5 Minutes With… Alam Shah
With a storied background in DJing since the days of The Backroom KL, Alam’s been involved in the scene for quite a number of years now. After a stint in Melbourne with Darkbeat, he’s been back for a couple of years, working with Ohrwurm to bring to you some of the best dance music KL has seen on a consistent basis. JUICE talks to the man about his past, the current, and the future…
What made you decide to get involved with Ohrwurm?
Ohrwurm had actually been around since two years before I joined. Two industry pioneers from different companies made a suggestion. “What if Excessive Records and Pure Substance were to join?” Hence the creation of Ohrwurm. I only joined as a third partner after I left Australia. I guess all three of us shared the same kind of vision and perception towards this industry.
What else do you do when you aren’t curating acts or getting involved in the music scene?
I also run my own recording studio, it’s called deciBel soundLab. The studio offers a suite of audio and sound related technical services, equipment, and facilities to serve the unique requirements of the Malaysian industry. We create audio solutions for all media, which includes everything from recording, mixing, mastering, sound design, restoration, original music scores, encode/decode Dolby-E 5.1 surround, TV ad jingles, and the list goes on. deciBel soundLab has only been open for business these past few months, and things are really progressing nicely.
What are your thoughts on the current dance culture in Malaysia?
The current state of the musical culture in Malaysia is quite healthy at the moment. There has been a steady growth in balance as of this year but there is still a long way to go to make it balanced. We can improve the scene, but changing it dramatically to follow that of other cultures would be difficult. People are all just too comfortable with everything. One step at a time. Changes can only be made when punters know the change is needed in order to move forward.
What do you look for in an artiste when you feature them?
It depends really. Obviously quality is one of the most important factors. All our events have a certain quality, which we know will always satisfy the clubbers. We spend a lot of time selecting who we want on a lineup, making each event as appealing and interesting as possible. Everyone knows that when it comes to music, Ohrwurm is very serious about it and our supporters know what they want and appreciate our sound. We are very glad to have a dedicated support that trusts us to know that we always try to deliver a quality package in terms of music, overall production, sound clarity, lineup selection, etcetera, and loves the music just as much as we do.
What are your plans for 2015?
2015 will be a great year for us as we will be concentrating a lot more on booking international shows. We will still host our local Ohrwurm Series and continue pushing fresh talents. I would see 2015 as a brand new direction for all of us, as new clubs will open, the competition would arise, making each venue start to really focus on becoming the better choice.
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