Features and Guides
Azzief Khaliq
Freelance Writer and Journalist
Malaysia
Malaysia-based freelance writer and journalist with ten years of experience writing about consumer technology and popular music.
Malaysia
Malaysia-based freelance writer and journalist with ten years of experience writing about consumer technology and popular music.
Features and Guides
Only a handful of aircraft have been certified by the United States to carry tactical nuclear weapons -- let's take a look at what they are capable of.
The Ford Mustang Dark Horse R is a pricey vehicle, but it does come with some exclusive upgrades and opportunities that help explain its high cost.
Should you get a minimalist reMarkable 2 or go for the do-it-all Apple iPad? What's the difference? Our comparison will help you choose.
Bored of mobile games on your Android tablet? Our guide to playing PC games on Android will help open up a whole new world for you.
Use an Android tablet as a monitor with apps like Spacedesk, SuperDisplay, alongside manufacturer-specific methods to enhance productivity.
Confused about which Cherry MX switch to get for your mechanical keyboard? Our Cherry switch comparison is here to help.
DIY PC maintenance doesn't have to be complicated. Learn how to remove and replace your graphics card with our simple guide.
Knowing how to choose a power supply unit can save you from a ton of future PC issues, and that's precisely what our guide will teach you.
One of the trickiest parts of getting into mechanical keyboards is deciding on switches. Even before choosing a specific switch, you'll have to pick between clicky, linear, and tactile switches. That can get confusing if you're new, but don't get too discouraged! Let's dive in and discuss clicky vs. linear vs.
Learn how to lube switches with our helpful guide and turn even the scratchiest mechanical switch into a smooth operator.
Spruce up your mechanical keyboard with the best keyboard mods. From easy fixes to more involved tasks, our list has it all.
Having trouble with fan noise? You're not alone. Default fan settings often aren't ideal, usually running too hot or too loud. And then there are those overly-sensitive fans that constantly speed up and slow down during everyday use. While there's no perfect solution, this fan curve guide should help you strike a good balance between noise and cooling.
One of the most important parts of a mechanical keyboard is its keycaps. Sure, the switches are the most defining aspect, but the keycaps play a massive role in determining the sound, feel, and look of a mechanical keyboard.
It's difficult to think of another Malaysian band in recent memory that's had as meteoric a rise as No Good. With their stripped-down punk anthems and unapologetically Kelantanese bent, it's taken only a couple of years for the trio - vocalist/guitarist (and bandleader) Smek Almohdzar, bassist Mat Yie (also known as Wan Azry) and drummer Ali Johan - to cross over beyond the boundaries of the Malaysian punk underground.
Knowing how to choose a graphics card is essential for anyone building or upgrading a gaming rig. Learn how with our thorough guide.
T wenty years is a long time to be doing anything, but 20 years spent heading a record label and concert promotion business in Malaysia is something else. Just ask Mak Wai Hoo. From relatively humble beginnings in the Chinese independent scene, Mak, as he is better known, and his label Soundscape Records have become one of Malaysia's most well-known label-promoters.
When choosing components for a new build, RAM often gets overlooked in favor of the CPU and GPU. That makes sense, as the latter two generally have the biggest impact on performance. But your RAM has a significant role to play, too.
Expanding your computer's storage or picking parts for a new PC? Then you'll be interested in what we have to say about SSD vs. HDD. Choosing between a solid-state drive (SSD) and a traditional hard drive (HDD) is a fundamental choice to make when it comes to storage.
So you've decided to build a rig yourself instead of going with a prebuilt. That's great! We think building a computer is one of the most rewarding and satisfying experiences a PC user and gamer can have. Before embarking on the journey, though, you need to know how to pick PC parts.
The same goes for music. From the bar and restaurant shows that occur weekly across Bangkok to large outdoor festivals like Big Mountain Music Festival and Wonderfruit, Thailand has made a name for itself as a premier destination for international acts of all stripes.
When you're picking parts for your new computer, it's easy to forget how important choosing a PC case is. Sure, a case isn't going to improve your FPS, nor will it make your renders run faster. But the right case will make for an effortless build, look great, and have all the expansion that you need.
One of the most essential skills every PC enthusiast should know is how to choose a CPU. Your CPU, along with your motherboard, is the beating heart of your system. The choices you make here will directly affect what your rig will be good and, unfortunately, not so good at.
The mechanical vs. membrane keyboard decision used to be simple. Have $100 or more laying around to spend on one peripheral? Get a mechanical keyboard. On a budget? Stick with membranes. The price premium and limited availability meant that mechanical boards were strictly for the dedicated.
The motherboard is the heart of your system. The one you choose determines what you can connect, how you can expand, and even the stability and the overclocking potential of your components. To find the motherboard that best fits your priorities, you need to know what...
Rully Shabara Herman and Wukir Suryadi, the duo better known as Senyawa, are into their second decade as a band - the latter half of which has seen them rise from relative obscurity to international prominence, getting the sort of attention rarely afforded to Southeast Asian acts.
Many things have changed in The Observatory's camp since the long-running Singaporean band's last album, a split with Japanese psych rockers Acid Mothers Temple in 2018. Now a three-piece of Yuen Chee Wai, Dharma and Cheryl Ong, and with a greater focus on improvisation, this isn't quite the same group that released albums such as the monumental 'Oscilla'.
"'Miasma Tahun Asu' was supposed to be a fun album." Kareem Soenharjo is telling NME the original plan. The Indonesian musician better known as BAP. is talking over Zoom on a hot Monday afternoon from a cramped café in South Jakarta, kretek cigarettes and ice coffee close at hand.
Tinariwen are one of the few bona fide crossover stars of "world" music of the past decade. From their beginnings in the Alegrian refugee camps in 1979 to representing Algeria at the opening of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and winning a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album in 2012, Ibrahim Ag Alhabib and his group of Touareg musicians have seen, heard, experienced, and said a lot.
Anyone interested in international music, particularly from regions such as Asia and the Middle East, has probably at least heard of the label Sublime Frequencies.
The topic of teens moving away from Facebook has been a hot discussion point for years. Reports on this trend have appeared in various media outlets like
If rumors are to be believed, Amazon are set to unveil their very first smartphone very soon - this June 18, to be precise - with what seems
This post was first published on: Jan 16, 2014. Android fragmentation is often brought up as the Achilles' heel of the OS. Critics often point to
Reviews
Indonesian psych/funk sextet Lair deliver the confident, considered sophomore album 'Ngélar' - read NME's review here
Looking for an 11-inch tablet? Our list has some great suggestions for you, no matter whether you're a Android, iOS, or Chrome OS fan.
The best GBA emulators for Android let you indulge in some sweet retro gaming on the go. Our list will help you find the right one for you.
The Honor Pad X9 is a budget 11.5-inch tablet with appealing features, but is it any good to use in real life? Read our review to find out.
Lofree's Touch wireless mouse is certainly different, but is it actually any good? Find out by reading our review.
Softears's Studio4 in-ear monitors are clear and detailed, with a neutral sound signature that works well for music and games alike.
The Skyloong GK61 Pro's knob is the main eye-catching feature, but that's not its only appealing feature. Read our review to find out more.
Check out our review of the Lofree Flow: a standout low-profile 75% wireless keyboard with distinctive features.
Contributed a short write-up for NME Asia's mid-year 2023 best-of list.
Skyloong's GK75 Optical is a perfect example of how much better budget keyboards have gotten over the past few years. $60 gets you a good keyboard with smooth optical switches, a programmable knob, and a classy transparent black ABS case. The software still isn't great, but it's an acceptable setback considering the price.
Depending on how you configure it, Skyloong's DIY GK61 keyboard builder can either net you a solid sub-$100 value keyboard or an awkwardly-priced half-premium product. The GK61 keyboard has solid typing fundamentals, but the sub-par software and unspectacular switches hold it back once you break past the $150 barrier.
Vissles' V84 mechanical keyboard gets the basics right and offers good value at its $110 retail price. It's not perfect, but minor software and keycap issues don't detract from what should be a solid first or second keyboard for budding keyboard enthusiasts. Mechanical keyboards can get expensive.
Portable monitors have come along in leaps and bounds over the past few years. Modern examples now sport high-quality LCD panels and all the tech we expect from our desktop monitors, making them a great companion for mobile workers or anyone that needs a screen they can pack up and take with them.
Rhythm is perhaps one of the most underappreciated elements in modern (Western-popular) music. This isn't to say that modern listeners can't "feel the rhythm" or something of the sort, though; far from it.
'Aliquem Alium Internum', Jakarta-based rapper/producer Abim's first album as Noise From Under, is a complex beast. Take its title, Latin for "a certain other one, within" - an allusion to Abim's battle with an internal other, a shadowy quasi-antagonist, that dominates the album's 34-minute runtime.
The Vissles LP85 is a great keyboard if portability and a low-profile design are your main priorities. It won't offer the same typing feel (and, arguably, joy) of full-sized mechanical key switches, but it's definitely a cut above most other low-profile keyboards. Well worth checking out.
The past few years have been good for Malaysian rapper-producer Ichu. Whether it's his work on Clumsygang's 'Volume 2' mixtape (especially on highlight '7AM di KL') or the numerous guest spots and collaborations with the likes of Emir Hermono and rising crew FORCEPARKBOIS, Ichu has put in the work and made himself a player to watch in Malaysia's modern hip-hop landscape.
The Marsback Zephyr Pro is a solid gaming mouse that does most things right. But build quality issues and uncertainties about the fan's effectiveness mean that it's not a straightforward recommendation, even for the sweatiest of palms. The lightweight gaming mouse market is arguably the most crowded market segment for PC peripherals.
Thai rapper JUU4E likes marijuana. That is obvious from the very beginning of 'Crazy World', his second offering for Japanese label EM Records: it opens with a distorted percussion loop and the sound of a righteous bong rip. As JUU4E piles on the reverb, another thing becomes clear: 'Crazy World' is going to be a bit of a trip.
Sometimes a record's title perfectly captures everything you need to know about the music contained within. 'Narok Bon Din', Bangkok-based metalcore quintet Whispers' debut EP, translates to "hell on earth", and it's hard to imagine a more suitable title for the 21 minutes of music on offer here.
Half-Assed Men's 'Half-Assed Mixtape' might look like a bit of a joke at first glance. Between the name and sub-10-minute runtime, you'd be forgiven for thinking it had nothing to offer beyond garden variety irony and outdated-in-a-flash pop culture references. But you'd be dead wrong.
Rully Shabra Herman and Wukir Suryadi, better known as Senyawa, have been together for a decade. By the 10-year mark, most avant-garde bands would have settled into a groove, churning out by-the-numbers albums designed to meet expectations instead of subverting them. Fortunately, there's no such stasis for the Yogyakarta duo.
To say that 'Lunar' is a surprise would be an understatement. Released to little fanfare and barely any promotion, it's the debut of Bandung-based quintet Blue Ocean Project. Formed in 2014 by pianist Ditra Prasista and drummer Rio Abror - and operating under the radar since then - Blue Ocean Project have debuted with a surprisingly confident and ambitious set of songs that's unfortunately hobbled by an underdeveloped narrative framework.
First impressions can be deceiving. Between the abstract cover art and high-concept album title, you'd be forgiven for assuming that Gulf Of Meru's debut 'Tethered Expression Of Mortal Progress' would be a po-faced slab of dark and hard-edged electronics.
While it wasn't exactly a perfect album, LUST's debut full-length from last year, 'Tekesima', was something of a high-water mark for contemporary Malaysian "indie". After an enjoyable, if shaky, debut EP, the band found their footing on 'Tekesima', turning in a confident, catchy, and intelligently crafted set of songs that cemented their place as a band to take seriously.
On their debut full-length album, Selangor's Tripping Haze Ceremony offer up a burning spliff to the stoner metal altar, delivering the sort of weighty, fuzzy crawl one might expect from a band whose initials unashamedly spell out "THC".
Recorded live at Singapore's Playfreely Festival in 2019, 'Authority Is Alive' is something of a pairing made in avant-garde heaven. For any fan of experimental rock, "The Observatory meet Keiji Haino" almost sells itself. Sure, there's always the risk of improv groupings being lesser than the sum of their parts, but that's not the case here.
While there isn't always a direct link between a band's sound and their place of origin, it's often hard to avoid lapsing into cliched notions of how bands "should" sound depending on where they're from. Initially, it's hard to square Rollfast's second album 'Garatuba' with the fact that they hail from Bali.
Listen: Bandcamp | Spotify Format reviewed: Digital The high point of the 30-ish years I've been alive was somewhere during my early teens, when a bearded bloke with a D. Boon avatar on a forum called me a "martyr for musical understanding".
Text Azzief Khaliq NOT KILLING IT The first time you drop the needle on Killeur Calculateur's new LP, Book of Flags, you might be forgiven for doing a double take; most of the running time of the three-and-a-half minute opener 'Red Marquee' consists of noodly clean guitar, run through delay and reverb, with the distortion only kicking in for the final 20 seconds or so of the track.
Invoicing can be a pain, especially if you're a freelancer, as your strength may be in writing, designing or web development, and not in accounting.
News and Press
The 33rd edition of the Golden Melody Awards (GMA) is happening on July 2 in the Kaoshiung Arena, situated in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaoshiung. This marks the first time Kaoshiung has hosted the event in 17 years, having last played host to the awards in 2005.
The 32nd edition of the Golden Melody Awards, Taiwan's premier music awards show, took place last August 21. The 2021 edition of the awards saw Puyuma singer-songwriter Sangpuy (桑布伊) win the coveted Album of the Year award for his third album "Pulu'em".
Taiwanese music is best known for internationally recognised exports such as Elephant Gym and No Party for Cao Dong. But the island nation has a vibrant and deep music scene that extends well beyond the famous names. One of these up and coming names is dream-pop trio Huan Huan 緩緩.
Genre-bending Malaysian pop star Shelhiel has released a music video for his song "Star 星" from his 2020 EP "Superstrobe." The video marks Shelhiel's second collaboration with director Nelson Chong, who previously directed the video for the Shelhiel & NYK song "AAA."
Ask any indie music fan about Taiwanese music, and Kaohsiung-based trio Elephant Gym is probably the first name that will come to mind. The band is well known for its intricate yet tuneful math rock sound that has earned them a global fanbase and garnered numerous awards, including Best Band at the 10th Golden Indie Music Awards 2019.
Taiwanese music festival LUCfest has released three music videos for local bands Huan Huan, Go Go Machine Orchestra, and Flesh Juicer.
How can Taiwanese musicians, especially younger, up-and-coming bands, establish themselves outside the Sinosphere?
Other Writing/Editing Work
Book on the Yogyakarta, Indonesia harsh noise scene written by Sean Stellfox and Indra Menus. I edited the English language content and helped translate from Indonesian to English.
Audio/video
For the final episode (for now?) of Under the Influence, host Azzief Khaliq sits down will all three current members of Singaporean avant-rock icons The Observatory to talk about topics dear to the hearts of all involved: improvised music; the intersections of humanity, technology, and memory; and non-4/4, non-Western (dance) music.
From his hardcore punk project, BAPAK, instrumental releases under yosugi, to his recent critically acclaimed and well-received hip hop release "MOMO'S MYSTERIOUS SKIN" under his moniker BAP., host Azzief Khaliq speaks to Indonesian producer and musician, Kareem Soenharjo, on music that has influenced his multifaceted music journey so far.
Azzief Khaliq speaks to Weish of Singaporean electronic duo, .gif, on the music that has influenced her.
Contributed an hour-long mix of experimental and noise music to Indonesian label 100.000's ongoing mix series.
Guested on BFM 89.9's Very Noise show to play and discuss some of my favourite albums from 2016. In Malay and English.
Popped in to BFM 89.9's Very Noise show to celebrate Malaysia Day 2016 by playing and talking about heavy music from 14 Malaysian states (13 states + Kuala Lumpur). In Malay and English.
Contributed a mix to JUICE Malaysia's "Curates" mix series.
Appearance on BFM 89.9's Wavelength radio show, talking about harsh noise and experimental music.