Three Chords and the Truth: Sustaining Socio-cultural Critique through Musical and Creative Collaborations in Malaysia

As a singer-songwriter who started recording and performing in the music underground from a distance in the late 1990s - I was a student and a busker in remote Perth, Australia - I have come to learn that adaptation is an important element of sustaining not only one's creative practices but also important in keeping oneself relevant to your audiences, no matter how niche. As I adapted to various changes in the medium of how music is distributed and consumed (and never being signed to a label) - from cassette, to compact disc, to streaming - the musical artist now has a lot more work cut out for them: they also have to be engaging video makers and social media personalities which is the norm in our present global culture. As a non-commercial and independent artist, I have the freedom and agency to choose how to adapt, decide which medium works for me best, and whom I collaborate with. More importantly, I have to leverage on the best resources I have at my disposal - also as a parent, a husband, an artist-researcher, an academic, a writer and a video maker - in order to make it financially sustainable for me to keep on doing what I do. I will be sharing how the DIY punk ideology shaped my creative practices and ultimately argue that it is the best form of sustainability for both my wallet and my soul.

Time: 2024.12.2 (Mon.) 10:20-12:10 am

Venue: Alois Osterwalder Hall, NTNU GIEM（2F, No.31, Shida Rd. Taipei）

◎ This lecture is sponsored by BEST Program, Office of Bilingual Education, NTNU.

Guest Lecturer: Azmyl Yunor

"Azmyl Yusof" Azmyl Yunor is a renowned Malaysian bi-lingual independent singer-songwriter, musician, writer, gig organizer, and videomaker who started out as a street musician that adheres to the "three chords & the truth" school of songwriting. As an artist-researcher, he has published his research on the cultural politics of Malaysian music subcultures and mediated moral panics, and the overlooked histories of the Malaysian underground and independent music circuit. A founding member of several seminal underground bands in the early 2000s, his most recent solo album "John Bangi Blues" (2020) has been praised by fans and critics alike for “its raw power and lyrics that shuffle between satirical humour and a stiff middle finger.” In 2023, he celebrated the 25th anniversary of his first solo album "Folk" (1998) which will be remastered & re-released in 2025.

Organizer:

Graduate Institute of Ethnomusicology, National Taiwan Normal University