March 2023 - Penang Monthly

Imagining National Culture: Lessons From Bangsawan

6 min read

IN THE FIRST half of the 20th century, Bangsawan, or Malay opera, started incorporating the latest Anglo-American dances and music into its already cosmopolitan...

Words and Music—Two Sides of the Sense of Hearing

3 min read

MUSIC HAS ALWAYS been a phenomenon to savour for the great thinkers. One can sense how these master craftsmen of words relished being stumped when it came to an...

Discourse on Sustainability and Indigeneity: PERA + FLORA + FAUNA 2022

4 min read

Photos by PORTPERA + FLORA + FAUNA (PFF) was one of eight “must-see” exhibitions held during the 59th International Art Exhibition of Venice Biennale, themed Th...

Echoes, Shadows & Footprints: A Symposium on the Upkeep of the Arts

9 min read

IT IS GENERALLY observed that there is a chasm between music, arts and culture practitioners, on the one hand, and academics on the other. The reason behind it...

Revealing Complexities in the Practice of Faith in Malaysia

3 min read

Note: This book review contains spoilersFEAR. FATE. FAITH. Depending on your religious or cultural point of view, The Accidental Malay by Karina Robles Bahrin w...

Music in Numbers

1 min read

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Azmil Akil

Time to Make Music a Central Part of Malaysian Education

4 min read

ONE OF THE most important lessons my father taught me was appreciating music. He thought it important that my brother and I could manage both music and academic...

NCP 1971 vs. DAKEN 2021: Ethnoculturalism or Cultural Diversity?

5 min read

AFTER 50 YEARS since implementing of the National Cultural Policy (NCP) 1971, the newly dubbed Dasar Kebudayaan Negara (DAKEN) 2021, translated as “Cultural Pol...

Jimmy Boyle: The Man and His Music

10 min read

Probably one of the most brilliant and imaginative musicians in the Federation today….. As a Malayan Musician, Jimmy is in a class by himself. His technique is...

Record Covers From the PHoM Vault: A Visual Journey

4 min read

EARLY 79 RPM (revolutions per minute) records were packaged in brown paper or cardboard, occasionally with a circular cut out in the centre to display the label...

Negaraku: The Sonic Totem of the Nusantara (Part 1)

4 min read

MOST INTERESTINGLY, historical scholarship surrounding the making of the national anthem was brought about by a chain of interconnected events that led to a pro...

Events in March

3 min read

CULTURECatch the exhilarating Chingay performances at Pesta Chingay Pulau Pinang. Accompanied by lion and dragon dance troupes, the parade will start from Padan...