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LEWIS PRAGASAM

Drummer * Educator * Producer * Fulbright ScholarA hugely respected drummer and percussionist in Asia and for that matter, the world, Lewis Pragasam is the leader and founder of Asiabeat, which was critical in bringing Asian style percussion and music (in addition to blending it with other world styles) to a larger, global audience. The group, which formed in 1979, began releasing albums in 1982 to great reception, and Pragasam was to take his concept and group all over the world, touring on just about every continent, and making waves at some of the planet's most renowned jazz and world music festivals. Eventually, Pragasam was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship by the USA government, and began teaching -- as Artist in Residence -- at East Carolina University, North Carolina. In addition, he also toured the world recording/performing with many great international artists from all over the globe - Bob James, Nathan East, Billy Cobham, Lee Ritenour, Randy Crawford, Melvin Davis, Tetsuro Sakai, Kazumi Watanabe, Kris Dayanti, Tompi, Ruth Sahanya, Jackie Cheung, Wong lee Hom, David Tao, Zainal Abidin, Sheila masjid..amongst many other artists. Pragasam has played on more than a 1000 recordings on a global scale and a myriad styles of musical styles. A versatile and creative persona the makes him stand out form the crowd. Lewis was invited for a Royal Command Performance for HRH Prince Charles at the prestigious ‘Princes Trust Concert’ series in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is among one of the few Asian artists that have been given the honour of performing at this Royal musical event. Lewis Pragasam is revered as a Legend and mentor in his native country, Malaysia...spearheading many new and interesting musical projects.

GARY GIDEON

Gary Gideon is a well-known session drummer, performer and recording artiste. He performed with various artists locally and internationally. Furthermore, he is also actively giving workshops and talks on drums to schools and churches in both Malaysia and Singapore. Some of his experiences performing and touring will be 2 Year World Tour with Jackie Cheung (2002-2002), North Sea Jazz Festival in Den Haag, Amsterdam (1990), China and Taiwan Tour with Jonathan Lee (2011), Live Shows with Air Supply in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia (2014-2016).Gary Gideon is also active in the recording scenes. Numerous Malaysian singers, including M Nasir, Jamal Abdillah, Siti Nurhaliza, Nora, and Sheila Majid, are among those he has recorded. He also recorded for international artists Rene Liu (China), Fish Leong, Liu Ro Ying (Taiwan), Harvey Malaiholo, Hetty Koes Endang (Indonesia) and Fann Wong, and Kit Chan from Singapore. Gary is also a guest speaker at Singapore Polytechnic (2015) and Laselle (2016). Gary is undoubtedly one of Malaysia's top drummers of the past and present day.

AZIM "JENK" ALI

The usual suspect in Drum Cam Channel on YouTube, Azim ‘JenK’ Ali has been actively drumming for the local TV shows namely Gegar Vaganza, Big Stage and the latest worldwide franchise, All Together Now Malaysia. His versatility in delivering a wide range of music genres in a live show complements the dynamics of the band, Band Leman.
Born on March 5th 1989, named a drum prodigy in Kuching, Sarawak who started touring at the age of nine with Simfoni Orkestra Negeri Sarawak. His biggest influences while growing up were Dream Theater, Dave Weckl's Band, Yellowjackets, and Justin Timberlake had broadened his musicianship skills. Later on he discovered Periphery and Snarky Puppy, that further elevated his appreciation towards sound improvisation, even without vocals.
In 2008, at the age of 19, JenK's migration to Kuala Lumpur has caught many ears of Malaysian producers, artistes and music-directors, landed him many series of job opportunities. Over the years, JenK has played with the region's biggest TV programs, prestigious award shows, concerts, and studio sessions mainly with Kamarseni. JenK has been credited for more than 30 albums throughout the years. JenK had recorded and worked with powerhouse artistes and producers such as Yuna, Amy Search, Hujan, Nastia, Fynn Jamal, Amir Jahari, Dato' M Nasir, AG Coco, Noh Salleh, KRU, Lodayu, Mac Chew, Sham Kamikaze, Genervie Kam, Dato' Ramli MS, and the list continues, pushing his name as one of the youngest and most successful sessionists in the country.

JOHN THOMAS

John Thomas is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He started drumming at the age of three and turned professional at the age of 15. Mainly self-taught and while still in high school, he landed gigs with the highly acclaimed Malaysian artists Zainal Abidin and Sheila Majid. Since then John has matured into one of Malaysia’s most in-demand drummers playing at arenas such as Robert Albert Hall and Wembley Stadium to Blue Note Tokyo. Now, at age 34, he has cemented his place as one of the top drummers in the Asian region & the first call drummer in the scene over a wide variety of genres. John is has worked with the top Asian superstars including A-Mei, Jonathan Lee Zhong Shen, Fish Leong, Tia Ray, Rene Liu, LoDaYu, Penny Tai, Aska Yang, Jen J, Bai-An, Deserts Chang, Siti Nurhaliza. That versatility has lead to five World Tours and has seen him perform with a diverse host of acclaimed artists. Other people John has worked with include:Laura Fygi, Nestor Torres(Latin Grammy Award Winning Flautist), The Three Degrees (Motown Legends), Rie Tsuji (former pianist & music director for Beyonce), Barry Cooper & Tony Suggs, (trombonist and pianist for the Count Basie Orchestra), Michael Simon, Steve Thornton, (former percussionist with Miles Davis)John owns and runs Nomad Studios, one of the country's finest recording studios. John currently endorses Yamaha Drums and Meinl Cymbals. He has been with Yamaha Drums for the past 11 years, since he was 19. He also endorses Pro Mark Drumsticks and Evans Drumheads.

IRFAN ISKANDAR

Irfan Iskandar is a drummer who is well-known for his British Rock drumming style. Started drumming at the age of 10 after years of learning and playing keyboards. As a boy who grew up in several army camps, he received his early drumming knowledge from army friends who were in the army combo. He had gained further music knowledge and drum basics from his music teacher during primary school years in Johor Bahru. The teacher was S.Jibeng’s keyboardist, one of the famous singer during the Pop Yeh Yeh’s era.
He then went to university and graduated IT course, but still pursuing his dream of becoming a musician as he met few friends with the same music interest during varsity days. He formed a band with his uni-mates and began to play gigs for annual dinners and corporate events.
Heavily influenced by British musician, his accent of playing is combination of British rock, Psychedelia and Rock & Roll.
In 2002 he started his first session job for a ska band, Roots Rule and played few gigs in KL. The lead guitar for Root Rules was the session guitarist for ACAB. ACAB was about to record their first Malay album entitled Bangun and they have not found a drummer that fits the band’s attitude. Megat of ACAB had asked the guitarist to find the most suitable drummer for the band. He then introduced Irfan Iskandar to Megat. Irfan was auditioned for the first time and Megat got hooked-up with his drumming style very quickly. They began to record Bangun after two weeks of rehearsals.
After Bangun was released, Megat went to UK to further his studies. Soon after, Irfan Iskandar was on the look for new opportunities and was offered to play drums with The Times. He recorded first album with The Times in 2005. He recorded 3 albums in total with The Times during his time with them. While playing with The Times, Megat came back and formed a new band The ACAB and Irfan Iskandar laid the drum tracks for them.
In 2009 Irfan Iskandar left The Times and started session for Bittersweet as a backup drummer. Not long after that, he had formed his own band called Relay with former The Times’ member who had left the band years earlier. At the same time, Bittersweet was looking for a permanent session drummer. Irfan Iskandar had joined the wagon and played with them until 2018. Irfan recorded one album (BTSWT) with Bittersweet which was released by March 2016.
As for current projects, Irfan Iskandar is now attached with Toko Kilat his side project Da Vagabonds with Noh Salleh of Hujan & Herri Hamid of Bittersweet.

EMY SYAHMI

Originally from Selayang, Selangor, Muhammad Noor Syahmi Bin Matzly or known as Emy Syahmi is the founding member of the Massacre Conspiracy Group (MC16) since 2007. Emy is also one of the Heartbeat artists drumstick since 2012.

Behind the kit, Emy has performed in various gig, concerts and tour. MC16 has been recognised locally as a fine solid metalcore band, with consistent rock festival performances such as Rock The World for five years. The band has also been acknowledged internationally as they were selected to be the opening band for international acts such as Suicide Silence, All Shall Perish, Unearth, August Burns Red, Bring Me the Horizon and more. The highest achievement of the band is to be the supporting band for As I Lay Dying’s Shaped By Asia Tour 2020, with performances in Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Philippines.

Massacre Conspiracy released their first album in 2013 and the second album is expected at the end of next year 2023.

AKRAM KADIR

Akram (born 12 February 1990) is a drummer for the Malaysian rock band Floor 88. He started playing drums at the age of 13 (2003) and started to participate Battle of the Band since 2007. In 2010, he auditioned for Twisties Bingit organized by Hot FM, participated as a drummer and was selected as the top 10 finalists. In addition, he is a drummer for the band Floor 88 since 2014 until now and often makes many drum covers on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram & Tiktok with huge followers.

FAEEZ HALIM

Faeez started playing drums while studying in Victoria Institution Kuala Lumpur. Back then he was a member of the school’s cadet corp marching band as a drummer and had participated in numerous national and international marching band competitions. After high school, he pursued his diploma in music majoring in percussion and drums in UiTM. Faeez holds a degree in music performance from UiTM. He is also a founding member and drummer for a local rock band - Drama Band, which is widely known for their popular songs on the radio and also tunes being used in soundtracks for movies and tv shows. Drama Band has also been nominated in several different local music award celebrations. Faeez is also a member of a well known percussion group – No Noise Percussion, popular with their usage of unconventional everyday items as percussion instruments. They play mostly stomp based music. Faeez has travelled and performed with the No Noise Percussion team in most parts of Malaysia performing in festivals, private functions and public events since 2011. Faeez is an endorsee for Pearl Drums and Paiste Cymbals in Malaysia. He is also a drum tutor in Bentley Music Academy, Nexus International School Malaysia and Alice Smith Secondary International School

KIB AGONG

Muhammad Khairul Izwan bin Mohd Basri who is also known by his stage name, KIB Agong is one of the officers from the Musician Unit of the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI). As a musician who makes drums his instrument of choice, he is also responsible as a drum instructor at the university.

A holder of a Master's Degree in Music Performance from UPSI and experienced accompanying performances with several talented local artists and musicians such as Datuk AC Mizal, Once (DEWA 19), Ella, Awie (Wings), Man Bai, Zamani SLAM, Nora Ariffin, Bob Yusof, Awi Rafael, Zailan Razak, Faizal Uzir ("Lok U") and many more.

NABIL HAKIM

Muhamad Nabil Hakim bin Anuar or Nabil Hakim is one of the new generation of drummers in Malaysia. He began his musical journey from primary school to secondary school and then continue a career music with the main focus of music education at the di Institut Perguruan Guru Ilmu Khas (Seni Muzik).

Since 2005, his involvement and acknowledgment from numerous events, bodies, and music companies have been evident in the process of preparing a show.

Nabil Hakim has also performed in foreign venues including Bandung, Bulgaria, and Tokyo and his involvements has granted him awards such as Best Percussionist (Muse Award) and Best Upcoming Drummer (2017). Nabil's largest achievement is a sponsorship deal from TAMA Drums, one of the most renowned drum manufacturers in Japan.

Currently, Nabil Hakim works as a full-time music teacher at the School Kebangsaan Sri Skudai, where he devotes all his interests to teaching the next generation in order to uplift the stature of the music and the drum community in Malaysia.

SPECIAL GUEST PERFORMERS

HAZIQ RAMLI

Haziq Ramli born in 1990 in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia is a freelance musician, producer, music educator and a drum tutor at Aswara. He started his formal education by majoring in drum performance at ASWARA Malaysia in 2008 and completed his study in 2012. His most outstanding achievement is receiving Best Drummer for 2013 and 2014 at Majlis Kebajikan dan Sukan Anggota Kerajaan Malaysia (MAKSAK) along Kombo S.U.K Pahang. Working as a sessionist drummer for Lefthanded and Paladin gives Haziq the opportunity to perform in various TV shows and live performances in Malaysia and internationally. Some of his performances are Akademi Fantasia (2016), Anugerah Juara Lagu (2016), Konsert 3 Lagenda Dato Jamal Abdillah , Zamani Slam , Ameng Spring (2019), Konsert Duo Lagenda Dato Jamal Abdillah and Dato M.Nasir at Istana Budaya (2019) and many more. He is also a sessionist drummer for various artiste in Malaysia, to name a few Mojo, Caliph Buskers, Jaclyn Victor and KRU. His biggest influences will be Mike Mangini, Mike Portnoy, Dennis Chamber, Joey Jordison (Slipknot) Buddy Rich and Dave Weckl, making Haziq one of the successful drummers in Malaysia.

SHARIFUL ROHAIMIN

Shariful Rohaimin @ Raw is a drummer from Kuala Lumpur who was known for his work as a sessionist in the local scene. Trained during his youth, he taught himself how to play the drum and later graduated from Aswara. Well known for his pockets and RnB flavor, he is also keen to explore his jazz side, mostly having an interest in the prog part of jazz. With drums, he’s looking forward to share his love for music with the people.

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