in concert venues and in some of the capital’s hottest clubs.
From thumping techno and trance to catchy indie pop, we’ve got you covered with a trio of world class artistes playing out.
Will Atkinson & Exis
When it comes to crafting journey-style DJ sets that peak and trough, feed off the energy of the crowd and are woven together with clean, surgical-like mixing, Will Atkinson and Exis are your guys. The former is a Scottish trance hero who managed to engineer over 90 records between 2011 and 2013, a testament to his passion and work philosophy. His foray into the darker side of trance, under the alias Darkboy, has also gained widespread A-list support.
Bringing equally as much energy into big room sounds is Aussie DJ Exis, who’s banging drops could register on the Richter Scale. As part of the Trance Nation brand, his tracks have featured in sets from the biggest players in the scene and were often highlights in festivals like ASOT 800, Tomorrowland and Dreamstate.
Strap in for a wild ride with these trance heavyweights this month at Zouk.
Zouk Pres. Will Atkinson & Exis
WHERE Zouk Club, TREC, Kuala Lumpur
WHEN 10pm (12 July)
ADMISSION RM75
TEL 03 2110 3888
zoukclub.com.my
Anne-Marie
After years of hit singles and working as a guest vocalist with top artistes, Essex girl Anne- Marie Nicholson dropped her long-awaited debut album last year. Speak Your Mind is the culmination of years of song writing (she claims to have whittled the track list down from over 1,000 songs) and delivers a refreshing pop/R&B sound that recalls ‘90s artistes like Aaliyah.
And like the name of the album, she’s not afraid to bare her soul when it comes to lyrical content, many of her songs like the platinum-certified Alarm and Ciao Adios telling tales of cheating exes. Her feistiness, both in her music and in other parts of her life (did we mention she’s a karate champion?) is clear as day and if her inevitable rise to the top over the last few years is anything to go by, she’ll be topping the charts on a consistent basis for some time.
Anne-Marie Live in Malaysia
WHERE KL Live, Kuala Lumpur
WHEN 8pm (22 July)
ADMISSION RM138-RM238
lazada.com.my/shop/warner-musicmalaysia
Lany
When Les Priest, Jake Goss, and Paul Klein decided to pool their songwriting talent after making music in their bedrooms for fun, it didn’t take long after they uploaded a few of their tracks to an anonymous SoundCloud account for record companies to come knocking. Their dreamy electropopmeets- R&B sound stands out from the crowd, and comes packed with soaring synths, pads and melodies that have earned them a huge fan base.
LANY, an acronym for Los Angeles New York, cut their teeth while on tour with the likes of Troye Sivan, Ellie Goulding and Halsey, dropping highly successful Eps that would eventually lead to their first album, the self-titled LANY. The breakout single from that long player, ILYSB (an acronym for I love you so bad) features an effortless, playful vibe that’s wrapped in their signature lush sound – the perfect accompaniment to frontman Paul Klein’s impassioned lyrics.
The band’s second album, Malibu Nights, was released last year and is a direct result of Klein’s breakup with artiste Dua Lipa. Using music as a therapeutic outlet, he ended up finishing the album in just over a month, mentioning that he was thankful for the heartbreak as it allowed him to reroute negative energy into something positive.
LANY Malibu Nights World Tour Live in KL
WHERE Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur
WHEN 8.30pm (27 July)
ADMISSION RM258, RM298
TEL 03 7493 3010
prworldwidelive.com