ASEAN Music Showcase Festival (AMS) shares its 2021 artist slate, representing the region’s best up-and-coming and established music acts alike, from the seven participating countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, with Cambodia and Vietnam joining this year.
Boasting genre-bending styles and multicultural artistic backgrounds, each country’s participating representatives were carefully selected to uphold the organizers’ common goal of placing ASEAN music on the world stage. “Part of our selection process is assessing the artists’ overall portfolio not just as recording artists but also as performers, which hopefully, through our combined backgrounds and experiences in our respective local industries, help artists gain opportunities regionally and globally,” shared AMS co-founder MC Galang, Creative Director and co-founder of Philippine-based live events organizer and online music publication The Rest Is Noise.
Meet AMS 2021’s artists
Joining the Indonesian showcase are indie-math rock quartet eleventwelfth, disco synth pop band Guernica Club, tropical pop duo Irama Pantai Selatan, and indie pop act Sunwich.
Malaysia leans in towards guitar- and electronica-heavy ensembles with two-piece experimental indie rock act LUST, punk band NO GOOD (featuring original members of indie mainstays Killeur Calculateur and Dirgahayu), neo-psychedelic pop/rock outfit Ramayan, and multihyphenate artist Shelhiel.
Hailing from the Philippines, instrumental rock solo artist Gabba, indie rock act Oh, Flamingo!, DJ-producer Pamcy, and live electronic music duo Tarsius will add further variety to the mix.
From Singapore, pop-alternative R&B trio brb., indie pop-rock band M1LDL1FE, and electronica duo .gif spotlight’s the city-state’s thriving indie scene—with one more to be announced soon.
Thailand’s lineup includes soul-R&B singer-songwriter Alec Orachi, Thai folk and pop fusion act ASIA7, hip-hop artist Réjizz, and “rave n’ roll” band S.O.L.E.
Cambodia’s premiere lineup this year sees the addition of multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire Vanthan featuring singer-songwriter and one of the country’s pioneers of the “original music revolution,” Laura Mam, electronic solo act Daniel Omens, soul-R&B singer-songwriter Sophia Kao, and local hip-hop superstar VannDa.
Last but not the least, joining from Vietnam are Ca Trù-centered electronic act Limebócx, indie electronica quartet Ngầm, ethereal/ambient electronic duo Tiny Giant, and rock band Những Đứa Trẻ (The Children).
The lineup was deliberated by co-organizers Fungjai, NYLON Thailand, and Bangkok Music City from Thailand; The Rest Is Noise PH from the Philippines; Steady State Records from Singapore; SRM from Indonesia; City Roars Festival from Malaysia; Baramey Production from Cambodia; and Monsoon Music Festival and Swan Zoo from Vietnam.
AMS 2021 will be held virtually via YouTube on September 11-12, 2021 (Saturday and Sunday). This year’s edition is co-presented by Malaysia’s Cultural Economy Development Agency (CENDANA); the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB); the National Arts Council, Singapore; US-based digital music distributor TuneCore; and Singaporean NPO that supports youth, talent and leadership development, *SCAPE.
The festival is also supported by Music Copyright (Thailand) Ltd. (MCT) and festival partners Global Toronto from Canada; Live at Heart from Sweden; Golden Melody Awards & Festival, LUCfest and ZAshare from Taiwan; Sound of the Xity from China; Trans Asia Music Meeting (TAMM) from Japan; and Victorian Music Development Office (VMDO) from Australia.
