KOKO Asia News
Laguna speaks to KOKO about their UK tour
Date: 25 May 2009
By Johnny Mayo
Laguna records recently took two of their prize assets, Estrella and Seven Collar T Shirt on a whistle stop tour of UK universities to give loyal Malaysian fans abroad a show they won’t want to miss. We recently caught up with Laguna Records director Jeremy Little to find out how the whole thing went down.
What is in plan for the rest of the year?
Laguna Music is currently working on several projects throughout the year.
Not to be outdone by Estrella & SevenCollar T-Shirt (SCTS) and their tour to UK, we are currently planning to bring another band under our label to tour internationally, but this time it will be to promote Love and Peace through reggae & roots music, Malaysian style. PureVibracion have confirmed several dates in summer festivals and local gigs there in July and plan to tour around Europe spanning countries such as Italy, Amsterdam, UK, Germany and Sweden, to name a few.
We also plan to release a new album by SCTS in the next couple of months. After a long hiatus from the music scene, their music has definitely evolved and matured up to a point where it was finally time for them to release new material to the fans. It’s definitely going to be one of the highlights of the year so mark your calendars!
In the next couple of months, we are currently expanding our event management portfolio to handle weekly & monthly Indie Gigs for places such as Schokolart, Urbanattic, and Laundry. We hope to discover and expose more talented local Indie acts to the public by creating a platform for bands to play music.
What’s the plan for next year?
As with any other growing independent music label, we have many goals that have yet to be achieved. In the foreseeable future, we hope to sign many more bands/artistes under the Laguna Music name. But of course, they must be worthy and uniquely different!
Also, we hope to expand our reach to more countries and not try to limit ourselves within the scope of our local industry. We’re very ambitious in that sense but we believe that it’s possible as long as we work hard and build up the right contacts. In that respect, we would also love to do more international tours for our bands so that they reach a wider audience with their music.
How was it working with KNUKE?
I can definitely say it was a learning experience for both parties, as we found common ground in working with incredibly enthusiastic and passionate people who share the same vision in helping local indie bands to expand internationally. We naturally just got along together, professionally and otherwise. Seeing as that KNUKE are fresh in the music industry, with their network of contacts and with Laguna’s experience and wisdom it was a good collaboration.
Did you reach your goal/mission/vision etc?
In a way yes, we managed to rise above our safety net and expose our music to an international level despite playing to a majority of Malaysian students over there in UK. We took initiative in playing several smaller shows while we were there to a local British crowd, and the response was great. While we were there, we wasted no time in building up contacts with different organisers, shops and distributors (based in UK) which made it easier for us to hook up shows and festivals for PureVibracion to tour Europe this summer. But most of all, we learnt a lot about touring internationally and hopefully it will go much smoother next time around.
Who did you work with on your tour?
We were very lucky to be able to work together with many different sponsors, both locally and abroad i.e. Air Asia X, 8TV, Koko, Radioactive, Pu3, lemon9, Ning Restaurant, etc. We are thankful for their support in making the whole tour with Estrella & SCTS a success and can’t wait to share our experiences with everybody back in Malaysia once the TV show airs, hopefully in the near future, so keep your fingers crossed!
What have you learned from this tour?
Not to sound cliché but it would be that anyone can definitely realize their dream with enough effort and perseverance. Taking this into context, any local independent band can make it abroad as long as they have the will and determination to see it through the end. We shouldn’t limit ourselves within the narrow scope of our local music market as music is essentially universal. If you find yourself enjoying listening to music made halfway across the ocean, why can’t it work both ways? So make your own opportunity instead of waiting around for it to happen.
Any further plans collaborating with the UK?
Definitely, if given the opportunity! We hope to work with other UK based independent labels, gig organizers and radio stations over there. We hope to market and expose Malaysian-made music to the UK and vice versa, perhaps through some sort of exchange programme. (laughs)
How was the response?
The overall response was greater than we had hoped, as they were in full support of the bands. The Malaysian students abroad were genuinely friendly and excited to see a local band perform under such different circumstances, mainly the weather, as it was quite cold there! The local British crowd similarly were full of compliments to hear such a unique sound from a different country. The bands were very gracious from the overwhelming energy from the crowd during their shows and that made them perform better!
How do you and the bands feel now the tour is over?
We all felt exhausted after the tour was over. Most of us didn’t want to come back as we had such an enjoyable experience, and couldn’t believe that it was over too soon. I generally feel that even though the tour has ended, it’s just the beginning of a whole lot more tours internationally for local Malaysian music to get out!
Apart from the gigs, what else did you do to promote the local music scene?
The bands did get to play several other smaller venues in Brighton and in London while they were there in between the stated shows to a local British audience, mainly in pubs and small clubs. While we were there, we even managed to get contacts to play more shows with local UK gig organizers in the future and hooked up interviews and each of the bands performed a small acoustic set with the local media such as Manchester Online Radio, for instance. In addition, a few band members decided to busk in the streets of Manchester for extra pocket money, just for fun!
Logistically this was a big tour, what problems did you have arranging the gigs?
There were problems, concerning accommodation and early venue shutdown in London. There were some miscommunication issues that happened, but we have to give some credit to the organizers for trying. The organisers in London were students who hadn't had much experience in organising shows, but getting a couple of hundred people in to fill up the club is no easy task by all means.
Which was your favourite venue/city and why?
It would have to be a tie between Manchester and Brighton.
Manchester was because it was less hectic and the organizing team there was much more experienced and everything went relatively smoothly. Besides the fact that some of us like the city obviously because we’re footie fans, Manchester is a real nice city, we had some good fun there.
Brighton was because the beach front and the nice weather made us feel right at home. We had some nice authentic English fish & chips. For the most part, our tour schedule was very tight, so it naturally felt like a nice vacation in between the shows when we were spending time there.
What is your fondest memory of the tour?
All of us personally had good memories regarding the tour. But the most unique had to be when one of the bands were able to perform acoustically on the AirAsia plane on our departing flight from KL as part of a special and free in-flight entertainment bonus for the rest of the passengers. Later, when we were visiting Camden Town, one of the passengers in that very same flight recognized us and later came to our gig in London.
Another fond memory would definitely have to be when we were visiting the legendary KOKO, which is a very popular live club venue in London, where the likes of famous artistes such as Amy Winehouse have performed in. On that particular Friday night a band called The Virgins were playing, and there was a mad long queue of people stretching from across the outside corners of the whole club. That night we were on the V.I.P. guest list and got treated like rockstars basically. It was definitely an unforgettable experience. Big thanks to www.kokoasia.com for making our trip to KOKO happen.
KOKO Asia are pleased to announce the launch of CLUB KOKO on June 5th @ Barsonic, Zouk. Guaranteed to become the soundtrack to your weekend debauchery the legendary KOKO spreads its wings and flies East to take its night of counter culture shenanigans to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Bringing you the latest indie anthems, jacking electro beats and alternative tunes over 6 hours of pure, unrivalled dance floor mayhem.
Featuring both The Standards and Simon Subsonic live for the very first time in Malaysia, as well as an exclusive preview of ‘Goodbye Oblivion’, the new album from Deserters. Stringing the whole night together are your residents Twilight Action Girl and KOKO Asia’s very own Johnny Mayo.
For all the info, check out our club page here.
