Front Row

Everywhere you look, artists are taking more control over their own economic well-being, disrupting the old-school industry. And in the future, we will see more artists, who are feeling frustrated and limited, embrace their own fate by making their art careers in the cloud. This is the genesis of a new art world.  Meera Sivasothy speaks to Zalfian Fuzi, Steven Phillips and Philippe Rixhen to...

If Ella Fitzgerald were alive today, it would have been her 96th birthday. One of the world's greatest singers, fondly known as 'The First Lady of Song' and the 'Queen of Jazz', we pay tribute to the jazz and blues guru by telling the story of this extraordinary woman. Listen in to hear some wonderful clips of her songs, and find out how a homeless teenager became the celebrity that was Ella Fitzg...

It's time for our yearly fix of all things French, as this year's installment of the French Art & Film Festival kicks off this week.  Promising French films, exhibitions, performances and gastronomy, Meera Sivasothy finds out exactly what we can all look forward to from Agnes Dovert, the Director of Alliance Francaise de Kuala Lumpur (AFKL), and Marine Moncaut, the Cultural Coordinator at...

Ten days of art madness featuring performing arts showcases; visual art installations; forum discussions & workshops - by Malaysian and international artist; kicked off on Monday the 22nd of April. This is the Kakiseni Art Festival 2013.  To give us a perspective of what we should be looking out for are Ben Cutler, Festival Curator, and Joe Bone & Ben Roe of Bane 3.  See omnystud...

PAN Productions returns with the Mel Brooks' smash hit musical, which is based on the 1968 film of the same name. The show follows the story of Max Bialystock and Leopold Bloom, who have discovered a surefire way to make a fortune on Broadway: raise millions from little old lady "investors," produce the worst play in a long history of flops, and then run off with the money when the play closes on...

Shahril Nizam's long awaited solo exhibition is a presentation of paintings, drawings and sculptural objects in a room installation, which is a culmination of four long years of intuitive exploration. We find out more about the conceptual and technical processes that visualise Shahril's deeply-held fascination for the human psyche and its mental continuum. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...

Willian Shakespeare's raucous and farcical comedy, The Merry Wives of Windsor, gets 'demystified' and brought down to 90mins from 3 hours. Although abridged, the performance will be in the original language, plus some signature narration from the Shakespeare Demystified crew. Cast-members Anne James and Marina Tan explain further. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At 24, nomadic soul songstress Emily Elbert has performed over 600 shows throughout the U.S. and around the world. She is widely known for her rhythmic guitar chops, soulful original tunes, and unique interpretations of classic blues, rock, and pop songs. Here in Kuala Lumpur for a one-night-only performance, we catch up with this lovely lady about her career and life. See omnystudio.com/listener...

We are find out more about the world premiere of this solo Bharata Natyam production, "I Am With You, Muruga" which is conceived, choreographed and to be performed by international soloist Mavin Khoo, with live vocals by O.S. Arun. The duo join us along with Musical Arranger Pushkala Gopal to share their experiences as artists and to shed more light on the production. See omnystudio.com/listener f...

Born into one of Malaysia's most influential music families, the Solianos, Rachel Guerzo has carved a name for herself as a fluid pianist with a rich and sultry voice to match. We chat with her about her musical family, her career and unique ability to breathe new arrangements to already popular jazz standards, R&B and chart topping tunes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An accomplished singer / songwriter, Mexican Magos Herrera is considered one of the most beautiful voices of the contemporary jazz scene, known for her unique sound that elegantly blends her classic jazz styling with Latin American melodies and rhythms. We get to know her better. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Based on the best-selling children's classic by Oliver Jeffers and performed by UK's Blunderbus Theatre Company, this gentle, reassuring tale is brought to life with an irresistible blend of live music, puppetry and storytelling. We get a teaser of the performance from performers Ben Sbuttoni and Fay Hennel, and also from title character "The Boy." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...

Both Azam Tajol Aris and Jonathan Nichols are the chosen artists for the Malaysia-Australia Visual Artists' Residency 2012 at Rimbun Dahan. We find out more about the experiences and outcomes of their year-long residency. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2004, Dato' Faridah Merican introduced the Life Sdn. Bhd. series, which sought to to tell 'real stories by real people'. With its distinct composition of actors as well as non actors sharing true stories on stage, the series celebrates the lighter side of life in this latest installment, which marks the tenth anniversary of the series. We find out what's in store from klpac's Executive Producer...

We get to know Indonesian vocalist Matthew Sayerz better, and find out what he has in store for his performance here in Kuala Lumpur with the Jazz Fuyoh Project. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anglo-French, Penang-born Julia de Bierre resides between Malaysia and France, and will be curating an exhibition on Malaysia in Galerie Huit, her gallery situated in the historic heart of Arles. A writer, heritage conservationist, art gallery owner and curator, we discuss Julia's work and find out more about her feat of bringing her Malaysian home to her French house. See omnystudio.com/listener...

'Charles Dickens Performs A Christmas Carol' recreates the famous readings Dickens himself gave in the latter part of his life, with which he toured the world. Founder & Artistic Director of Eagle's Nest Theatre and Director of the production, James Adler, together with actor Phil Zachariah, share more about the one-man show they are staging, which sees Phil take on 20 characters. They have wo...

An indie band started by singer songwriter Keith Tan, we find out about their debut album, also titled "Platform 11", which features multiple unique talents that would otherwise exist in separate musical realms in the Malaysian music scene. Also on hand to share more about the group while discussing their own musical careers are violinist Fung Chern Hwei and cellist Florian Antier. See omnystudio....

Described as a fractured fairytale from the dark heart of suburbia, Ruby Moon is a play written by Australian playwright Matt Cameron, which is set to be staged here in Malaysia next week. We find out more about this Malaysian staging from Director Christopher Ling, and castmembers Alex Chua and Davina Goh. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Themed "Barricade", The 7th Kuala Lumpur Triennial aims to explore new modes of curatorial and artistic experimentation. We find out how this has been achieved from artists Yeoh Lian Heng, Heidi Tikka and Lea Kantonen, who have all contributed unique projects to the exhibition. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US-born jazz vocalist Natasha Patamapongs is known for her signature crystal clear voice and her wide ranging repertoire which covers Jazz Standards, Be-bop and Brazilian Music among others. We find out more about her career thus far and her performance with the John Dip Silas Trio at No Black Tie. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An undercover government operative named Natalie, whose mission it is to investigate an underground revolutionary group in the 1970's, forms the basis of the play 'Selamat Hari Natal, Natalie'.  The first of three original works written and directed by Hariry Bin Jalil, the play is commissioned and produced under The Actors Studio Seni Teater Rakyat programme. Meera Sivasothy meets  two...

It's an altogether uncommon name, but singer-songwriter Froya - or Michelle Lee as her birthname goes - is steadily making her way in the local indie music scene, and gaining recognition for her eclectic music and sweet vocals.  Meera Sivasothy gets to know this up-and-comer a bit better, and find out more about her journey getting to where she is today.  See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Largely concerned with investigating and representing certain aspects of contemporary Malaysia, the works featured in Kembara Jiwa: Homecomng 2013 feature a vast range of art that reflects the diversity of techniques, approaches, strategies and media engaged by Malaysian artists today.  Speaking with Meera Sivasothy is Mohamed Nazli Abdul Azis, Managing Director of Galeri Chandan @ Publika, w...

Connected by a passion for technical excellency, mastery of their craft, and aesthetic distinction, the works of artists Bibi Chew, Eiffel Chong, Jasmine Kok, Kim Peow Ng and Suhaimi Fadzir are local in their roots, while global in their perspectives. These award-winning Malaysian artists are the featured five in the visual arts exhibition MidTerm, which introduces some of the best work across all...