The "Asean Music Showcase Festival (AMS)" returns with a second virtual edition to help regional artists stay connected with their fanbase and introduce themselves to new audiences despite the setbacks caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
This is Southeast Asia's first collaborative intra-regional music showcase festival and will have its online premiere on Saturday and Sunday via YouTube: Asean Music Showcase Festival.
Virtual speed meetings, aimed to provide one-on-one networking opportunities between emerging regional musicians and global music industry professionals, will be held as a private event on Monday.
With the live music and entertainment industries being hit hard across the globe, the festival promises to offer an alternative but viable platform that connects global music networks to Southeast Asia, primarily the seven co-organising countries.
They include Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, with Cambodia and Vietnam further expanding this year's programming with additional participating delegates and more up-and-coming and established local artists to the regional line-up.
Each country will feature four artists/acts, totalling 28, who will be playing music consisting of modern and contemporary genres mixed with local and traditional flavours. Each of them will produce a half-hour pre-recorded showcase to be broadcast live via a video streaming platform.
The line-up from Thailand includes:
- Alec Orachi, a singer/songwriter/producer who masterfully blends soulful melodies with hip-hop contemporary indie and R&B/alternative inspired music;
- Asia7, an Asian pop band that blends sweet voices with the sounds of Thai folk instruments such as saw-duang (Thai fiddle), pin (Isan lute), khaen (Isan bamboo mouth organ), saxophone, keys, guitar, bass and drums;
- Rejizz, a bilingual rapper who focuses on lyrical storytelling while incorporating comedic elements into his lyrics as well; and
- S.O.L.E. (State Of Living Ecclesiastic), a Bangkok based rave'n'roll band delivering Thai traditional riffs with a hard electronic style.
