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Tourism Malaysia

Mystical Eve Interview: Pop Shuvit

December 23, 2011 at 2:00 pm

Two members of Pop Shuvit were spotted at the Mystical Eve Countdown Party press conference recently. AJ and JD were kind enough to answer the questions we lined up for them. Enjoy!

M.com: How does it feel to be invited to perform at the Mystical Eve Countdown Party?
JD: Definitely excited. I am really excited because we have never played here before in a new environment. Usually, New Year’s eve parties are always held at the usual places, so this year it is going to be different and better!

AJ: It is also going to be our 11th year playing together as a group. I’m happy that we are still being invited to play for New Year’s eve after so long!

Pop Shuvit, the great Malaysian indie band is set to perform during Mystical Eve at ENCORP Strand

M.com: What are your New Year’s resolutions?
JD: The million dollar question…
AJ: For Pop Shuvit, it would probably to get a Grammy, as we have always been aiming for one. We aim big, so every year we try to get closer and closer to that.
JD: So we probably set one huge and unrealistic goal, but along the way we probably set smaller goals. So every year we set those little goals which brings us closer to our big goal of winning a Grammy.

M.com: Do you have any personal goals or any personal resolutions?
JD: *Jokes* I want to be a solo singer-writer like Reza Salleh! Or maybe I want to do a K-Pop album and sell millions! *laughs at his comment*

M.com: Or maybe you do not believe in resolutions?
AJ: Personally I don’t, but it is good to have something like that. Like in my case, me and my wife are expecting our baby in 3 months’ time, so I want to be a good daddy and provide for him as much as I can.

M.com: Based on your experience, has any of your New Year’s resolutions came true in the past?

JD: Hmm… normally by January 31st I will be like, ‘What did I put as my resolutions this year?’. *laughs*

M.com: Any plans in store for the coming year? As the group Pop Shuvit?
JD: Despite all personal stuff, for the group we plan to take our music and expand it internationally. Our brand new album is out, it’s called Cherry Blossom Love Affair, so we will try to promote and get it distributed by some of the regional factories in Indonesia and the Philippines. We also hope to secure a lot more tours in United States and Europe as well.


M.com: If Pop Shuvit fans in Malaysia would like to get their hands on your latest album, where can they go to get it?

JD: The album is currently being sold in any major record stores like Rock Corner or Speedy Video. It is retailing for RM29 at the moment and there are 12 songs in the album.

M.com: Before your Pop Shuvit days, how did you spend your New Year’s eve? And are you guys usually busy performing during New Year’s eve?
JD: For the past 10 years at least, we have been busy doing a show almost every New Year’s eve. That is basically our memory of New Year’s eve, performing on stage and doing the countdown with the band mates, who are like our family.
AJ: At least they become our ‘brothers’ on the 31st of December every year… *laughs*

M.com: You mentioned that you did a lot of performances during the New Year’s eve. What would be your most memorable New Year’s eve performance?
AJ: Our first performance actually…
JD: Where was it? Was that the first New Year’s eve performance? I don’t remember…

M.com: Tell us about the one that you remember the most…
AJ: I remember one time, during one of our earlier performances and it was held at Bukit Bintang. There was this HUGE crowd from the front of Starhill where we were playing right up to the end of Jalan Alor! It felt so cool to finally play for such a big crowd, for all our Malaysian fans.

M.com: Was that the biggest turnout that you guys have played to so far?
AJ: There were bigger crowds after that, but that was the one that left the biggest impression. We stopped Bukit Bintang from operating their normal business hours.

M.com: How has the year been for Pop Shuvit?
JD: This year has been really really good. We had a wonderful first half of the year because we started recording our album since middle of last year and we managed to finish it in the first quarter of 2011. The album was released in middle of this year. Running up to that, we also had a very big show this year which was the MTV World Stage that was held at I-City in Shah Alam. That was a massive show where we got a full on set and played with big names like Thirty Seconds to Mars, Neon Trees and Beast. The biggest thing was that the performance was that it was broadcast to about 60 million households. It was really huge publicity for the group. So that made 2011 a good year for us.
AJ: And that also kind of put Malaysian music on the world map.

M.com: We agree. Pop Shuvit has contributed a lot to the Malaysian indie music scene over the years…
JD: We are probably one of the first independent groups to made it.
AJ: We took it and did it ourselves and made our name.
JD: Before there was an Indie explosion in the Malaysia music industry…
AJ: Yeah, before Indie music became cool!

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Mystical Eve Interview: Reza Salleh

December 22, 2011 at 2:51 pm

The Malaysia.com team was lucky enough to spot Reza Salleh during the Mystical Eve Countdown Party press conference recently so we asked him a couple of questions. Here is what he has to say about New Year:

M.com: How does it feel to be invited to perform at the Mystical Eve Countdown Party?
Reza: I feel very honoured that they like my music and want to include me in this and I’m very excited. New Year’s Eve shows are a lot of fun and I love fun gigs.

Rexa Salleh is performing on Mystical Eve at ENCORP Strand

M.com: What are your New Year’s resolutions?
Reza: My New Year’s resolutions are to work on the next album and to learn another language, preferably Japanese.

M.com: Any other languages other than Japanese?
Reza: I think one language at the time is enough for the moment. Maybe tfor he year after 2012 I’ll think of another language to learn.

M.com: Did any of your New Year’s resolutions came true?
Reza: You know, the funny thing about these resolutions is that I don’t remember them, so I wouldn’t be able to answer that. I don’t know if they did, so maybe they didn’t. I’d like to think that they did though. *laughs*

M.com: Any plans in store for the coming year, you know… career wise, other than the new album?Or maybe you can tell us more about the new album?
Reza: Oh… the new album is kind of sitting on the shelf at the moment. I have the materials for it, but it’s just a matter of getting the right resources together to pull it off as well as the planning involved in producing an album. These are the things that I am working on at the moment. Also, I am thinking of expanding my music to the regional level, something that I have taken a lot of interest recently. Playing in other countries is a lot of fun! I am looking to playing more shows in Bandung, Japan and Korea.

M.com: How was the reception there in Japan and Korea?
Reza: It was excellent! They didn’t know who I was and I think they didn’t understand what I was singing, but I was very touched with their warm response in both countries.

M.com: When you were younger, how did you spend your New Year’s eve? Like during your teenage years, or maybe even college years… Any memorable stuff that comes to your mind?
Reza: The only thing that comes to mind about New Year’s eve is being stuck in the jam. *Laughs out loud* I remember one year, I did the countdown in the car. You know how when you were younger, you would like to go out and party or something, so and when everybody is going out at the same time, it causes a really bad jam. But thankfully in recent years I have opted for a more low key, chilled out kind of celebration.

M.com: Other than being caught in the jam, do you remember any memorable New Year’s eve? celebrations? Something that is nice and sweet… which you will still talk about till this day.
Reza: At the end of the day, it really is spending time with friends that matter. When I have that kind of quiet time, that really makes my my year worthwhile. At the end of the day, these are the things that are important to me – my music, my family, my friends and my loved ones.

M.com: One last question before we let you go! Was 2011 a very memorable year for you?
Reza: Absolutely!! It’s an insane year because I launched my album in November 2010, which was the end of last year. So this whole year has been crazy for me, as I was promoting my album on top of playing at five different festivals as well as doing performances in Singapore, Japan, Korea and Indonesia. I thought December may have been a quiet month, but it turned out to be otherwise. It’s still an awesome experience.

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Reza Salleh @ Mystical Eve

December 18, 2011 at 12:00 pm

As a budding singer-songwriter during his college days in Melbourne, Australia, Reza Salleh would rise above his fears and perform his music at live shows where critical audiences can be wittingly fierce with their judgement. That fellow Malaysian students who were in Melbourne at the time would testify that “even Aussie kids knew the lyrics to his songs” suggests real talent and an innate skill for showmanship in Reza Salleh. Years later in Kuala Lumpur, he would be one of the top names in the independent singer–songwriter scene.

Catch this talented musician-songwriter at ENCORP Strand on 31st December!

Reza’s early song–writing days were inspired by popular grunge and alternative rock bands like Nirvana and Rage Against the Machine, and the vocal styles of African-American artists. And perhaps due to the combination of inherent stubbornness and love for all kinds of music, the music he produced was not limited to any particular genre or tone. His inaugural album, Realize, captures perfectly his musical range and adaptability.

With punchy rock ensembles and acoustic bossa nova lining his track list, it would be difficult to pin him down to a particular genre. Though this may frustrate some straight–jacket listeners, Reza’s ability to swing between genres is an invaluable asset for any young musician catering to an increasingly diverse audience that is constantly on the lookout for new sounds.

Reza’s inaugural album, Realize, which compiles original music written over ten years of his song–writing career, is a tribute to fellow independent musicians who have taken the risk of leaving their “desk jobs” to pursue their dreams – and to those who are considering it.” With the release of ‘Diversify’, Dennis Lau became the first Malaysian instrumental artist to have an album released by Sony Music. His evolution as a musician has been influenced by the different musical genres that have swept across the decades, mainly through musicians such as Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Ryan Leslie, Wang Lee Hom, and John Mayer.

Don’t know how to get there? Check the map out!

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Mystical Eve @ ENCORP Strand

December 15, 2011 at 2:07 pm

Party like it’s the end of the world. Despite those who say 2012 is the end, let’s party like there’s no tomorrow anyway! Breathing new life into New Year’s Eve, new kid on the block ENCORP Strand, is playing host an amazing line up of local talent and entertainment for those wanting to participate in the revelry that is New Year’s Eve without being squashed into oblivion by throngs of (inebriated) party-goers.

Mystical Eve 2012 New Year’s Countdown Party

Aptly themed, ‘Mystical Eve’, this New Year’s Eve celebration will be a highly-charged evening of diverse entertainment, fun and frivolity for the entire family, with some of Kota Damansara’s best cuisine on offer.

Each year we have fireworks erupting from iconic landmarks, crowds of people celebrating that one moment in time, but then there are the crowds and the traffic jams. Top it off with a stunning entertainment line-up that avoids all the logistical hassles of being in the city centre. Poised with a big stage, state-of-the-art sound system, climate controlled outdoor atrium (yes, it will cool all night long), and loads of parking and other facilities, you can even sit back at midnight and watch the fireworks from across the city in the near distance.

So if you fancy a night out with your family, friends, girl or boyfriend on New Year’s Eve, but have no idea where to go, come and join our line up of performers such as international aerialists ala Cirque de Soleil and the 3D evolution of the ‘Laserman Experience’ that will make the audience stand on their feet and join in the revelry.

Hosted by well-known TV personalities Julie Woon and Megan Tan, the countdown will feature not-to-be-missed performances by some of Malaysia’s ‘who’s who’ from the industry such as Mizz Nina, Joe Flizzow, Pop Shuvit, Najwa Mahiaddin, Reza Salleh, Dennis Lau and his compatriot, Shawn Lee among others.

Suffice to say, the evening promises to be a not-to-be-missed affair by anyone (singles, couples, families) looking to party like there’s no (tomorrow) 2012!

“New Year’s Eve midnight is a single moment in time. We want the countdown to be memorable, surrounded by those we care about. We want Mystical Eve to be something that will blow your mind away with a stunning line-up of great entertainment, backed up by a range of tantalising FB outlets, embedded in outstanding community
spirit. Let it be a time to reflect on the past year, and share dreams for the coming year” said Jason Voon, Project Director for Mystical Eve.

Admission to the party is free with various food and beverage outlets having special promotions for party goers for that special evening. If you have problem with getting there, not to worry because it is easily accessible via the LDP (Leburaya Damansara Puchong), NKVE (North Klang Valley Expressway) and public transport (U88 or Metrobus no 99).

Don’t know how to get there? Click on the map!

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