Biography: Haze Freaky G

It started in the year of 1999 when Haze picked up the headphones as his career tool. Music was something that he had great passion in at an early stage of his life where it did not come as a surprise to his family and his childhood friends to see him multitasking in the entertainment industry today.

Haze started of as a DJ by spinning in private functions, gigs and nightclubs, meanwhile as a MC by hosting stage events both in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, MALAYSIA. In early 2003, Haze started his own entertainment company known as “Orange Disc Entertainment” which provides professional sound, lighting systems and quality event management services. As the years passed by, to take his passion to another step further, Haze ventured into the music industry by featuring in local music albums and successfully delivered 4 unique songs in 4 separate local music albums in MALAYSIA. In December 2009, Haze released his 1st single track titled 70′s Penne for radio air-play in THR Raaga. 70′s Penne gained him a huge recognition in Malaysian Indian music industry as the track ranked #1 for eight (8) weeks in THR Raaga Malaysian Top 10 Hits chart and also grabbed the #1 spot competing over Tamil-Nadu movie songs for three (3) weeks in THR Raaga Unggal 23 chart.

Haze Freaky-G and his single track 70′s Penne was also nominated in four (4) categories (Popular Artist, Popular Lyricist, Popular Composer & Popular Song of the year) in Raaga Astro Awards 2010 – Voting Level 1. In July 2010, Haze have launched his debut [EP] – ‘Get Freaky!’ which took place at Minnal Family & Fun Club, Federal Hotel Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA. The [EP] is now converted into a full album and copyrighted to Alai Osai Productions. ‘Get Freaky!’ – Album is now available in all Indian CD / Music stores in MALAYSIA. Besides being busy with his album promo tour and performances both in MALAYSIA & overseas, Haze is also featuring in a hand full of other local albums & single(s) and performs in stage shows, private functions & events as a stage performer, DJ/MC.

Biography: Darkkey

Darkkey who hailed from Rawang, Selangor is the local Indian artist popularly known as "King of Samba Rock". Samba Rock is a genre of rock music which Darkkey pioneered in 1996. The genre combines the sounds of Soul, Funk and Indian Samba. Darkkey created the style with his 1st album Akkamage.

Discographies:

1996 Akkamage
1997 Magarita
1998 Maravana
1999 Karatana
2000 Arakana, Darajana
2001 Devilana
2002 Amarana
2003 Maradona
2004 Murugana
2005 Tsunamina
2007 Andavana
2007 BLOOD BROTHERS

Biography: Psychomantra

Krishna Kumar Lechmana or better known as Psychomantra, was born on 30 July 1981 in Kuala Lumpur. The first experience of music for the rapper is in Nirvana College Night in Dynasty Hotel, K.L. During free time, Psychomantra loves to write lyrics. 

Psychomantra is the founder of CultureShock Records. He works as a recording artist and also a producer and composer. In addition, Psychomantra is also the sound engineer in CultureShock Records. The 30-year-old singer has so far released 2 albums and one EP - Punithamana Thulasi (the latest) and Oru Kirukkanin Kaviyam, as well the EP Sikkikollu. Similarly, Pscyhomantra has been credited working with various artists in the music industry. He also featured in Iraj’s Thiruda video.

In addition, Psychomantra’s verses can be seen in Rabbit Mac’s Ma Carrotz, The Villanz, Iraj, Dinesh K, Shabir and countless others. 

Biography: Nakkeeran

Nakkeeran is a singer, song composer and songwriter from the United Kingdom. Since a very young age Nakkeeran has been singing and performing Tamil songs in Malaysia, the country he originates from. In 2004 he came to limelight after his performance in the television talent quest called ‘Vaanavil Paadal Thiran Potti’ organised by Vanavil channel of Astro broadcasting corporation . Having reached the finals in the competition Nakkeeran became a household name in Malaysia and till today is remembered for his performances. When he moved to Singapore he performed in ‘Vasantham Vetri Vizha’ and ‘Vasantham Star’ organised by Vasantham, a MediaCorp TV Channel.

In 2008 Nakkeeran returned to the UK, the country where he had his tertiary education and now lives near London. Nakkeeran released his first single called ‘Thirumanam’ (Wedding) in 2008. His debut album ‘Shades of Nakkeeran is available from 11-01-2011. Nakkeeran featured many talented artists from Malaysia, Canada, France and the United Kingdom in this album.

The track ‘Chellame’ (My Dearest) is released in Tamil and English. Other songs include ‘Payanam’ (Journey), ‘Kanave’ (Dreams), ‘Thola Aadava’ (Friend, Let’s Dance), ‘Elunthidu’ (Rise up), ‘Inainthom’(Together),’Yennai Paar’ (Look At Me) & ‘Nakkeeran Solgiraen’(Nakkeeran Says).

Biography: Kash Villanz

Kash Villanz kicked off his career as a recording artist in the year of 2006 where he gathered forces with two other fellow Villanz members by releasing his first debut album entitled Asthivaram. . Their tracks made magic by continuously remaining in various music stations by remaining at the Top Ten charts for a long period of time with continuous support and response. He then decided to take a major step to compose all the tracks which he was going to release in his second album entitled Saagavaram in 2008. Saagavaram turned out to be a major hit thus, boosting his confidence to proceed with his largest and best album yet entitled Vaathiyar – The Kingdom of Janmavaram earlier this year.

Kash and his team have also carved the heart of many award nominators, a few of them include winning the Best Newcomer Award at the Malaysian Indian Music Industry (MIMI) in 2007 for Asthivaram and the Most Popular Album Award at the Raaga Radio Awards in 2009 for Saagavaram. The Villanz have also gone beyond the Indian industry and were nominated for the ‘Best Indian Album’ at Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM 15).

Kash has done his fair share in featuring for local talents which include featuring in a track for the album Maya Kalaignar with Yogi B and Vassan in 2007. In 2008, he featured for another blasting track entitled Life is a Mystery for the current youngest talent found in Malaysia, Shruthi Jayashankar, which grabbed the Best Dance Song Award at Asia Voice Awards. In 2009, he produced a track with his protégé, Maney, entitled Aayirathil Oruvan, which has also been featured in the Villanz third album Vaathiyar. Kash has also ventured into the acting stream by making an appearance for the movie Aanava Aattam. Currently standing as the Executive Producer of V-Hommiez Ent, Composer, Sound Engineer and Recording Artist.

Biography: Emcee Jesz

Emcee Jesz, the music producer and lyricist began to rap at the age of 18.with the emphasis on originality and creativity of Emcee Jesz,Yogi B lured him into Natchatra.  The famous group Yogi B and Natchatra was born.Their first album called Vallavan was hot demand. Madai Thiranthu and Indian Girls from this album was immediate and momentous blockbuster around the world. 

The overnight success of Vallavan rocked the Tamil rap industry around the world, making Emcee Jesz one of the biggest music wonder story of 2006. Later, Emcee Jesz work closely with all the big music directors from india and this took him to the next level as he appeared in Kollywood Tamil cinema silver screen for the soundtracks that he performed which is for the movie, Kuruvi, Laadam, 16 Days and Masilamani.

Two years later, the most wanted International Tamil Hip Hop album 'Kavithai Gunder' by Emcee Jesz was released on 25th May 2009 in Chennai, india. For first time ever, Studio 8 production has signed our very own Malaysian rap superstar, Emcee Jesz for the album kavithai gunder and this has set another Malaysian Tamil music record. Emcee Jesz was the first Malaysian artist to get signed with a major label from India. In 10th October 2009, Emcee Jesz won the most Popular Artiste Award organized by the number 1 Malaysian Tamil radio station THR Raaga.

Emcee Jesz has performed in many concerts and shows all around the places and performing still for all major shows, tv, media and radio channels from Malaysia, india, Singapore and Sri Lanka. He also performed in London, Toronto and Chicago.

On the other side of his achievement, Emcee Jesz has got more than 3 million hits on youtube for his songs. Til to this date, emcee jesz has recorded 11 soundtracks for Kollywood silver screen movies in India.

Biography: Dr. Burn

Sollisai should be tattooed on his body, Dr Burn aka Athiruban Manoharan Naicker is not to give up on Tamil Sollisai and wants to make Malaysian music to be recognized internationally. 

Dr Burn known for his punchy and racy Tamil rap started his music life in 1997. His introduction into hip hop was when he and some of his friends formed the underground rap group called Worst Media Clique (W.M.C.). During this period, he decided to further strengthen his music knowledge and studied audio engineering and subsequently worked for Malaysia’s well known record label – Alai Osai.  During this time, after gaining four years of experience in the Tamil Music Industry, he came out with a debut album entitled Dr Burn, which was under Alai Osai. In addition, while working with Tribe Studios, he worked with most of the Tamil Industry’s leading artists. 

Eventually, Dr Burn got together with Yogi B when he was working on Lock Up Guna’s solo project. ‘I heard his stuff and knew he was in’ said Yogi B, who then approached Emcee Jesz, who was a Club DJ. The triangle was completed, thus formed Yogi B and Natchatra. Vallavan was launched on 1st September 2005 and went on to become a big hit worldwide. They gained further prominence after performing in Star Vijay Awards. Music Composer Dharan approached Dr Burn to rap in his composition. The track Oh Nenje became an instant hit. Soon opportunities came from every nook and corner of the world! And the rest as they often say is history.

Biography: Balan Kashmir

Balan Kashmir has worked as a solo rapper/ song writer with many established names and upcoming acts which he was privileged to meet and greet alongside his years of climbing the ladder of success. He has written alongisde acts such as KLG Sqwad, Pete Teo, Joe Flizzow, Elvira, Sasi the Don, Phlowtron, Reefa, Sakti, Saran, Chakrasonic, Da Monsta, Rabbit Mac, Psychomantra, Emcee David, Shab’d Clique and other talents.

Kashmir was blessed with the opportunity to work with producers such as D’Navigator, Damian Shorty Soul, ILLegal, Jamie Wilson, DJ Uno and DJ Fuzz as the years passed. More songs and mix-tape projects are in the pipelines, as he speaks. Doing his part for the local music scene, Kashmir had a hand in co-organizing a major unity project which involved some 50 Malaysian musicians, actors and actresses dubbed Malaysian Artistes for Unity. He was featured in the theme song and video which was directed by Yasmeen Ahmad and two government related projects – Zoom Malaysia theme song and a video for Tourism Malaysia in 2008 as well as ‘Satu Suara’ (One Voice) theme song and a video for the Kementerian Belia dan Sukan in 2009.

 Balan Kashmir has roped in Choy from Illegal to star work on his solo album which is titled Illegally Macha and is currently performing live shows with the support of DJ Mastermind. The project is scheduled for release in mid 2012. The concept behind the album would see Kashmir exploring his mind and two languages – Tamil and English. He entwines his rhymes within both languages. This is sure to set him far ahead of the competition due to it being done with such finesse. By setting up the blueprint of the coming-of-age album, Balan Kashmir is ready to prove to the world a type of swagger only a true born ‘macha’ possesses. Stay tuned to witness the aftermath.

Biography: Tactmatic

Tact grew up listening to hip hop in his early teen years after the heavy influence of hip hop hit the nation with groups like Poetic Ammo and Too Phat leading the scene. With the mad love for Hip-Hop going strong , Tact tried everything hip hop from break dancing to graffiti only to realize that the microphone was what he worked best with.

Starting off with only a Rm10 PC Microphone and the downloaded version of Fruity Loops, Tact recorded tracks with rappers across the globe via the internet and participated in key style rap battles. Having won the battles he participated in, networks were built and affiliations with rappers around the country were formed and a collective from Penang consisting of Shark, Potentialz and Rude Mack joined forces with Tact to form the infamous Illinguists who were responsible for the track “Supafly” which gained recognition among the local listeners. Tact who by then had moved to the city, Kuala Lumpur form his home town in Teluk Intan, Perak established himself as an underground rapper who was hungry for recognition which soon came through as it did for many other local rappers through Astro Hitz.Tv’s Blast Off. Leading the now defunct group, Rapsody to the semi-final Tact then knew that if he was going to strive in the local scene, he was going to do it by himself as a solo artist.

Having performed in numerous shows/gigs/clubs , Tact found a new dimension in the music business by producing tracks and running a home based recording studio. Early this year, the need for diversifying revenue from the music business diverted Tact’s attention to the business side of the game and a sub-publishing agreement deal was signed with one of the major publishing companies. Tact founded the recently erected TACT RECORDS and does the publishing for artists signed to the label

Apart from the business, Tact is also one of the nations top freestyle battle MC’s. He is now the MC to beat, having won tournaments such as TYGS (Think You Got Skillz), KL Slam Jam, and The Illestcipher(Singapore).

Album: Agarem

Album:
Year released: 2010

Biography: Martin Zamigano

Martin is an award-winning artist, whose debut album, "Kanmani", had received critical acclaim throughout Malaysia and many other countries around Asia. The album compiles 10 great tracks all uniquely blended to suit its listeners. "Kanmani" collaborates some of the finest musician in this album and took 2 years to complete.

The title track "Kanmani" talks about a lover leaving Kanmani behind in search of fame and fortune. He finds it in a distant city but he is now lonely, unhappy and misses her dearly. He sings, "Kanmani queen of my heart, I love you and you're all that I need."


The album "Kanmani" has been played on local radio stations and also performed by Martin Zamigano throughout Malaysia and Hong Kong.

"I love music for music itself, any piece of music that stirs my senses, be it from the north, south, east or west, goes straight to my heart. Language, race, colour, creed, age and gender are no barrier for anyone to enjoy good music of any kind from anywhere," says Martin Zamigano. Armed with a style sharpened by years of performing at hotels, pubs and clubs, Martin Zamigano reaches the top of his form with his debut album "Kanmani", literally meaning "apple of the eye" in Tamil. A natural born performer with his unique guitar work and a powerful yet melodious voice makes "Kanmani" sizzle. His inherent passion and acute talent for music is undeniable. With big ambitions and a commitment to never slow down, he carefully treads along the musical highway, keeping his goals clearly in focus.

Coming from Malaysia, a multiracial, multi-religious and multicultural nation, a real melting pot, Martin speaks four languages. A versatile performer blessed with raw natural talent, Martin's compositions and rendering style succeeds in emotionally touching the heart of listeners. "No Matter where I go or what I do, I'm always drawn towards the reality of life, people, their emotions and their ups and downs. This brings about a strong feeling from deep within myself and I try to translate that feeling into music", says Martin Zamigano

Martin's debut album "Kanmani" took two years to complete. Today, he commands attention as the lead soulful singer/songwriter who shines through with every ensemble and collaboration as the 'Lips' of Zamigano. Not only is he the cohesive force behind the name but Martin also strives relentlessly with strong dedication and pure passion towards bringing his very own unique style of music to the world.

Biography: Lock-Up

Lock Up was formed in the year 1995. During that time, the demand local Indian music was very fresh and there isn't any album in the market that made significant impact to the music lovers in the country.

Lock Up was formed in the year 1995. During that time, the demand local Indian music was very fresh and there isn't any album in the market that made significant impact to the music lovers in the country.

Compared to Malay and Chinese music industry, the Indian music industry had many fresh talents but the pathway for a good audio production was very much unknown to local musicians and groups. Production companies and music retailers preferred to sell cinema soundtracks, which at that time quite lucrative. Indian music entertainers and bands were only performing cinema soundtracks in stage shows, functions, entertainment outlets such as pub's and clubs.

1st album titled Lock Up in 1996 was an over whelming success. Lock Up sold 50,000 units (cassette's and CD's) nation wide. This fresh music was well accepted by local Indian music lovers. Following up with the success of the first album and with many good feed backs and response from fans and music listeners, Lock Up launched the 2nd album titled La La La in the year 1997.

Once again the response was overwhelming from music lovers throughout the nation. Unexpectedly, the sales for the album reached more than 63,000 unites, inevitable broke the sales record of the 1st album.

Various concept were experimented in the 3rd album, which was released in 1998, titled Sha Na Na, the sales of the album was around 48,000 units. One song in this titled Maanidaa won the Best Song of the year 1999 in Malaysian Indian Music Industry Award (MIMI) held in PWTC in July 1999.

The 4th album titled Ole Ole was released in November 1999 by The Gramaphone Company of India Limited (RPG) and marketed by Five Star AV (M) Sdn Bhd. Lock Up was the first local Indian group to sign with this giant production company abroad.

The sales of Ole Ole reached 112,000 units in local and international market despite stiff competition among other local albums. It was the fastest sales record achieved in our local Indian music industry as the sales target was reached within 3 months. Ole Ole earned Lock Up 4 MIMI awards for the year 2000 under the category of Best Album of the year, Best Song of the year, Most Popular song of the year, Best Group of the year. The famous sporting goods label Adidas sponsored the outfit for Lock Up for the production of this album. It is the first time local Indian pop group ever to be sponsored by an international sporting attire.

With the success of Ole Ole and with the support of many event organizers and show promoters, Lock Up has sealed its rightful place in the hearts of Malaysian Indian music listeners. Lock Up's album and its artistes are recognized everywhere. Listeners and fans of Malaysian Tamil songs abroad have written in expressing their support.

Due to the market response and demands we released our 5th production which is an album consists of video clips called Lock Up Life in Concert. Produced by Gramaphone Co. of India and distributed by Five Star AV S/B in the same year also.

The sales was approximately 22,000 units as per the distributor's audit report, which was the highest sales record of a video clip compilation at that moment.

The 6th album entitled Dappi Dappi was released on November 2000. Just like Ole Ole, this album also received an overwhelming support from fans and ardent listeners of Lock Up. It reached the sales of 73,000 units locally and internationally as per the distributor's audit report.

Our 7th production was a compilation of our previous albums titled Best of Lock Up. Lock Up released the 8th album entitled Ranggi Ranggoli in July 2001. It managed to sell a significant units in the market. Reebok another popular sporting goods label sponsored the attire for Lock Up.

Due to the positive feed back from our fans, we released a VCD as our 9th production entitled Lock Up Life In Sentosa. It's a life performance concert, which was held in Sentosa Island, Singapore.

Following Ranggi Rangoli we released our 10th album in April 2003 titled Ammaanggo. Lock Up has received good and positive sales response from listeners nationwide for this album thus hitting the sales of above 42,000 units locally and internationally.

Following the success of Ammaanggo , the 11th album entitled was released in 2005. Once again our fans and supporters gave us a good support. Our 12th production was a fully pop concept called "Diyan Diyan" in July 2006.

And now its time for the latest 13th album entitled "11 Years Lock Up". In this album we have successfully produced various blend and genre of music despite our traditional concept the "Baila" and "Joget". Hip-Hop, Rap , R&B added with some latest musical arrangements, catchy melodies, live in-studio performances with rhythm loops has carried this album to a different height thus introducing a very new feel in our Malaysian Indian music field.