write stories, play music
Thank you Emmanuel “Nuk” Chee for sending me this photo. A new library has just opened up in the Tanjung Aru area of Kota Kinabalu. Nuk saw the SabahSongs book on a trolley. Let’s hope they place it where everyone can find it! Yay! Thanks again Nuk ♥️🤗
When I first visited Datuk Peter Pragas, he welcomed me with a gentleness which made me feel quietly delighted and humbled. We shared a plate of biscuits and soft drinks at his daughter Jeanette’s home, off Jalan Bundusan. The living room was heaving with evidence of the Datuk’s musical achievement in Sabah: newspaper articles, publications, … Continue reading Datuk Peter Pragas
After a decade of challenges in the Malaysian music industry, graphic designer Tian Long had given up on making a living through music. Then he made a funny animated video about being a Hakka Chinese guy pleading with his girlfriend not to go to England. His YouTube inbox was flooded with messages from thousands of … Continue reading Tian Long – the Hakka Singer
In August 2008 Dr. Sophie Van Aerde arrived in Sabah from France, to marry her husband-to-be. Two weeks later, I arrived in Sabah from England, to marry my husband-to-be. Serendipity brought us together, and we not only began to play music – because Sophie’s a violinist and I’m a pianist – we became the best … Continue reading Sophie Van Aerde
A group of waist-high kids being adopted by a music mentor, to be tutored at his home? Seems unthinkable doesn’t it? Moses De Silva, a double bass player in Kota Kinabalu, was my translator in this interview. Warning: a bit of politically incorrect joshing between school friends here. In early 2010, Moses De Silva said … Continue reading The Story of Kidz
The photographs in the book were better, supplied by the Sabah Tourism Board. But Kudat manages to shine, even with what I have here. [Excerpt from: Funk, Joanna. SabahSongs: Contemporary Music in Sabah. Kota Kinabalu: Opus Publications, 2013. 44-50. Print.] Kudat. This is the place where my great-grandparents first arrived in Sabah. It was the … Continue reading Sunset Symphony – music in a Kudat paradise
Thanks to photographer Henry Liew for his contributions to my book. These are a few from the Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival 2010. Here is a bit about that night. Malaysia’s stars fill the sky over Sutera Harbour – 4th KKJF Day One Everyone with Sabahan blood running through their veins will have stood the tallest, … Continue reading KKJF 2010
