The Off-Colored Officer - Discomafia



I'm feeling a bit nostalgic today as I was browsing through my CD collection when I stumble upon this particular album by one of Malaysia's leading (at one time) electronic music powerhouse, fronted by the 'crazy' duo of Murali and Ghani (of the Syko-G fame). They were called Discomafia and at the turn of the century, they were really huge; albeit in the fringe, but it doesn't matter because they were really good.

It all started way back in the year 2000 when suddenly electronic music started to find a host of talented young men (and woman - just one, from my last count) getting their hands dirty dipping into the burgeoning scene, hoping to make a big breakthrough and strike gold. First there was Deanna Yussof (yes, that only female) who made a surprising switch from the TV screen to FM airwaves with what could possibly be the first (and perhaps the only) English dance music that made it into the mainstream media. Since then, Malaysian listeners, especially those with their ears on the underground scene, were treated with host of other Electronica acts like Discomafia, Spacebar, Herb Vendors, and Rabbit - the once mysterious artist that got the whole nation into a guessing game of trying to figure out who the Hell Rabbit was. But of course right until that moment when he won an award at the AIM for... something that I can't quite remember, when he made his first public appearance and revealed himself to be a somewhat fat Chinese bloke. (No disrespect there, just stating the fact)

The history of Discomafia, if to look at its entirety, is of course all boils down to one man whose stage name is (or is it was?) Syko-G, a.k.a. Ghani. He was once referred to as the "Godfather of Electronica" for his contribution as both artist and producer. He first came into the limelight in 1994 when he won runner-up in the DJ Open Competition held in Kuala Lumpur. Since then, he worked his way through by producing various albums and songs by wide ranging number of artists, with one particular song that got him listed for an award.

After his successful foray in the mainstream music, Ghani retreated into the dark and unforgiving world of underground music by producing his own composition, mixing samples from many popular Malaysian bands, into his own brand of industrial electronica. This was also when he formed the Metaldogg Records - the home base where Discomafia's first and only album was produced, entitled Attaque the Megaphone. It is suffice for me to say that as how it stands at this moment, this album now is a legend. It is a huge milestone where the development of Electronic music in Malaysia is concerned.

It all came to be with the ill-fated Melawati Jungle Rave party in the year 2000 where Discomafia performed at some club partially hidden among the wilderness (which is absolutely understandable because the Melawati area itself was purposely built to be 'in' the jungle). It was perhaps an entirely innocent party where a few guests had some drinks and live music was played but somehow one certain tabloid got a whiff of it and blew the Goddamn trumpet off towards the local authority, claiming it was some sort of 'wild party' that is taking place in the jungle. Here in the reserved, humble country called Malaysia, such 'wild' antic is a cardinal sin an therefore cannot be tolerated. No sir, no way.

Alas, despite the solitary bad note there created unnecessarily by those idiots at Harian Metro (they are a very famous tabloid here in Malaysia - famous for melting your brain every time you go anywhere near it), there were also a number of respectable achievements that Murali and Ghani received that is worth mentioning here. This album managed to be on the top spot in the charts for some time, and the leading track off this album, "Searching For..." made it to number 2 on the Malaysian English Top Ten chart in 2001. The now legendary publication Tone Magazine listed them at number 3 in their Urban Malaysia's Top 30 list. The praises just keeps on coming in until when the committees of the POPKOMM Music Festival got hold of the band, they instantly fell in love and listed them to perform at the festival, held in Cologne, Germany in 2001. From there onwards, they performed at festivals in Berlin and Amsterdam - of course, the homeland of Dance music. Sadly though, 2001 was also the last of which anyone would have hear on anything regarding Discomafia because Ghani then parted ways with Murali and soldiered on, alone as Syko-G.

Yes, just like Komplot, they too existed for only two years. Sad.



P/S: This was the only video of Discomafia that I can find after nearly one hour searching through Youtube. I would probably skip through to 4:30 where they broke out into the song that was track number 2 on the album (I forgot the title) in which they were really famous for among Malaysian listener. Their album is now a real rare item because even a good second hand CD shop don't carry their album. The only place that I somehow managed to find it was here. Thank God I already bought that album before it went almost extinct.