KUCHING: It was a spectacular evening for hundreds of indie music fans who flocked to ChinaHouse at the Old CourtHouse recently to join in the merriment of the NegaRAKU Tour 2.0.
Organised by Astro Radio Sdn Bhd’s online music streaming platform Raku, the tour was aimed at creating awareness of local bands by bringing them on a designated tour across the country, apart from fostering the the spirit of patriotism among citizens in all the states of Malaysia in conjunction with National Day.
The tour kicked-off last year with Malacca as its first destination. Hazama, Bittersweet, Massacre Conspiracy, Tres Empre, Love Me Butch, Dragon Red, Bil Musa, Plague of Happiness, Misgiven and Music Monster were the indie bands who participated in the first edition of the nationwide tour which later on moved to Penang, Sabah and Kuala Lumpur.
Sarawak had the privilege to be part of this amazing tour this year, featuring an exciting line-up of popular local artistes and indie bands; namely Monoloque, Plague of Happiness, Tres Empre, Aru & The Republic, Massacre Conspiracy, and Artefacts. Prior to this, the showcase took place in Pahang on Aug 20 and Malacca on Aug 27.
The curtain raiser at ChinaHouse was a performance by award–winning indie band Monoloque at 2pm, who performed the band’s hits ‘Metropolitan’, ‘Tiada Kata Secantik Bahasa’, ‘Ringgit’, ‘Uda & Dara’, ‘Jika Aku Seorang Robot’, ‘Badang Kotaraya’ and ‘Halimunan Abad Ke-21’ which received thunderous applause and cheers from the audience who also sang along.
Next, Kuala Lumpur’s metalcore band Massacre Conspiracy with its handsome vocalist Ash warmed up the stage by performing their songs ‘Karma (Will Find You)’, ‘Confined Walls’, ‘Risen From The Grave’, and ‘Bloodless’.
After that, a progressive metal band also from Kuala Lumpur, Artefacts, appeared on stage to perform six of their popular songs – ‘Exordium’, ‘Wretch’, ‘Sanctuary’, ‘Unveiled’, ‘Forlorn Script’ and ‘Victorious’.
Five-piece post–hardcore band Tres Empre made the fans scream with excitement with their songs ‘Seventh’, ‘Comfort Arms’, ‘Sleeping Tiger’, and ‘Antagonist’.
Things got heated up as Aru & the Republic came on stage later, entertaining the crowd with their popular numbers ‘Orang Planet’, ‘Matahari’, ‘Uptown’, ‘Legalise’, ‘Ku Tak Bisa’ and ‘Emansipasi’.
Skateboarders and third–wave ska band Plague of Happiness brought the house down with vocalist and teen heartthrob Nas performing their heart-thumping songs ‘Antidote’, ‘Matahari’, ‘Resah Awan’, ‘War’, ‘Sorrow’, ‘Malam’, ‘Konspirasi’, and ‘Viva La Punk’. The showcase ended at 7pm.
Serian’s ska band Drasska and street punk rock band the United Kids of Oi! from Kuching were also present at the showcase.
The NegaRAKU Tour 2.0, organised by Raku, is also a collaborative effort between Era FM, Hitz FM, Wonda Kopi Tarik and iSooka. Throughout the tour, fans also got the opportunity to purchase limited edition NegaRAKU Tour items which they can also get from www.isooka.com.
The six-week NegaRAKU Tour 2.0 will be held in Sabah (Sept 10), Kuala Lumpur (Sept 17) and lastly in Johor on Sept 24.
Apart from the NegaRAKU Tour, Raku has also been aggressively promoting and uplifting the local independent music scene by organising various events including Raku Fest that was held for the first time at The Square, Publika on May 7 this year. The Raku Fest will continue next year with Sarawak being one of their preferred destinations.
To stay updated with current affairs and activities by Raku, visit raku.my. The app can also be downloaded via Apple App Store and Google Play Store.