Kyoto Protocol (band)

Kyoto Protocol
Kyoto Protocol performing at Multimedia University (Cyberjaya) in 2014
Background information
Origin	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Genres	Rock and roll • Alternative rock • Pop punk • Indie rock
Years active	2009–present
Labels	unsigned
Website	www.kyotoband.com www.facebook.com/kyotoprotocol www.twitter.com/KyotoBand
Members	Fuad Alhabshi Gael Oliveres Hairi Haneefa Shakeil Bashir (Shaq) Shanjeev Reddy (Shan)

Kyoto Protocol is a 5-piece rock band from Kuala Lumpur formed in 2009. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Fuad, back-up vocalist/keyboard player Gael, guitarist Hairi, bassist Shakeil, and drummer Shan. Kyoto Protocol are best known as the runner-up in TV9 (Malaysia)'s award winning reality television show, Versus, in 2013. In 2011, Kyoto Protocol received a nomination for 'Best New Artist' from Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM) following the success of their EP which was cheekily entitled "An Album" in the same year. Its lead single "Pussycat" peaked at No.1 on Hitz.FM's Malaysian English Top 10, the FlyFM Campur Charts and TraxxFM's Upstage Charts.

Band history

2009-2011: Formation and early days

Kyoto Protocol was formed in 2009 by Fuad, Gael, Hairi, Shaq and Shan. The band won 1st place in the Yamaha Asian Beat 2009 Central Regional Finals. In the subsequent National Finals, however, they narrowly missed out on the top spot and the chance to represent Malaysia in the Asian Beat Grand Finals in Japan, settling for runner-up instead.^[1] In 2011, they were hand-picked to be the opening act for in MGMT's maiden concert in Kuala Lumpur,^[2] their first exposure to the big stage. Since then, they adapted quickly and in the process racked up impressive accolades including coveted slots at Future Music Festival Asia, Rockaway and Urbanscapes.

2011-2012: An Album

In June 2011, Kyoto Protocol released “An Album”, a 5-track EP, under Monsoon Records who spotted them making the rounds in the local gigging circuit. Their first single from the album “Pussycat” garnered heavy rotation on the airwaves, even reaching number 1 on the Hitz.FM’s Malaysian English Top 10, FlyFM’s Campur Chart and TraxxFM’s Upstage Charts. Subsequently, the band received a nomination for “Best New Artist” from Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM) in the same year, building on the success of “An Album”.^[3]

They were also one of the opening acts for We The Kings and We Are The In Crowd, alongside Bunkface and Oh Chentaku on 30 May 2012 at the Bukit Jalil Stadium.

2013-2014

In March 2013, the band kickstarted proceedings at the Flamingo Stage of Future Music Festival Asia, held in Sepang, Malaysia. They shared the stage with big international acts that included Grammy nominees Fun., British indie rock band Bloc Party, and Australian goliaths The Temper Trap, amongst others.^[4] Future Music Festival Asia is currently the only instalment of the Future Music Festival franchise outside of Australia. The band performed a couple new tracks, in a preview to a potential upcoming album rumoured to be released in late 2013. On April 2013, they joined a reality show competition between bands in Malaysia that called "Versus" for the second season show. They end up being in a second place after they had a battle with Manifesto. August 2013 will be their lucky month as they are sharing the same stage with big international acts like Smashing Pumpkins and Modest Mouse for Good Vibes Festival that held in Sepang. Also, they officially released brand new EP entitled "Pahlawan" features few songs from "Versus" show and also a brand new track with Liyana Fizi, "Jelita". Meanwhile, in September 2013, they are the opening act for The Killers held in Helipad, Sepang. Now they are focusing on their upcoming album that is expected to be released in 2014.

On May 2014, the band released their brand new song, "Dispensable" exclusively on Deezer and later released on iTunes. The song is from their upcoming album entitled "Catch These Men", set to be release this Late 2014. On September 2014, the band has confirmed that the album is done. So far, the confirmed tracks on the album is "Dispensable", "Still Alive", "An Honest Day" and the new one, "Monster's Ball" which the band debut the song live at their recent show in Shah Alam, Selangor for Proton's "Alami Proton" event. In October 2014, the album officially completed mastering by Faiz Fadzil of The Wknd.

2015: Catch These Men

In January 2015, the band officially announced their upcoming tour in February 2015 for their new album, "Catch These Men". The band is scheduled to tour in Johor Bahru, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Ipoh. The tour is free with a give away of 100 copies of their new album at each venue.

References