Kuala Lumpur and its Petronas Twin Towers
And one is a Malaysian R&B and pop singer-songwriter, who began writing her own songs at the age of 14 and, although she wanted to be a lawyer before winning a place on a local talent show and achieving fame, thanks to her large number of followers in my space she nowadays she owns her own record label, Yuna Room Records. From here she supports local independent artists and among her most notorious collaborations are those she has done with artists like Pharrell Williams and Usher.
This interview is part of "The World Made Local", a global project of Condé Nast Traveler in the seven international editions, which gives voice to 100 people in 100 countries to find out why her own territory should be your next destination.
What inspires you?
The conversations with strangers, the smell of flowers, the old buildings, looking at art... and my cats!
How is the Malaysian music scene at the moment?
It is new and it is growing. The new generation of musicians in Malaysia is exciting: talented, capable of making music at home and above all, doing it very well. Furthermore, some of these young Malaysians also they are very experimental and, when it comes to merging old and new elements, they feel proud of their heritage. The result is that its sound is very current.
What makes Kuala Lumpur so interesting?
It is a very busy city, with many corners and a story in each one. You will see a durian (street food) stall, a temple or a vendor selling clothes and shoes at every turn. Things like that.
Music venues off the radar and to hang out?
It really depends on what you're looking for. I started out playing open mic concerts, at a place called No Black Tie , but there is a very popular hip hop place called safehouse, and then there's another place where indie bands like to play, called Ates of Bijan ... Surely there are more! But, in addition to having a good time there are several boutique hotels that are interesting. some are close to Changkat Bukit Bintang, close to the heart of the city, within walking distance of the old town areas, where all the restaurants and cafes are. Each hotel is unique, as KLoe, a very nice place. I recently went to a friend's birthday dinner in concubine, It has good food and good atmosphere. It is located in a hidden corner of a dark street that I can't wait to return to.
What are your favorite places to eat?
Although I appreciate restaurants, I grew up eating street food. So it's hard to pin down a place when it comes to local food, but maybe it could be the seafood restaurants in Jalan Alor, which is a street with a lot of atmosphere that has it all. One food I love is rice with banana leaves from Kanna Curry House , which is white rice served in a banana leaf with curried fried chicken, lamb, or fish. I like to sit outside in the 100 degree heat under the trees and enjoy my spicy curry while sipping iced tea... There's nothing like it. In fact, it's the first thing I usually do when I come back from abroad. As soon as you step foot in the airport, you can clock me in and meet me at Kanna Curry House an hour later!
And one