A L I T T L E H I S T O R Y …

Kuala Lumpur 97. Hip hop was in its golden age. The underground scene thrived. Hip hop had become a movement. The culture had come to stay. The foundation of creativity, knowledge and expertise had been laid. The beginning was now reaching its end. The scene had exploded; talents the likes of which this country had never seen before began to take shape.

3 rival emcees from rival groups popular in the underground scene. Each honing his art; mastering it through gig after gig; show after show; performance after performance; steadily establishing reputations as talented emcees and as influential figures of the hip hop movement. Side by side they did this. But not eye to eye. No. Not yet.

Experience brought with it wisdom, and, as with most things extraordinaire, conflicting ideas became complimentary spirits. There was a special energy when they were together, and they began bouncing off each other’s creativity. Rivalry ultimately blended away into friendship. Knowing they were on the verge of something special and sensing a synergy, they formed the kinetic group: PHLOWTRON.

T H E S T O R Y S O F A R …

November 2000. PHLOWTRON exploded onto the hip hop music scene. With their brand of energetic, explosive and in-your-face hip hop, they quickly blazed a trail within the local hip hop culture. Masterful showmen, they were known for their bright orange jumpsuits, Halloween masks and light saber wielding performances. Their incredible manic energy on stage earned them reputations as among the best live performers the local music scene had to offer. PHLOWTRON quickly built a loyal following and established themselves as giants of the underground scene.

After much initial success it was time to take it to a new level. The culture that was here to stay was evolving into a full blown industry. Hip hop was becoming regional. Hip hop cultures from all around South East Asia began merging, gradually forming a single entity instead of the separates that existed before. The parts had formed a whole. The landscape was changing.

With this backdrop, PHLOWTRON began its’ quest to record their debut album. Their talent was becoming more and more apparent. It was time for next step. Little did they know, however, this quest they had embarked on, would nearly be their demise. Offers were made to PHLOWTRON to record their debut album. All came to naught. This situation prevailed for some time, with none of the promises ever turning to substance. PHLOWTRON was distraught and discouraged; on the verge of quitting the music scene.

Their moment of destiny, however, was at hand. After an interview with KLue magazine in which PHLOWTRON voiced their melancholy over their present situation, they received a call from Gruvjehat, CEO and resident producer of Dedjam Productions, offering to produce their album. Gruvjehat was a keen admirer of PHLOWTRON’s work; having heard their music and seen them perform before, though, prior to the printing of the interview in KLue, he did not know of the groups’ despair. Himself a talented and established acid jazz musician, a fusion of acid jazz and hip hop was now on the cards. PHLOWTRON gratefully accepted the offer. After 8 months of intense creative collaboration, in which the group even went into a kind of hiatus and hibernation, PHLOWTRON, under Dedjam Production and Phuture Phlow Records, co-produced and released their debut album ‘HIP POP’ on the 28th of November 2003. The quest had come to its end.

L A T E S T U P D A T E S

Phlowtron’s AtomdaBomb has recently decided to pursue his film studies at the New York Film Academy as it has always been his dream to become a filmmaker. We here at Phuture Phlow would like to say that Atom has our best wishes and is still very much part of the Phuture Phlow family and always will be. The knowledge he gains as a filmmaker will no doubt be invaluable to Phlowtron in the future. Therefore, though we are sad to see him go, we understand it may be for the greater good of all.

His shoes will be filled by the hugely talented lady vocalist, Alia. Though a relative new comer on the scene compared to Phlowtron’s grizzled veterans, Alia can hold her own against the big boys, as she is a technically gifted melody inventer and also a witty and intelligent lyricist. Alia’s feminine perspective and persona will no doubt add a new dimension to Phlowtron’s creativity and charisma.

Also, Phlowtron is now working on their sophomore studio effort which is scheduled to be released early 2007. Their second album is, quite simply, about to rock the party with the outfit’s debut attempt on a full length Malay hip hop album. Hence the introduction of Khazana, Andika and Alia, the band’s latest alter-egos. Furthermore, the album is flossed with a dash of Phlowtron’s normal experimental and eclectic English tracks. Steady Phlow rock. Rock on!