This is a rare hi quality bootleg of Seven Collar T-Shirt guest band performance at MMU Cyberjaya's Audio Warfare back in 2003.

This features the original lineup that the band recorded their debut album 'Freeway, Dreaming and Broke' with, minus Mokhtar who apparently "has important work". 

This was a memorable performance for 3 reasons:
1) Duan's typical dry and deadpan wit in his intro/welcome address.
2) I had met the band - along with Wing Meng & Singh from Love Me Butch who accompanied them (on the strict instructions of Abg Rom of ROTTW) - at backstage while they were tuning their guitars & asked Duan if he could play 'Glory and Meaning' for me. He - in typical Duan fashion - said he has no setlist & no plans to play the song. He then ended the performance with it.
3) This recording has possibly one of the earliest live performances of the band's new song 'War Is Over' prior to its release in their sophomore album 'Drones' in 2004.

This remains my best memory of one of my favourite bands from the local underground music scene in the Noughties.

MMU Audio Warfare 2003 - Seven Collar T-Shirt

This was written in 3 hours, with the help of a couple of Saatchi & Saatchi account execs plus a junior copywriter.

Got a phone call from the MD for S&S Malaysia one evening asking if I could come into their office to discuss a gig. Found out that they were pitching for BSN's account via a campaign to launch BSN's new VISA debit card.

They showed me a Suli Breaks video and told me they wanted something along the same lines. The actual writing experience was almost a spoken word writing 101.

Used a lot of word play, and approached the piece with a standard beginning (set-up), middle (transition) and ending (message+manifesto) structure.

Was a memorable experience. Performed it during the pitches to BSN big wigs and also during the launch live at Berjaya Times Square's concourse.

Credibilit-Y

This piece is an interpretation of an excerpt from Rumi's Masnavi, the section where he talks about the the king the poor looking for the kingdom's treasure using a bow & an arrow.

It was my first completed Islamic piece. Prior to this I had only one incomplete & still-in-writing Islamic piece about the Hijab, which I'm currently reading a book for in order to complete it.

I was channeling a bit of Amir Sulaiman in the beginning but the rest of the poem was mine. The subject matter & message came from my brother as he helped he understand & interpret Rumi's excerpt. I then came up with the premise & linked it to Zuhud.

It was the start of a journey, hence it being called The Opening.

The Opening

This is the demo recording of a poem in progress. 

It's a poem where I talk about my relationship with my late dad using the one thing that we had in common - football.

It contains a lot of football references, from nicknames to historical events to quotes. I will update these references here if there is a need for it, for ease of the listeners.

Legacy (YNWA)

This is a track that was written for the indie streetwear brand Sultan KL, performed in a fashion show called Streetlove held in Avenue K back in 2014.


STREETLOVE
We are royalties of a different line
intellects of a different mind
our feet fills the street spreading wisdom of a different kind
a different beat
cut from the same cloth folded in a different pleat
the elite of the street waking up to a different heat
a different shine
a different grind
we wake up to roster calls and the songs of the azan
praying hard for a better life and the hint of a godly sign
we hold on to metal bars to get through our mornings
spend the day clutching printings for our supervisors to sign
we find
meaning in small pockets on our chests
we wear the social fabric to cover our breasts
we don’t leave our nests with designer shirts pressed
or blazers over our vests
a walk of life of walking to bus stops on a daily quest
a walk of life where we are judged by the way we are dressed
not the way we try to do our best within our means
the means of the society
where the economy of scale doesn’t scale down to us
despite being the marhein
where house prices go up 8% every year
while our payslips only brings a tear
and a smile of relief as we hold on to our belief
that we are deserving of a better life
but without the entitlement of those of a better life
thinking they deserve a better life
we serve their wives to serve ourselves
put food on their tables to put bread on ours
we stand for hours waiting for our ride, in our ride
with enough money to only clothe our pride
with fabric from the streets
fabric of the streets
the only thing keeping our wits on our feet
the only thing within our means
our blood and sweat the thread in its seams
we seem to be lesser
coz we don’t walk like Armani
we don’t rock like Ed Hardy
we don’t talk like Giordano
we are more than just a plain looking Seed
we don’t need a Topman to be a top man
we are man enough to wear our own skin
wear our own hearts on our own sleeves
and see the batik in our own complexions
cut into pockets of small dimensions badges of redemption
on our breasts filling our breath with passion
and our ribs with action a treasure chest beating in each of us
each piece on us
is a piece of us
we don’t need the #GarmentMovement to preach for us
we move ourselves
and we have been rustling along all this while
in a different shine
to a different grind
royalties of a different line
intellects of a different mind
our feet filling the street spreading wisdom of a different kind
a different beat
cut from the same cloth folded in a different pleat
the real kings of the street
marching to our own beat.

Streetlove

My first proper spoken word piece, written in September 2009. An event in my personal life moved me profoundly and deeply, and in my search to find the words to express it I found Amir Sulaiman's "She Said, I Prefer A Broken Neck".

Personal recording.

She Said 'I Can Live With A Broken Heart' (Personal Recording)

This poem is a personal favourite, written in 3-4 hours in an inspired moment. 

Demo recorded by The Arkhitact at Tact Records.

Motorcycle Diaries

A tribute to my late father. The title is the title for a song contained the OST of the anime series Gungrave. Written by Tsuneo Imahori, it means Portrait Of A Father.

Chichi No Shouzou

A piece inspired by the late Gil Scott-Heron's piece Black History, reflecting on the current state of independence of the country.

His-Story

The demo recording of my first spoken word piece. Much better than the personally recorded version uploaded earlier.

She Said 'I Can Live With A Broken Heart'

A tribute to Gil Scott-Heron, inspired by The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.

The Revolution Will Not Be Politicized

A trilingual Malaysian who can’t seem to make up his mind between Bahasa Melayu & English, Jamal Raslan is a great example of the conundrum that is the current Malaysian youth – modern, exposed, liberal but yet struggling to find a sense of belonging in the identity crisis that rocks every English-speaking Malay Muslim. Equally at home conversing & thinking in Bahasa Melayu & English, he used to write poetry exclusively in Bahasa Melayu as he didn’t think he has an English poetry “voice”, until Youtube introduced him to spoken word.

Heavily inspired by spoken word poets around the world, from slam poets to Def Poetry to the articulate & emotive African poets at Poet’s Passport in Cyberjaya, he writes about the the challenges that the country faces in its pursuit for progress & Wawasan 2020 in a way that he hopes will one day help form a unique “voice” that is Malaysian spoken word.

Jamal Raslan

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