Bruneian electronic dance music (EDM) duo Kueymo & Sushiboy (KYSB) have teamed up with eight local producers to debut Brunei’s first EDM compilation album Sounds of the Brotherhood.
KYSB have secured distribution through Warner Music Group’s Level Music – a new platform for independent artists – who have released the album on all major digital music platforms including iTunes and Spotify.
“This is a huge milestone for Brunei’s EDM scene,” said Mohd Rifaat Hj Abd Samat @ Sushiboy. “Having an official record is the first step to put our local EDM artists on the map.”
The development Sounds of the Brotherhood – which spans 18 tracks lasting 66 minutes – follows KYSB’s 150th weekly EDM segment on Kristal FM. Since airing four years ago, KYSB says their radio show as built up a database of local EDM of 40 producers with almost 400 songs.
“Most of local EDM (content) isn’t commercialized, they’re developed out of the producers’ own passion,” says Edmund Chin @ Kueymo. “As the scene has grown over the past five years, it’s become clear at Brunei has the depth (
Development of the album took place at Avenue 41 from August to September 2017 with 15 producers. The eight producers who made the final cut – Qwamii, Basshowlers, A12sounds, Wiju,
KSYB said that Level will take a cut of less than 10% for album sales, with the remaining divided equally amongst the local artists. Album sales in the industry have taken a hit
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He added that sales of merchandise such as clothing and live performances are the main avenues for independent artists to earn. The duo behind KYSB – who both hold full-time corporate jobs – shared that they were able to secure approval from government authorities to host their 150th radio segment as a live performance for the public at Avenue 41 last October, although the process took two months.
“If we’re able to host more events openly there’s a real opportunity for EDM (and the music industry) to grow,” said Rifaat.
