Front Row

Guitar legend Man Kidal of rock group Lefthanded fame joins forces with the folks of Hands Percussion in the concert The Next. Ali Johan gets the lowdown of this explosive musical marriage. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On a plane headed for Macau, two runaways meet in an encounter that will change their lives forever. We find out more about this surreal journey that will play out on stage from the production's scriptwriter and director Jude James and cast members Jun Vinh Teoh and Kian Pitman. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Kumpulan Kuda Kepang Parit Raja is a 20-member troupe of authentic Kuda Kepang and Barongan dancers. In collaboration with PUSAKA, the troupe are presenting the Kuda Kepang tradition this Sunday to mark the Chinese New Year of the Horse in a creative way. Pauline Fan and Fiza Salim of PUSAKA give us a crash course in the kuda kepang tradition. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...

The MY P Ramlee project is an effort to keep the memory of P Ramlee alive through local theatre productions, which are aimed at the younger generation of Malaysians. The first installment of this project is Tanya Sama Hati, which promises a mix of music and drama. We find out more from choreographer Farah Sulaiman and Director Manja Liza Abd Rahman. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...

The Brothahood are a group of young Australian Muslim singers who use hip-hop as a tool to break down stereotypes against Islam. We find out more from group members Hesh and Jehad. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first edition of Tropfest South East Asia just recently ended, and Joe Sidek pops in for a look back and evaluation of the inaugural fest. We also hear from Ho Jian from Vidsee, - Tropfest's online screening partner - who will shed light on the online screening and voting platform for the Audience Choice Award. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Wolfe is a Muslim-American poet and author, and also the President and Executive Producer of Unity Productions Foundation, which is an educational media foundation focused on promoting peace through the media. Here in Malaysia to promote the film Prince Among Slaves, he discusses the work he carries out through the foundation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Context is a photography group exhibition by Alecia Neo, Mahen Bala and Azwan Mahzan which features 42 works that give different perspectives of urban living. We find out more from gallery owner Patrice Vallette and photographers Mahen Bala and Azwan Mahzan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre’s Dato Faridah Merican and Joe Hasham drop by to give us the goss on the lineup of shows planned for staging at KLPAC this 2014, and they will also discuss The Actors Studio's future plans. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The brainchild of HOM Art Trans and Galeri Chandan, the Malaysian Emerging Artist Award or MEAA was created to recognize emerging talent in Malaysia, and to help propel young Malaysian artists to greater heights. We find out who shone from 2013's selection from Nazli Aziz, the MD of Galeri Chandan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Renowned Peruvian-British artist, José Navarro, presents his puppet interpretation of the Scissors Dance, a Peruvian dance from the Andes which is a UNESCO-recognized ‘Intangible Heritage of Humanity’. José tells us more about the act, which features various puppet techniques and rearrangements of traditional music with elements of fusion, that are said to provide a mysti...

Award-winning actress Siti Khalijah Zainal takes centre-stage in this one-woman show called "Best Of" which is said to look at issues of the day through collective stories and personal reflection. We find out more about this work - which was specially created for Siti Khalijah - from the performer herself, who will be joined by Alvin Tan, the Artistic Director of the Singapore-based theatre compan...

Dr. Brian Lobel is a New York-born, London based performer who has been described as a prolific maker, an itinerant artist, a fearless practitioner, an astute and wise thinker and writer, and an enthusiastic collaborator. We caught up with him during his recent trip to Malaysia to learn about his work, which lies in creating projects about bodies and how they are watched, policed, poked, prodded a...

An original one act comedy play, About Last Night was written and directed by British actor Scott McQuaid. We are joined by Scott and actress Ilyana Fizal, who give us a teaser of the plot, which opens with two strangers waking up next to each other with no recollection of the previous night. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Seasons 4 is a singing quartet made up of four old Malay College of Kuala Kangsar schoolmates, who have made quit a name for themselves thanks to their lively renditions of Broadway hits, popular numbers, classic jazz and Malay songs. With the verve and vivacity of men half their age, we get to know these singing buddies better, from group members Rahim Ismail and Ezani Abu Bakar and get a tea...

Professor Robert Baines is Australia's leading goldsmith and jeweler, craftsman and teacher. An award winning and internationally-exhibited artist and archeaometallurgist too, his work as an artist has seen him exhibit all cross the world, while his scholarship on the subject of jewellery and object-making has been published worldwide. He is here in Kuala Lumpur to give a talk and exhibit some of...

Italian sculptors, painters, architects and artists dominated the art scene in Europe for 400 years and have continuously initiated new eras with their achievements. Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci influenced the Renaissance, like Berini and Borromini the baroque Italy. For lovers of art, Italy is a paradise with an invaluable wealth of works and places. Sardinia born Luca Idili has d...

Ali Johan met with English world musician, manager and producer Ben Mandelson and discussed Ben's early days in punk and his subsequent foray into world music, which eventually led him to his current role as head honcho of WOMEX. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Abigail Anderson is an award winning theatre director from the UK who was recently in Malaysia conducting acting and directing workshops. We pried into her life as a theatre director to find out about her illustrious career thus far, while gaining an insider look at the theatre scene in the UK. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sharaad Kuttan speaks with Rogue Art's Beverly Yong about the book Narratives in Malaysian Art Volume 2: Reactions – New Critical Strategies, which she co-edited. The book looks at the ways in which Malaysian artists have responded to socio-political events that have taken place in Malaysia, and also at the changing approaches and attitudes in art-making over the past 45 years. See omnystudi...

Jazz music, to some people can be considered as high culture/ high brow/ complex music, but educating the people about the different types of music that's been touched by jazz can help to dispel this myth. During the recent Penang Island Jazz Festival, Ali Johan caught up with John Cumming, festival director of the London Jazz Festival and director of Serious Productions, about the growth of the w...

In the middle of Botswana lies the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, which was created to protect the traditional territory of the Bushmen and the game they depend on. The Botswana government has been accused of violating the Bushmen's rights to live and hunt on their ancestral land and is said to be denying them a fair hearing. Rachel Stenham, a campaigner with Survival International, gives us an ac...

The best young talents of Malaysian contemporary dance are set to polish their skills in a showcase of short works called The Mezzanine: Level 2 of MyDance Alliance's Dance Escalator project. Filling us in on this project are Bilqis Hijjas, president of MyDance Alliance and emerging choreographers, Fairul Zahid and Chai Vivian.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shell Business Service Centre was the winner in the Best Sustainable Workplace category at the Malaysian Dutch Business Council Sustainability Awards 2013. Here to share more about their efforts towards creating a sustainable workplace are Mabal Tan, the General Manager of Shell Business Service Centre and Marco Winter, Executive Director of the Malaysian Dutch Business Council. See omnystudio.com...

MIASMA is a series of short plays by Malaysian writers Na'a Murad, Shamaine Othman, Iskandar Ismail (Adiwijaya) and Maya Tan Abdullah. Described as bold, daring, and witty, we find out more about this multiple bill of plays from writer and performer Na’a Murad and performer Siti Farrah Abdullah. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.