George Town (The Star/ANN) - Malaysian music is set to take another step towards international recognition.
For the first time, there will be a showcase of Malaysian artistes at Midem, the largest music industry trade fair in the world.
The event, called "Malaysian Supernova", will be held at the Salon des Ambassadeurs in Cannes, France, on January 27.
Among the artistes who will perform include indie rockers Hujan and Bunkface, deejay duo Goldfish & Blink, pop songstresses Amanda Imani and Jaclyn Victor, R&B starlet Nadhira, electropop diva Ze! and reggae ambassador Sasi The Don.
Traditionally held during the Cannes Film Festival, Midem stands for "March International du Disque et de l'Edition Musicale", and is attended by thousands of musicians, producers and talent scouts, making it the perfect place to showcase Malaysian music.
The initiative is funded by the Information, Communications and Culture Ministry in collaboration with the Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (RIM).
"We hope that this will be a great start to a long term and strategic collaboration between the Government and the music industry," said RIM chairman Norman Halim.
"Quite a number of our artistes have made their own initiatives to promote their talents abroad (such as Zee Avi, Yuna, Shila Amzah, Aniu, Michael & Victor, and Fish Leong).
However, to make a real long term impact and generate larger economic returns, the collaboration between the Government and the music industry is very much needed," he said.
"Our objective is primarily to grow both domestic and international markets concurrently."
The artistes were chosen based on their music genre, being export ready, proficiency in English, credentials and awards, and representation of Malaysia's various ethic backgrounds.
