Malam Nada Biru 2 @ Actors Studio, Lot 10

By Kevin Yeoh  •  in Reports
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Sometimes you’ve got to take it down slow. JUICE can’t be out in the clubs every night. So when an opportunity like Malam Nada Biru came our way, we knew we had to be there. The name ‘Malam Nada Biru’ is a direct translation of ‘Blue Tone Night’ and that’s exactly what it was about. The first Malam Nada Biru saw Atilia and Noryn Aziz kicking it for the jazz ladies. In this second series of Malam Nada Biru, we had the pleasure to witness soulstress Najwa and the indie-folk loving Yuna. Both females were at their own game.

It was our first time at the new Actors Studio home at the rooftop of Lot 10. The spot was beautiful but the size wasn’t like the one in Bangsar Shopping Centre before. It’s smaller and more intimate now, which is more accessible for theater lovers. We spotted artists like Ning Baizura, Joe Flizzow and a few others at the show too.

Najwa was on first and her power vocals got us into goosebumps aplenty. We first took notice a couple of years at Layar Tanchap, an event of action and reaction held at Shah Alam. She has definitely proved herself to be a wonderful vocalist and is especially haunting when it was stripped down to just her voice and the piano. It was quite obvious she’s a seasoned performer on stage with her very casual and funny self. We decided to head over to Teak with Zouk’s Marketing Manager, Adam Mathews, who happens to be our date that night and a new Najwa fan, after that powerful show.

Then it was Yuna’s turn to take the stage. It was definitely a more different tone of the evening for this artist who’s more known to the public eye as compared to Najwa. After her first song, Yuna said she won’t talk much, but contradicted herself when she started explaining each song before she performs them. At one point, she forgot her first line due to her nerves, which she stops and admits to it. We forgive her though! She is human after all and how can you hate on that voice? The thing with Yuna is, you pay attention to every single word she’s singing.

Yuna ended the night with her Anugerah Juara Lagu 24th runner-up song ‘Dan Sebenarnya’, with Najwa joining her on stage. What a night! It left us wanting more and it felt like we just watched a Jill Scott and Corinne Bailey Rae show! Rumour has it Hujan the band will be taking on the third installment of Malam Nada Biru. You bet we’ll be there!

Malam Nada Biru 2 was held at Actors Studio, Lot 10 on 27 and 28 February 2010. The show was organised by Bsync and Mujik Productions. Go check out Najwa at www.myspace.com/najwamahiaddin and Yuna at www.myspace.com/yunaroomrecords. More images from the show here.

Images Halimi Saidi