ISSUE #4
RM 7 PPD.
AVAILABILITY: FEWLINGUA FRANCA: ENGLISH
COLUMNS, REVIEWS: YES, YES
INTERVIEWS: DAIGHILA & THIS IS ATLANTIS
The net version is available here: http://shockawemedia.wordpress.com
Here are some reviews.
"Shock& Awe is a Malaysian zine that is released quarterly. The layout and cover art were decently done--they claim to be "professionally printed" and it shows. Shock & Awe was pretty light on the music-specific content--sure it has a music review section, but it has only two interviews. It's mostly regular columns almost all of which covered more political topics like a Mayday report back and a discussion of gender roles. So much about this zine was both baffling and fascinating me. For example: both of the interviews include questions about "how long" the bands will stay DIY to which the bands respond they aren't sure but they are DIY at least for now. That's a very different attitude that the "if you used to be, you never were" one that American punks have! Another thing, is the aggressive viewpoint on voting and party politics. One of the regular contributors deleted everyone from his Facebook who said anything Anti-Bersih (which is a coalition of NGO's pushing for election reform), and apparently there was even a case of a band being banned from a venue for being Anti-Bersih. Also, they have an open-forum section called "Snitch" which clearly has a different connotation in Malaysia than in America. I'd say read this if you are interested in Malaysian cultural context, not if you want to learn more about bands specifically. I should warn you the English can be kind of choppy in places."
(Maximum RocknRoll)
"Shock & Awe! is an A4 -sized newsprint zine from Malaysia produced by the Knot Records collective and dedicated to the regional DIY/punk scene. Issue #04 continues its commitment to this vibrant community with incisive coverage of events and issues current to SE Asia.The bulk of the zine is made up of insightful columns focusing on issues ranging from a history of DIY spaces in Singapore to local anarchist protests to issues around touring bands and “punk tourism.” There are interviews from two great local bands, Daighila (Malaysia) and This is Atlantis (Singapore), as well as sections dedicated to reviews from music, print and film. With a professional and attractive layout, Shock & Awe! is similar to contemporary punk staples like Razorcake or Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll. However the details are what make this zine great: local top-five lists of sales and downloads, punk news briefs, and the snitch section dedicated to reader contributions all make this zine stand out. Shock & Awe! is a must for anyone interested in understanding the SE Asia DIY scene."
(Genjing Records)
