Melissa IndotSelectively impulsive, compromisingly obstinate, warm at heart and a stickler for details, Melissa Indot is a walking contradiction. With piercing eyes rimmed in kohl and high cheekbones etched on a near flawless complexion, her lithe frame belies a commanding presence that exudes confidence through her powerful voice.
Mysterious, funky and sensitive, Melissa has always been driven by a fierce ambition to achieve her musical goals without losing touch with reality. Her fearless tendency to rebel and break away from the norm has led her from strength to strength in pursuing her dream. Bitten by the music bug at the tender age of three, her passion and ambition are driven towards one thing: her love for the music.
Malaysia born and London bred; Melissa’s influences, tastes and thoughts have been peppered with exposure to both local and international cultures at an early age. The youngest of three, she was always encouraged to socialise with people of all ages and walks of life.
Throughout the years, she honed on her experiences, which gave her the creative inspiration to recognise distinctive characteristics and tastes of individuals, which translated into her musical flavours.
A ‘fashionista’ in her own right, Melissa can just about make any image her own. With a unique style of dressing her taste in clothing ranges from androgynous tailored jackets with very little underneath, heavily accessorized with long earrings and necklaces to long flowing feminine gowns with stiletto heels. Pinstriped suits, classic white Adidas Superstars, open shirts, skinny ties, fedoras and cuffs are also items favoured in her daily dressing.
Her melodies incorporate contemporary and retro sounds. Groovy tunes that move the soul, flavoured with intuitive lyrics that soothe the mind. Each song tells a story that listeners at different points in their lives can identify with. Her songs speak for themselves, appealing to music lovers of all ages. The difference can be heard through her use of real instrumentation, deep bass grooves, hypnotic pulses and epic string sections, all linked by her ethereal vocals.
In the early 90’s, Melissa involved herself in The Queenswood School Senior Choir. Not only was she Choir Leader, she also led an elite octet, The Queenswood Singers as well and performed at the Royal Albert Hall.
After completing her education, she decided to form a duo act, Confucius Says, where they signed a recording contract with an independent label (Koch International) and a publishing contract with major label, Universal Music Publishing (formerly MCA Music).
Their debut single Not in Blue was released in early 1997. Their second single Window was released in autumn of the same year.
A seasoned player in the music industry, Melissa has had more than her fair share of experience working the infamous UK music industry: hours spent in the studio writing, recording and producing original material for a debut album, countless photo shoots, shooting two of her music videos, newspaper and magazine coverage, cable television and radio interviews across the country as well as TV performances. She was also featured on the UK's BBC1 National Lottery Programme televised live to 14 million viewers.
After taking a break from the music industry in the UK over the last few years, Melissa came back to Malaysia for a well-deserved holiday. It was here that she put together a band of musicians, called them The Misfits and played a few gigs at the local club scene. With the enthusiastic response from the public, it didn’t take much persuasion to get Melissa back into music.
Moving back home to KL in mid-2004; the following year, she and The Misfits by popular demand, have been performing together at various events. At the more formal events, where entertainment is required at a “sit-down” dinner, Melissa has been known to accompany herself on the piano along with a full band line-up. Her entertainment skills can take her with ease from bringing down the house at a nightclub with rockers and party animals to performing at formal sit down dinners.
Melissa recently composed the music and wrote the lyrics to “I am Malaysia” to commemorate the 50 years of Independence of Malaysia. This song was launched at a Gala Dinner – “An evening with the Prime Minister – 50 Years: The Beat of Business” in June 2007. She performed this song with a choir comprising 40 children, including the great-grand children and grand children of Malaysia’s 5 Prime Ministers!
Her debut album entitled ECLECTICISM is to be released November 29th 2007. She composed the music and wrote the lyrics of 90% of the songs featured in the album and is hands on with the music production and vocal arrangement of all the songs.
Melissa Indot- a multi-talented artiste to definitely keep your eyes and ears out for!
Visit
http://www.melissaindot.com for more details on Melissa!
Ash NairARTICLE: Faces Magazine Dec 2007 by Lisa Zahran
If you haven’t already heard it on the airwaves, then we conclude you don’t own a radio. We’re talking about the chart-topping debut single “A Day Before Tomorrow” that reached #1 on the XFresh and Hitz.fm MET charts for several weeks and also gained much airplay on Fly FM. Blasting even more recently on the airwaves is the second single “Crazy”, which reached even greater heights and became a massive hit on Hitz, Mix, Fly Fm and XFresh.
This, my friends, is the new sound of Ash Nair. Blending modern rock sensibilities, dynamic arrangements and memorable melodies, Ash Nair’s blend of pop rock seeps through the release of his debut album, Chameleon. Other than the album being a celebration of rock and roll, Ash has also covered as much ground as possible through the songs to represent who he is as an artist.
Chameleon consists of eight self-penned original English tracks as well as two Malay originals. Driven by the search for that great melody and great stories when writing his album, this friendly and fun bloke has also roped in a couple of mates to collaborate with him, including local heavy weights Jamie Wilson, Rudy, JD and Moots! from Pop Shuvit, who have contributed on several tracks. There are also guest spots from Canadian rap star, Vandal, which can be heard on the track “Crazy”, whilst classically trained singer Arvinder Raina from Bombay sings together on the Malay track “Jangan Tinggal Ku”. As the final icing on the cake, Chameleon is mastered by Arnie Arcosta, a legend in the business that went along to master multiple Grammy award winning albums including U2’s Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, All That You Can’t Leave Behind, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and Pink Floyd’s seminal Dark Side of the Moon.
Releasing his debut album just last month in November hasn’t stopped this highly driven artist from continuing to push himself. Though Chameleon has taken four years from concept to release, the actualisation of this dream is by far the end of the road for Ash. He has also ventured into acting with roles in the locally produced film noir-musical, Red Street Diner. He also recently performed alongside Harith Iskander, Elaine Daily, Vince Chong and Michael Veerapan in the heart-warming feel good musical, Frogway the Musical. And like he couldn’t make himself any busier, word has it that he’s dabbling in some directing courses too, so perhaps there’s even a movie in the pipeline.
Continuously driven by vision and with a self written and self produced album already under his belt, one thing is for sure - this guy likes to be in control. A frickin’ perfectionist, you could say, who when he knows what he wants makes decisions without an ounce of hesitation. And we wouldn’t have it any other way, really, cause we’re quite certain that it is because of Ash’s trait to give and produce his best that has given our television screens the groundbreaking music video “A Day After Tomorrow”. Looking more like an excerpt from a blockbuster sci-fi animation flick, the video of stunning animation and breathtaking visuals has gained a reputation of being one of the best produced music videos in local history. Well, it’s almost like we have already caught a glimpse of what his movie is gonna be like...
Oh, we digress too much. So, like yeah, getting back on track. If you haven’t already heard it on the airwaves, we suggest you get out right now and buy one (the album, and yes, if you’d like, go ahead and buy yourself a radio too).
“Writing music has always been an integral part of my being.”
Chameleon is available in all good record stores nationwide.
Visit
http://www.myspace.com/ashnair to listen to Ash's tune
Prema YinPrema Yin has been singing since she was in primary school, entertaining crowds at weddings , private functions and having a go at age group singing competitions.
At present she is pursuing her studies but as music is her first love she is trying to juggle her time and focus between both.
She took part in the National level singing competition organized by NTV 7, Who Will Win Malaysian Topstar and emerged as the winner in 2005.
Wanting to gain more experience and to further improve herself, Prema Yin hit the pub scene, performing with such well known personalities as Jerry Felix, Simon Justin, Richard Gomez, Collin Jensen, Albert Sirimal, Ronny Felix, Vijay David and others. She also performed with Jaclyn Victor for a national level TV show and has also performed a number of times on TV.
In 2006 she was invited to audition for the Aseana Percussion Unit and has been a member of this very popular group for the past 3 years. Performing in various local pub scenes: Bangkok Jazz, Groove Junction, Waikiki etc
Festivals such as Sunrise Jazz Fest, Sarawak Rainforest Festival as well as overseas(China for the Zhu Jia Jia Water Village Festival, Singapore Arts Festival).
Her major influences have been from blues rock, r&b, melancholic, soul and funk. She has been inspired by the work of great musicians notably Aerosmith, Stevie Wonder, Sarah Maclachlan, Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu, Shania Twain etc
She has great feel and her songs are charged with raw emotions.
Prema Yin is not only an accomplished singer but she is also one of the rare breed of singer/song writer and has been composing her own songs since she was 14.
Her songs are created from her past experiences, random thoughts, imagination and life itself.
And now, after 5 years of her venturing into the music scene, she has finally decided to record her own songs which she hopes to share with music lovers.
She had the chance to appear with Artist like Jaclyn Victor and also international Artist Colbie Calliat.
Currently working hard in producing her EP with Greg Henderson ,her EP is set to be out by end of this year.
visit
http://myspace.com/premayin for more of her songs
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