Photography has become so accessible in the past 20 years that anyone can pick up a digital camera, master Photoshop and declare themselves a professional photographer–in the loosest sense of the word. Although that means that during the past 6 years we’ve seen a diversity of camera enthusiasts popping up by the truckload, underneath all that “rubble” are diamonds in the rough just waiting to be discovered. One such remarkable talent is Rafil Thazali. Armed with a Canon 7D and a kit lens, he has proven that it isn’t always about the equipment you own but the talent and passion you possess

Photography was never in Rafil’s scope to begin with, and he even failed 2 semesters at uni because of it. All that changed when he became the Creative Director and designer for a local premium motoring mag called GET@CAR, where he was working closely with the mag’s pool of photographers, visualising ideas and retouching raw photos. “Having met a few friends who are really talented and professional photographers really triggered that newfound interest [in photography]. Also websites with breathtaking references from professional photographers,” he says and states Joey Lawrence, Tim Tadder, Jill Greenberg and Oat Vaiyaboon as his favourite lens people.

He explains a little about the pictures he has contributed to JUICE, “The photos I picked here are special to me because of the effort that was put in to make the shoot a success, from conceptualising the ideas right to the final editing process–all of it is 110% effort from me and my team.”

What area of photography is your favourite?
Currently I’m into fashion, commercial and music photography.

Describe your dream photography job.
I want to be as lucky as photographer Chase Jarvis.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I love doing illustrations; currently I’m into classic Japanese ones. Other than that, I enjoy planning trips and extreme activities with my buddies like white water rafting, paragliding, etc.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Owning a restaurant with a creative studio on the floor above it where the restaurant management takes place and where I can focus on photography. To be honest, I’m kinda tired of being a graphic designer already!

Do you have a favourite model/muse at the moment?
Yes, her name is Sarah Roberts from the States and she’s coming over here to have a photo shoot with me. It’s a dream come true!

What are your pet peeves about the local photography industry?
Perverted photographers, “kill the market” photographers and yeah…our local industry doesn’t support new talent because they are so comfortable with existing established photographers that they hired years ago. As a result, the industry doesn’t explore new ideas from new photographers.

If you weren’t a photographer, what would you be?
Clothing label owner/designer–there are plenty of ideas in my head now, haha!

Check out more of Rafil’s work at rafflethazzle.blogspot.com.

Images Raffle Thazzle Photography

Dundee, Scotland-formed band Snow Patrol hit it big time when they released that record-breaking ‘Chasing Cars’ single in 2006, which spent 90 weeks on the UK Top 75! With 6 albums under their sleeves, 5 Meteor Ireland Music Awards and 3 Brit Awards nominations, they are one of the many bands headlining Arthur’s Day 2010 in Cork, Dublin and Galway on 23 September. We caught up with Nathan Connolly and Paul Wilson from Snow Patrol 2 weeks ago for a chat.

Hello guys. What have you been up to this week?
Touring with U2. Have just come in from Denmark this morning to listen to all the new bands for the Guinness Our Thursdays activity and then pretty much going straight to play Pukkelpop in Germany.

‘Chasing Cars’ was so huge. What’s the best memory for you guys about that song?
It was chosen as the song of the decade. Such an amazing achievement!

What are your favourite cities to perform at?
Bangkok because we played at their first ever music festival and New York cos it rocks!

Why release a compilation instead of a full studio album?
Although we had five albums released, a lot of people hadn’t heard the first two. This gave fans more of a retrospective look at our material. It gave people the opportunity to hear the old and new material on one album.

Tell us something about Snow Patrol that we don’t know.
We’ve been asked this question so many times before and we still don’t have an answer.

What’s the biggest change you have seen in the music industry for the past year?
The lack of physical formats and the developments in digital and release plans.

Which new acts have you checking out these days?
Cashier No 9, Bear in Heaven, Everything Everything, Holy F*ck, Ollie Cole, The National…

What has been the biggest show for you guys?
Snow Patrol’s biggest headline show was for 42,000 people at Ward Park Belfast earlier this year. The biggest show ever was Live 8.

Who’s the noisiest member of the band?
Everyone has their day!

Who’s the nicest member of the band and why?
Richard Colburn is officially the nicest person in the music industry. He is actually the drummer in Belle & Sebastian but also plays with us.

If you were stuck in a deserted island, what 3 items would you bring with you?
Just a boat and a guitar!

What are you looking forward to most about the Arthur’s Day celebration?
Getting to see so many great bands all in one place.

What’s next for Snow Patrol?
We are recording our new album in LA from October.

Snow Patrol can be found at www.snowpatrol.com. For more about Arthur’s Day in Malaysia this year, head on over to www.arthursday.com.my to get your tix now coz Timbaland is coming!

Image Guinness

Josephine Toh
Gideon Yoong Sem Hui
Selena Yong

Rozita Ibrahim
Rathna Julie
Thilaham Pillai
Sherley Chia
Ng Hock

Eunice Wong
Dini Sylvia
Lee May Yee
Christine Chan
Diane

Delvinder
Kim Kay-Li
Tan Cheng Chuan
Yeoh Mei Jin
Sunnil Mohan

There was a rise in happy synthpop/indie bands during its peak in 07/08 where you heard the best of them and the absolute corniest of the lot. This LA duo (Inara George and Greg Kurstin) of The Bird And The Bee have managed to prevail through those trying times (for our ears) and have come out tops with their happy, fuss free songs. If there was such thing as happiness in a single album then you will have to look no further that The Bird And The Bee’s latest cover album (try saying it in a single breath) Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates. Speaking of happy, it even shows in their awesome 60s style.

www.frenchconnection.com

www.vendula.co.uk

www.camper.com

www.g2000.com.hk

www.zara.com

www.mytieshop.com

www.timberland.com

The Roots celebrate the human spirit in this new, thoughtful release. Some might say that these Grammy Award winners have become popstars somewhat–following their stint on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon–and they could’ve gone down that road of recording an album about fame and the luxuries that come with it, but nah, not these urban poets.

This live production flows seamlessly like an organic conversation and keeps it real with collabos with some of most prolific hip hop acts such as Dice Raw, Peedi Peedi, Blu, Phote of Little Brother and even indie pop darlings Dirty Projectors. If How I Got Over were an instrumental album, you’d still be able to feel its intentions–that’s just how tight everything is. The album serves up a good mix of hip hop and jazz with politics and emotion, and lyrically imparts the understanding that it’s alright for us to fall down, get up, move on and be a better person. It might not be best-selling album material, but it would definitely be remembered for a long time.

LISTEN TO: ‘Dear God 2.0’
IF YOU LIKE THIS YOU’LL DIG: Talib Kweli, Jurassic 5, Mos Def

Get real at www.theroots.com.

Here’s ‘Dear God 2.0′ by The Roots feat. Monsters Of Folk:

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you could call OMP Entertainment a family then heck, the talent is definitely in their genes. A joint venture between 2 of KL’s leading event companies, Obsession and Melting Pot Productions, OMP was founded by veterans of the local dance music scene Tengku Azran and Shazan Zainuddin. Together with other artists under their wing, they’re prime examples of people who turn a hobby into a full-fledged business through passion and perfection without compromising on values.

The good folks at OMP Entertainment have stayed true to their love of house and techno music, and apart from being DJs, most have gone on to become producers and event creators of the best club nights partygoers in Malaysia have experienced since our dance music scene 1st gained momentum. Apart from being responsible for events like the Black Cherry Halloween Ball, Action ’78 and A Summer Affair, OMP has also consulted and delivered some of the best parties for clients like Sultan Lounge and Rootz, and flown in DJ legends like JT Donaldson, Mark Farina, Derrick Carter, Chuck Love and most recently in July, Green Velvet. Now heading a strong group of artists from various creative fields, OMP seems to be unstoppable. We zoom in for a close-up with the family.

Tengku Azran and Shazan Zainuddin (Founders/Directors)

“We never ever compromise on the integrity of artists, both local and international, that are privileged to perform under the OMP banner.” - Shazan

Both Azran and Shazan have had an illustrious career thus far. Azran started spinning at the age of 18 and was a familiar face on the decks at clubs like Bliss, Nouvo and Viva as well as held a residency at a leading club in Melbourne. Today, Azran regularly spins at TwentyOne, Velvet Underground and Frangipani. Shazan Z, on the other hand, had been spinning alongside well-known DJs like Gabriel and Jungle Jerry, and when he was studying in Australia, held a 5-year residency at Perth’s longest-running house music club. Upon Shazan’s return from Australia 5 years ago, he and Azran decided to do something about the lack of quality and variety of local parties. Having been “firm friends since we were kids”, they joined heads, fused ideas and rode on the success of their own dance music entities Obsession and Melting Pot, and charged forth with a resilient group of dance music pioneers in tow to create a new wave of cutting edge parties. The alliance proved to be successful as both Azran and Shazan share the same taste in music while their individual strengths as DJs and Directors at OMP have played a huge role in the company’s success.

Like every business venture, Azran and Shazan (who are assisted by long-time friend Chee Teong) have had their fair share of setbacks and sacrifices, but the pair have no regrets and are thankful for the immense support they’ve received thus far. “Every event that OMP puts on is a team effort aimed at giving all those involved in making it happen and our loyal followers a unique party experience that is often imitated by other promoters in KL, but thankfully never duplicated,” says Shazan.

Victor G (Artist/Marketing Manager)

“Don’t go for 2nd best. Work hard and stick to your guns, be humble always and achieve what you want to in life.”

Victor G is certainly no stranger to us. We watched him grow as an artist even before he won our JUICE DJ Quest back in 2003. With 10 years of experience (having started at age 15) behind him, he’s held down residencies at iconic clubs like Echo and The White Room, and presided on the decks in hotspots like Tokyo, Bangkok and Bali. Throughout his career, he’s amassed a boatload of accolades including being the winner of the Pioneer Digital DJ Battle 2 years in a row (2004 and 2005) and the Pioneer Digital Battle Asian Championship in 2006. The tenacious talent also helms a slew of successful music productions and residencies at the hottest clubs around town.

As Marketing Manager at OMP, Victor handles artist management, deals with promoters and oversees the marketing side of the business “from strategy to implementation”, especially with the upcoming launch of OMP’s website. He admits it can be tough playing different roles when several events happen within the same month, but everything can be executed well with good time management. Working with long-time friends who share the same common goal is also a plus. “Working with Azran and Shazan in an environment of trust and understanding, with all of us focused on events, is a perfect combination,” says Victor. “We complement each other as a team but also overlap on many aspects, so it gives an organic feel to the way we work.”

Kamil Layali (Project Manager)

“I started listening to music since the age of 4, I’ve been in a choir, had a band and have been exposed to almost every genre of music. I eat, sleep, and breathe music. There will always be time for music”

Armed with wins at the Vestax Extravaganza DJ Championship and Pioneer Digital ProDJ awards in 2004, Kamil now locks down sublime tunes at one of Rootz’s most popular nights, Funken on Fridays. He’s also played at the famous Mandarin Oriental New Year’s Eve parties alongside the cream of the crop of the local dance scene. Little did Kamil know that when he started DJing as a hobby that he would be the Project Manager for what he describes as “this bunch of great people”. He manages OMP’s events together with Victor G (and swaps roles with him when things get hectic), and admits that working with the best local and international talent while sharing the decks with them is an overwhelming and exciting experience. And his advice to aspiring DJs who want to make it in the biz? “Do it because you’re driven by your passion and your love towards music and entertaining people, not by fame.”

OMP ENTERTAINMENT ARTISTS

Alam
Alam is one of the lucky few that has played in the legendary Backroom and made a name for himself not just in Malaysia but in Melbourne, where he is currently based. An accomplished DJ and producer in his own right, Alam worked hard to gain a reputation in Melbourne, which subsequently resulted in the creation of KL Beatz, a night that gives aspiring Malaysian DJs in Melbourne a spot to shine on the decks. KL Beatz has since been successful in bringing the “KL style” of partying to Melbourne and regularly features guest DJs from Malaysia. With what he’s accomplished, Alam is still very ambitious and has much planned for the future. As a DJ, he would love to go on tour as a way to check out the various scenes around the world while as a producer, he plans to collaborate with other producers and release more music. “There’s also talk of starting our own OMP record label,” grins Alam.

Hazriq
Hazriq has had many great moments in his career as a DJ, with the most memorable playing to a crowd of 3000 at Jet Sets in Jogjakarta on Christmas Eve 2004. He also conceptualised Grown Up Musiq (GUM) nights with DJ Gabriel, which have been some of the most popular techno nights in KL to date. Like his other talented peers at OMP, Hazriq has also ventured into producing because of the satisfaction from having people enjoy his music on the dancefloor “It’s unbelievable what we can do today [in production] compared to the yesteryears. The technological values and knowledge you learn in the software nowadays are priceless,” Hazriq reveals. To thrive in this industry, Hazriq believes one that “focus and commitment are the keys to everything”.

Hafidz
Hafidz’s love for dance music grew when he was an avid clubber at Movement and The Backroom. Fond memories of club hopping and meeting different people have moulded Hafidz into a versatile DJ. He’s also known to be one of the most hardworking DJs around, with endless gigs in the clubbing, fashion and corporate industries including for clients like Porsche, adidas, Loewe, Harper’s Bazaar and Malaysia International Fashion Week. In addition, he’s also played overseas at parties in Thailand and Indonesia. Hafidz’s biggest accomplishment is probably commanding a 15,000-strong crowd during the Velocity KL Music Festival in 2006 alongside Judge Jules. And it’s his unending passion that will keep this DJ at the top of his game, “No matter what the future has in store for me, I’ll be playing and creating music as long as I am able to.”

Shahril Adnan aka Zaskar
Zaskar is slowly making a name for himself around the Malaysian circuit since procuring a new residency at Sultan Lounge this year, an experience he cites as one of the greatest in his DJ career in which he learnt how to communicate with the crowd. Zaskar has also started to explore music production–listen to his material at www.soundcloud.com/shahriladnan. In the coming months, watch for Zaskar behind the decks at Sky Bar on Thursday nights; if you’re lucky you might hear him drop his signature track ‘Tarantula (Uner Remix)’ by Pleasurekraft.

Dezz
Accomplished DJ Dezz has played at most of KL’s iconic clubs as well as slammed it in Koh Phangan for its Full Moon Party and other exotic locations like Hanoi. “The whole experience has been great. It’s like going on a rollercoaster ride,” Dezz enthuses of his career so far. “Going places that I’d never been before, experiencing different cultures and meeting new people are definitely something that I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.” Dezz has even conquered internet radio via Bangkok’s UB Radio (www.ubradio.net) with his Evolution bi-monthly show and New York’s Digitally Imported (www.di.fm) helming the monthly ReKonstrukt. Evolution features newer stuff and guest remixes from both international and local artists while Rekonstrukt manifests his alter ego with a minimal, industrial, experimental and futuristic approach to electronic dance music.

Nabila Elme
Being surrounded by passionate people might influence you to start something new, and Nabila Elme is a prime example of that. Working in post-production, Nabila 1st got exposed to the local dance music scene through her friends. It then piqued her curiosity to start messing behind the DJ console and soon enough, she was training under Excessive Records and picking up technical skills. All that paid off as she went on to win Best New DJ Of 08/09 at the Choons Awards. Nabila is really passionate about DJing and thinks that it helps in her work as a producer of feature films, and local and international TV commercials. “Having some musical knowledge helps when you look for references before a project starts,” she admits. This year, you can catch Nabila in action at Rootz, Sky Bar and Ecoba playing her favourite track ‘Breezy’s Groove’ by David Harness and Charles Spence8.

Faizal Sukree
Self-taught and inspired by the OMP family, this DJ used to practise for hours in his home studio. Faizal Sukree believes that hard work, commitment and being musically up to date are factors that have made him the DJ he is today. He’s presided at clubs like Ministry of Sound - EUPHORIA, Zouk and Market Place, and was even invited to HK to share the decks with Steve Aoki for the adidas 60th Anniversary Party. The DJ doesn’t know what’s in store for his future, but he’d love to perform with Joris Voorn and Loco Dice one day.

Yansi
Having played for famed clubs Embassy and Centro in Jakarta, Yansi was already a prominent DJ when he 1st arrived in KL as a student. In 2002, he organised some bangin’ parties at Nouvo, which became KL’s introduction to Yansi the DJ. Throughout his career, Yansi has played alongside the likes of Joris Voorn, Colette and JT Donaldson. And with experience comes a wealth of advice: “Places like [Zouk, Rootz, etc] have contributed to the development of the KL clubbing scene. The market size is central to the success of the scene. There has been a decline but KL has found ways to recover by having new venues, DJs, and event companies to attract new and existing clubbers. It’s during a decline when key players change strategy and retrain themselves by getting new inspiration in order to bring something new to the scene.” Besides having enthusiasm, Yansi says to be successful one needs to “plan, create strategies and translate them into action”.

Donovan aka Da Funkie Junkie
“Be in love with the music and the music will love you.” If someone like Donovan Da Funkie Junkie is going to give aspiring DJs advice, then those DJs better listen. Donovan has pretty much dipped his hands into every aspect of the dance music scene, from clubs and radio to promotions, parties and even TV. Such flexibility and longevity in an ever-changing scene is rare, but Donovan admits that his secret is pure passion. “Don’t ever DJ for the wrong reasons, ie. fame, glamour, women…” he warns. It’s no surprise that he’s hooked up with OMP since he and the founders go way back. “I’ve known Shazan and Azran for the longest time. They’ve DJed with me at most of my residencies from The Backroom to Bliss and even on my radio show. I was still a resident at Zouk when Shazan and Azran made me an offer I could not refuse,” he reveals.

More of this super house family at www.ompentertainment.com.

Image Euseng Seto

Fahmi Fadzil is no stranger to the Malaysian arts, activism and civil society scene. Besides being a prolific writer and performer, he’s the host of The Fairly Current Show on PopTeeVee and the principal coordinator of the Project Wayang experimentation group, amongst others. He’s also an award-winning talent, having taken home the Boh Cameronian Arts Award for Most Promising Artist in 2006. A cerebral being with always something interesting to say, JUICE gets this dynamic denizen to help us celebrate Merdeka Day the right way.

Text Fahmi Fadzil

Every year, the government tries to find new ways to celebrate Merdeka, that annual occasion when we’re made to remember Malaya’s independence from Great Britain. And every year, we find it harder and harder to remember that, technically, only Malaya (ie. Peninsular Malaysia) celebrates “Merdeka Day”–Sabah and Sarawak really only joined in 1963, ingat? And so, technically, we should be putting more importance on Malaysia Day, no? In the spirit of ke-seMalaysia-an (I made that up) and in no particular order, here are some suggestions on how JUICE readers can celebrate 31 August:

• Buy some damn good food from a Pasar Ramadan (since it will be fasting month, kan?), get some friends together and eat dinner beramai-ramai! What better way to remember and appreciate the idea of independence than with your friends. Muslims will remember that the long day’s fast is a reminder to be occasionally independent of one’s desires too. Plus points for remembering to ajak your Sabah and Sarawakian friends.

• Send a “Merdeka-kan Sabah Dari Coal Plant!” postcard to the PM. Not sure if you’ve heard but last I checked, they were planning to build a damn big 300MW coal plant on the eastern-most tip of Sabah, barely some 20km from where the Tabin Wildlife Reserve is located. At stake is the future of the marine and wildlife in that area as well as increased pollution and rising sea temperatures–according to documents seen by reporters at online news site The Malaysian Insider. Tak payah lah!

• Flashmobs are passé, or are they? If you think there’s still life for viral get-togethers after that Oprah-Black Eyed Peas mashup, maybe this Hari Merdeka, you can bundle a group of friends together, tweet a location and time, and simultaneously appear to do some flag-waving to the tune of Sudirman Hj Arshad’s ‘Tanggal 31’. Super plus points for decking out in an awesome Bendera Malaysia costume, head to toe!

• Hold an alternative Merdeka Day Parade. Or better still, an alternative Merdeka Day Hari Sukan! Is this possible?? Sure! There’s a small community in Selayang led by one Sister Bertha that’s been celebrating Malaya’s independence with its own independent shindig, often involving the entire flat-living community in some Hari Sukan action, siap dengan theatre and dance performances lagi. You don’t need a lot of money, but this sure shows you’ve got a lot of love–not just for this country, but for your community.

• Make your own Merdeka video! We’re all familiar with them sappy Petronas ads (with due respect to the late Kak Yasmin, al-fatihah), but maybe it’s time to outsource the work. I mean, how much money does Petronas have left pun? And don’t get me started on Felda… Aaaanyway, with just a handphone camera and some basic video editing software, you could show the nation some love with your own homemade depictions recalling how our country was first “born”. Then upload it to YouTube, let it spread like hawt butter and next thing you know, Petronas calls you to direct their next video! At which point you can say, “Terima kasih, Petronas, tapi gunalah duit itu untuk pertingkatkan taraf hidup rakyat Malaysia.” Skema gila, but che-wah.

• Better than making your own Merdeka video, make a crowd-sourced one! Think of a theme, get a whole bunch of friends together, decide how you can pull it off in the cheapest way possible and DO IT! This kind of makes more sense, and it really reminds me of Liew Seng Tat’s fantastic Projek Angkat Rumah that happened recently at Urbanscapes. I think crowds are fun, and getting crowds to make a piece of work together is a helluva lot of fun. Getting crowds who are having a lot of fun on the streets to run away from the FRU, though, opens up a whole new canister of gas. Umm, yeah, on to the next point.

• Since I’m nearly all out of ideas, my last suggestion is more of a cop-out: let’s make some kind of FB note, or tweet hashtag like #merdekaideas so that more ideas can come together. And so that more Malaysians can make Merdeka meaningful for themselves instead of being told to what to think by whoever thinks they’re running (or about to run) the country.

Which brings me to my final point: that Merdeka was the start for us; the birth of Malaysia in 1963 was the next step. Today, after some 47 years of being a nation and going through innumerable troubles together, how shall we re-imagine our independence? What shall we be independent from today? How can these 13 independent, federated states that make up Malaysia be a better place for us all?

Any ideas? The country’s listening.

Get to know Fahmi Fadzil’s inner workings at blam.com.my and www.popteevee.net.