The Future is Now, Future Music Festival Asia Comes to KL!

By Alif Omar Mahfix  •  03 Feb 2012 in Features

Thirsty for JUICE content? Quench your cravings on our Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp

THE LINEUP SO FAR…

International

The Chemical Brothers (DJ Set)
Unless you’ve been living in a cave on some forgotten mountain only half-remembered by a poor vagrant on the streets, then you should recognise The Chemical Brothers as the Brit’s best known electronic duo. Along with the Fatboy Slim, Prodigy, and Crystal Method, Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons were pioneers of big beat electronic dance, bringing the genre to the forefront of pop culture. Their release Brothers Gonna Work It Out showed their capacity for high-quality DJ sets and album Dig Your Own Hole is considered a masterwork by connoisseurs of the dance scene. The Chemical Brothers can be most recently heard scoring feature film Hanna, crafting an under-heard and under-appreciated electronic album in the process. We expect a galvanising presence at FMFA. www.thechemicalbrothers.com

Tinie Tempah
The British equivalent of BoB, BRIT Award-winning Tinie Tempah can be heard making radio-friendly rap tracks with choruses by pop princesses and rockers alike.  www.tinietempah.com

Chase & Status
Chase & Status are an electronic production duo from London consisting of Saul “Chase” Milton and Will “status” Kennard. They aren’t bros chasing dubstep status, they’ve been hailed as “the most exciting producers in the UK today” by Pharrell Williams of N*E*R*D fame, and the excitement around the pair doesn’t stop there. They’ve entered the UK dance chart numerous times and they’ve worked with everyone from Tempa T to Cee Lo Green. www.chaseandstatus.co.uk

The Wombats
Contrary to their name, The Wombats are actually a three-piece band from Liverpool, England. Not the other one in Australia. First conceived as a joke, they wore outrageous outfits (think jester hats with sunglasses) and screamed randomly during their first few performances, usually to an audience stunned into silence. But it wasn’t too long before these Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute Of Performing Arts alumni had Liverpool talking. Ditching the gimmicks to work their infectious punk pop deviance around Liverpool and beyond, they became the first unsigned band to sell out the Carling Academy Liverpool and with three records on KIDS Records in the bag including ‘Backfire At The Disco’, they signed to 14th Floor Records (Warner) and released ‘Kill The Director’. www.thewombats.co.uk

Pendulum (DJ Set)
An Australian drum and bass and rock band, their most recent works have seen them moving to genres such as alternative rock, heavy metal, dubstep, and house music. Their performance at Future Music Festival Asia is oddly billed as a DJ set, which makes us all the more curious as to what to expect! www.pendulum.com

Grandmaster Flash
Turntable pioneer Grandmaster Flash has performed twice in Malaysia, each time impressing us with a proper mix of old school and new school (if the ‘90s were still cool to you) and the now almost lost art of scratching. Future Music Festival Asia will mark his third time here. www.grandmasterflash.com

Sneaky Sound System
Consisting of singer Miss Connie Mitchell and producer extraordinaire Black Angus, Sydney-based dance act Sneaky Sound System has been making beautiful music together in 2004. They’ve won an ARIA Award in 2007 for Best Breakthrough Act and has since released a third album in 2011 From Here to Anywhere. www.sneakysoundsystem.com

Cosmic Gate
Trance powerhouses Cosmic Gate are DJs Bossi and Nic Chagall, a duo who’ve been building up a name in their genre since 1999. Over the past few years though, Cosmic Gate’s sound has developed and moved away from the harder edge trance through to their current, more subtle yet still driving energetic music style. www.cosmic-gate.de

Eddie Halliwell
A former DJ for BBC Radio 1, Eddie Halliwell has been recognised in trance as one of the “brightest talent of his generation.” Known only for his remixes for the whole of his career, Eddie has never made an original track, but recently he released single ‘Neon’ in mid-2011 to huge fanfare, effectively transitioning his career into new territory. www.eddiehalliwell.com

John “00” Fleming
The “00” in his name is a self-aware reference to his birth namesake, the author of James Bond. With a name like that Fleming is obviously Brit, having released trance tracks under labels such as such as Ministry of Sound, Deconstruction Records, Logic Records, and 3 Beat Music. Fleming was originally involved in goa music, but changed over to harder trance music before shifting to psychedelic trance. He traces his influences back to early 1990s acts such as Astral Projection and Juno Reactor. www.john00fleming.com

Zane Lowe
Allegedly still the cutting edge taste maker in UK radio, Zane Lowe is the vanguard of new Brit music – having showcased all the cool bands on his station before they were deemed cool. He also happens to be a DJ behind the decks. www.zanelowe.com

Alex Metric
It’s all about the song for Alex Metric. Whether it’s an original track, a remix or producing a band, there has to be a personal connection. If he doesn’t feel it, why would anyone else. Come Future Music Festival Asia, we will find out exactly what that means. www.alexmetric.com

Azari & III
This quartet makes a kaleidoscope of tripped-out textures, sometimes challenging but inevitably irresistible pop melodies. www.azariandiii.com

The PotBelleez
Don’t call them the Oz Black Eyed Peas despite the group’s male to female ratio. The PotBelleez are made of 2 DJs (Dave & Johnny) and 2 vocalists (Ilan & Blue MC), creating an interesting dynamic to a genre that’s usually just DJs featuring guest vocalists. www.thepotbelleez.com

Kid Sister
It’s all about Nikki Minaj and Kreayshawn these days, but Kid Sister is a formidable new gen of female emcees. Backed by Kanye West (and we all know Yeezy is something of an opinion maker himself), she has had acclaim from first single ‘Pro Nails’ and continues her career in low key. www.kidsistermusic.com

Holy Ghost!
Holy Ghost! is a DJ duo from Brooklyn, NY, formed by Alex Frankel and Nick Millhiser of the now-defunct group Automato. Backed by a live band when performing live, Holy Ghost!’s set ain’t your typical two DJs behind consoles. www.holyghostnyc.com

Super 8 & Tab
Only a select number of modern trance artists can convincingly say they are taking the sound to the next level. Although the humble, softly spoken duo would never shout it out themselves, Finnish duo Super8 & Tab are undoubtedly among them. www.super8andtab.com

The Stafford Brothers
A dance music duo from Australia that’s so popular they’ve got their own reality show! www.staffordbrothers.com

Andy Murphy
Andy Murphy is Australia’s wild child, bringing the party to clubs all over Australia and the world. At just 26 years of age, Andy has already solidified himself as a big game player in Australia’s elite dance music scene. With a string of solo releases, a collaboration project by the name of Jam Xpress and a regular Onelove compilation Andy is Australia’s most prolific young DJs. www.andymurphy.com.au