MALAYSIA'S NEXT BIG THING

Hailing from Kedah, producer and singer songwriter Shelhiel reveals the path and processes that carried him from his beginnings to becoming the wicked performer and innovative musician he is today

- MELISSA FOONG

 

AS LISTENERS AND AUDIENCE MEMBERS, when a performer has a totally new sound and the stage presence to match, it’s electrifying to say the least. Especially at open-mic style jams or shows that you attend by chance, that added unexpected element washes over you with euphoric curiosity. It becomes almost comical as you catch yourself looking around incredulously like... “are you guys hearing this?”. To us at least, moments like these are some of the closest we get to time standing still.

As exciting as the feeling is, we believe these acts also ground us in a way. With the accessibility of music through streaming services, we gain so much control over our ‘music destiny’ as we’ve nicknamed it. When it comes to our sources of pleasure in life, like music, we want freedom, but more so, we need something that gracefully commands our attention, presence, and appreciation. In July 2019, I was lucky enough to be confronted by an artist that, through his music, told the people in the room: ‘you’re gonna want to stick around for this’.