Full-Length Sets From ‘Boiler Room: KL’ Just Dropped… And Not Everyone Got What They Heard

By Ben Liew • 26 Feb 2026 in Music

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When Boiler Room announced that it would be bringing its full live setup to Kuala Lumpur on 20 November 2025, there were mixed reactions from the scene.

Since beginning in London in 2010, Boiler Room has aired over 8,000 performances from 200 cities. On one hand, many were elated that a renowned international internet music series would be gracing Malaysian shores with a standalone showcase dubbed Kelab Durian, a celebration of the city’s eclectic sonic identity. But not everyone was dancing with joy.

A vocal segment of the scene pushed back hard—using #FreePalestine and broader ethical critiques to argue that Boiler Room’s parent company and its investment ties (including reported links to Israeli tech and defence sectors through backers like KKR) made the event politically fraught rather than purely cultural. Critics said tapping global talent without reckoning with those concerns felt tone-deaf at best and complicit at worst.

The controversy didn’t stop there.

Initially a closed set, curated by producer-performer Shelhiel, most people only saw short clips of the performances on social media. Those clips, stripped of context and full musical progression, left many scratching their heads.

“What is this?” became a recurring reaction online—not because the music lacked craft, but because the sounds on display weren’t the export-ready club bangers some folks expected. Instead, it was a sonic homage to the multifaceted rhythms of Malaysia and Southeast Asia—a tapestry that blended dugem, funkot, manyao, indie club flourishes, and genre-fluid transitions that don’t fit neat global EDM templates. In other words, it amplified local cultural DNA over commercial familiarity, and that confused some watchers while fascinating others.

Who Played (and Who Didn’t)

The final lineup reflected that same tension between local identity and global reach. Curated by Shelhiel (whom we first featured in JUICE in 2015), the bill featured:

Shelhiel himself, steering a genre-fluid electro set
Jax Jones, the British DJ/producer of Malaysian heritage bringing house-leaning grooves
DJ KOTE LEMBU + otakotak, an unpredictable duo weaving bass and local club textures
DJ Kicap (I-SKY), Northern Anthem, and other homegrown selectors spotlighting SEA underground vibes

Notably, Malaysian hip-hop collective 0108 SLATAN withdrew from the event days before showtime, citing ethical objections tied to Boiler Room’s ownership and international investment links.

About a day ago, Boiler Room released three full-length performances from Boiler Room: Kuala Lumpur.

[UPDATE 19 March 2026: Shelhiel’s video is currently not available. The other two videos remain published.]

Watch ’em here…

DJ KOTE LEMBU + otakotak

A duo set that felt both chaotic and meticulously reactive—glitchy bass, unexpected transitions, and local flavour you won’t hear on a curated festival main stage.