Azmyl Yunor
Birth nameAzmyl bin Yusof
Born (1977-01-17) 17 January 1977 (age 47)
OriginKuala Lumpur, Malaysia
GenresFolk rock, lo-fi, experimental rock
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist, writer
Years active1997–present
LabelsRapidear, Troubadours
Websitehttp://azmyl.bandcamp.com

Azmyl Yunor (born Azmyl Yusof; 17 January 1977) is a Malaysian independent English and Malay language singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, academic and writer.[1][2] He is also a journalist and filmmaker by training.[3]

His works have ranged from folk-country singer-songwriter styles to experimental guitar improvisations to punk and indie-noise rock, solo and with various bands he has founded and recorded with.[4][5] All of his solo recordings are released on his own Rapidear label (his earlier obscure cassette home recordings are out of print) and Troubadours.[1] A former street musician,[3][5] he is noted for his strong songwriting and lyrics, and laidback on-stage presence yet energetic live shows. He has also composed and collaborated for film, television, theatre, dance and spoken word/poetry productions.[4][6][7][8][9][10]

Early life

Azmyl Yunor was born on 17 January 1977 in Pantai Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur. He is a son of Yusof Husin, an entomology professor and Norani Abdul Samad, a microbiology professor. Yunor has a younger brother, Azree who is eight years his junior. He grew up in Adelaide, Australia where his parents continuing their studies until he was 4 years old.[5] His family moved to Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor when he was 12. He attended the Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Jalan Gurney (1).[5]

Music career

With the release of the country folk-flavored Tenets EP (2005 / produced by Azmyl Yunor & Ron Khoo) in 2005 to acclaim,[11][12][13] he garnered wider attention of the press and established himself as one of the main movers of the burgeoning Malaysian singer-songwriter scene along with the likes of Meor Aziddin Yusof, Pete Teo, Shanon Shah and Shelley Leong. He has also recorded and released lo-fi recordings under the name Thunder Coffee Club.[14] He was voted as one of KLue magazine's '20 Under 40 – Significant & Young Individuals or Collectives' along with the likes of Mawi, Daphne Iking, Tiara Jacquelina, and Amir Muhammad in 2006.[15] His bi-lingual album Warga (2010 / produced by Azmyl Yunor & Ariff Akhir) saw him launch a self-funded 20-month tour to promote it.[16] His album Wilayah (2012 / produced by Azmyl Yunor & Ron Khoo) which features his two signature songs 'Makan Gaji' and 'Anak Dara' was recorded with his touring band the Sigarettes.[17]

He is a co-founder and member of the Experimental Musicians and Artists Co-operative Malaysia (Emacm) and a co-founder of Troubadours Enterprise, organisers of the annual singer-songwriter festival KL Sing Song from 2005 to 2009.[1][4][5] He was also a guitarist for Damo Suzuki's Network in Malaysia for a performance together in 2010.[18] A musical named after one of his popular songs "Something I Wrote" (directed by Mark Teh, produced by the Five Arts Centre) based on his life and works was staged in August 2013, during which he also launched a retrospective cd Revenge of the Rabak: Selected Works from the Lo-fi Years 1997–2005 comprising selected songs from his lo-fi cassette releases and the Tenets EP in its entirety.[19] The Pedra Branca EP (2014 / produced by Ronnie Khoo, Azmyl Yunor, & Jeremy Lee), a split EP with Singaporean doom folk artist Hell Low, was released in April 2014 and they both toured Singapore and Peninsula Malaysia to promote the release.[20]

After the disbandment of Azmyl Yunor & the Sigarettes in August 2014, he began work on a new album called Was Was and formed Azmyl Yunor & Orkes Padu with collaborator/ producer and ex-Sigarettes drummer Raje.[21] The band released its debut single "Tanah air Ku" ("My Motherland") from the new album on Malaysia Day[22] and made its debut festival performance at Urbanscapes 2014.[23] He released his latest album John Bangi Blues (2020 / produced by Ariff Akhir & Azmyl Yunor) in September 2020 to positive reviews for its stripped down live electric arrangement and lyrics which explored contemporary social themes.[24][25][26]

He teaches the film and performing arts programmes at Sunway University.[16][27]

He has also performed as a duo with fellow singer-songwriter Shanon Shah.

Discography

Note: * cassette only releases

Filmography

Publication

Television

Appearances

References

  1. ^ a b c Chris True (2008), "Azmyl Yunor", All Music Guide, retrieved 14 October 2010
  2. ^ Xeni Jardin (17 October 2005), More on sociology of Malaysian Black Metal, retrieved 20 October 2010
  3. ^ a b Fahmi Fadzil (28 August 2005), "Rocking to stay true", The Star/Entertainment/Music/News & Feature, Petaling Jaya, archived from the original on 22 July 2011, retrieved 15 October 2010
  4. ^ a b c Zack Yusof (8 December 2006), "Rocking good time", The Star/Entertainment/Music/News & Feature, Petaling Jaya, archived from the original on 7 August 2011, retrieved 14 October 2010
  5. ^ a b c d e Nick Choo (24 September 2009), "Sharing a common thread", The Nutgraph, Petaling Jaya, retrieved 15 October 2010
  6. ^ "15Malaysia", Time Out Kuala Lumpur, 17 August 2009, archived from the original on 30 March 2010, retrieved 15 October 2010
  7. ^ Projek Wayang (26 November 2009), "Wayang Fajar", Projek Wayang, Petaling Jaya, retrieved 15 October 2010
  8. ^ Jason (6 August 2009), "Download Kit Ong x Azmyl Yunor, Ronnie Khoo and Yong Yandsen Urbanscapes collabo", Junk, Kuala Lumpur, archived from the original on 17 August 2009, retrieved 15 October 2010
  9. ^ chuimui (23 September 2010), IKAN: written by Azmyl Yunor for The Year Without A Summer, Petaling Jaya: Da huang Pictures, archived from the original on 7 October 2010, retrieved 15 October 2010
  10. ^ CHO Young-jung (October 2010), Year Without A Summer, Pusan, South Korea: Pusan International Film Festival, retrieved 15 October 2010[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ Adlin Rosli (22 June 2005), "The Thinking Man", Kakiseni, Petaling Jaya, archived from the original on 28 October 2010, retrieved 14 October 2010
  12. ^ Daryl Goh (May 2005), "Tenets EP", The Star/Entertainment/Music/Reviews, Petaling Jaya, archived from the original on 22 July 2011, retrieved 6 April 2010
  13. ^ Zack Yusof (31 May 2005), "Folk music from Azmyl Yunor", The Star/Entertainment/Music/Reviews, Petaling Jaya, archived from the original on 22 July 2011, retrieved 14 October 2010
  14. ^ Kenneth Yu (July 2005), "Troubadour in Transit", Think, Petaling Jaya, archived from the original on 28 September 2007, retrieved 14 October 2010
  15. ^ Nurhanie (September 2006), "KLue List", MawiFC.com, Malaysia, retrieved 25 January 2011
  16. ^ a b Edward Gomez (10 May 2010), "Songs of a nation", The Star/Entertainment/Music/News & Feature, Petaling Jaya, archived from the original on 9 March 2012, retrieved 14 October 2010
  17. ^ N. Rama Lohan (31 July 2012), "Craft Over Cool", The Star, Petaling Jaya, archived from the original on 21 February 2013, retrieved 31 July 2012
  18. ^ Switch ON (November 2010), "DAMO SUZUKI'S NETWORK: Live in KL", Switch ON, Kuala Lumpur, retrieved 11 May 2011
  19. ^ Wong Boon Ken (23 August 2013), Mark Teh and Azmyl Yunor on 'Something I Wrote', Kuala Lumpur: TimeOut Kuala Lumpur, retrieved 5 October 2013
  20. ^ Ling Low (28 April 2014), Notes From A Small Island, Kuala Lumpur: Poskod Malaysia, retrieved 14 June 2014
  21. ^ Izyan Liyana (21 August 2014), INTERVIEW: AZMYL YUNOR & THE SIGARETTES, Kuala Lumpur: The Wknd, archived from the original on 14 December 2021, retrieved 11 May 2015
  22. ^ Coconuts KL (17 September 2014), Music Video: Azmyl Yunor's "Tanah Air Ku" is a road trip into Malaysia's heart, Kuala Lumpur: Coconuts KL, retrieved 11 May 2015
  23. ^ Urbanscapes (26 September 2014), Azmyl Yunor & Orkes Padu, Kuala Lumpur: Urbanscapes, archived from the original on 11 December 2014, retrieved 11 May 2015
  24. ^ Azizul Rahman Ismail (28 September 2020), "The language of music", The Sun, Kuala Lumpur, retrieved 4 November 2020
  25. ^ Adrian Yap (14 October 2020), Azmyl Yunor – 'John Bangi Blues' review: A no-frills comeback from Malaysia's veteran troubadour, Kuala Lumpur: NME, retrieved 4 November 2020
  26. ^ A. Azim Idris (1 November 2020), Azmyl Yunor takes on Malaysiana in 'John Bangi Blues', Kuala Lumpur: The Vibes, retrieved 4 November 2020
  27. ^ Sunway University, Performance & Media: Academic Staff, Petaling Jaya, archived from the original on 23 November 2010, retrieved 15 October 2010
  28. ^ a b "Azmyl Yunor takes on 'John Bangi Blues' - Music". November 2020.
  29. ^ http://www.dailyseni.com/v4/azmyl-yunor-ampang-park/[dead link]
  30. ^ "Azmyl Yunor & Orkes Padu 'WAS WAS' album launch | Kakiseni". Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.

External links

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