Maliq & D'Essentials, "1 st"

I know that this band has debuted a long, long time ago in the first quarter of 2005. What can you expect, I'm living out of Indonesia =D But never have I found any Indonesian singer nor Indonesian band with this kind of genre. Maliq & D'Essentials is definitely a band with repertoires enriched by soul and funk or probably a bit acid jazz/jazzy styles. One interesting point is that Maliq stands for Music And Live Instrument Quality. Last night when I visited my cousin who just came from Indonesia three weeks ago, he introduced me to the songs of this band, knowing that my voice character strongly resembles to the vocals on those songs (did I mention that I can sing and that most of the songs I sing are those soul, funk or jazzy tunes?). Well, needless to say, I instantly fall in love with unexceptionally all of the songs. If I could rate their first album, 1 st, I would rate them full stars out of five stars. If you listen to this album, you will surely understand my kind of music. BRAVO Maliq & D'Essentials. You stole my heart in a flash =) Well, enough with my own review, let's look at the one from a more trustworthy source, Australian Planet Urban.com. The next review will all be straight copies from the site =)

Maliq & D'Essentials' is a collective out of Jakarta, Indonesia, and after performing live gigs in order to hone their skills, they have finally released their debut LP, 1 st . Somewhere between Maxwell and Chico DeBarge, lead singer, Maliq mixes up English and Indonesian vocals over a collection of soulful, funky and acoustic based tunes. I'm sure this LP will satisfy many people, and open them up to Asian soul.

The smooth as silk opener Sunshine gives the listener a good idea of what to expect from the rest of the LP. Maliq shows off his vocal chops here before jumping into my favourite track, the acoustic guitar driven Terdiam (The Most Silent). R U In The Mood is a mid-tempo groove featuring some Erykah Badu like female vocals. The very upbeat track Blow My Mind then livens up the LP with some funky drums and chord licks. After a short intermission, we hear Lil Thing , a mixture of English and Indo lyrics over a laid back beat, laced with soft keyboards and percussion. Terlena is a relaxing stripped back track, with a mellow beat over sax and organs. The track also features some delicate female vocals. Hadirmu is in the same league, but with more guitars and less sax.

The written material I could decipher wasn't anything to be inspired by, however, I'll forgive them considering all the melodies and vocal harmonizing are all on point, and in the end, it will appeal to a wider range of people. 1 st is an album full of tempo changes, vocal interplay and exotic multicultural cross over. There's even a foot tapping dancehall number (Tandanya) and a bonus track which features strong acoustic guitar, and more beautiful vocals courtesy of Maliq. 1 st is a must for any avid soul listener, and wannabe soul aficionado, and may just put South East Asian soul on the map.

Available through Warner/Souldout Records

Source:
- Planet Urban - Review - Maliq & D'Essentials