Janarthanan Nair, 26 • Label Owner

Hardcore music hardly gets any love here in Malaysia. But Janarthanan Nair isn’t taking that reality lying down. On paper Jana’s background seems to be in electrical engineering, but has always been musically inclined. He has played in bands like Beyondsight, Against My Will and has even sessioned for Love Me Butch, Nervewreck and The Dearly Missed.

Keen on being his own boss, the 26-year old started a record label, Intrude Records in 2007 hoping to make a difference in the fledgling local indie music community. Jana tells us “we wanted to offer kids the chance to be heard and also inspire and cultivate a generation of talented musicians.” Just months after starting Intrude Records, Jana organized the first ever annual Malaysian Hardcore Festival (MYHC Fest). It’s a day dedicated to promote different indie music genres; not just hardcore but also punk, emo and rock. The recent installment of MYHC was supposed to see legendary New York hardcore band, Sick Of It All headline the festival. “It was surreal having one of my all-time favorite bands on my festival’s playbill but something happened with the permits so they had to cancel,” he says of the experience.

Collaborating with other record labels, Jana has also helped bring other international bands like Comeback Kid and Bleeding Through to Malaysian audiences. “In the past, most foreign bands didn’t even know where KL was; now they actually want to come here and perform,” he says. Aside from meeting his favorite bands, Jana is glad these shows help local bands gain exposure to bigger crowds. Jana is sure that local bands will step up their game to meet that standard of quality he has set for them.

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