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representative of Malaysia, this indie singer-songwriter tries his luck at invading Indonesia.

The Indonesian indie scene must be proud. Not only do we have one of the biggest, most interesting scenes in the region, we also have an independent musical scene sexy enough to be explored by outsiders. Strangers come and go and try their luck to spread the word around.

One, Mohd Jayzuan, is a living witness to this phenomenon. Jayzuan is a member of the band Free Love, and his connections with Indonesian colleagues have kept him in touch with Indonesia as well.

He arranged a few gigs for Indonesian acts in Kuala Lumpur and his hometown, Ipoh. It’s a mutual arrangement: Indonesian bands get gigs in Malaysia and in return they help a few comrades from the neighborhood come play back home in Indonesia.

“My first encounter with the Indonesian music scene was through Eric of [the website] Deathrockstar. My buddies and I in Ipoh, we used to check www.deathrockstar.info a lot. I contacted Eric in 2004 or 2005, if I am not mistaken, and asked him to arrange our very first tour in Indonesia.

“Eric put us in contact with Nasta [owner the then legendary club, PARC], Henry Foundation from Goodnight Electric, Marin from Bandung, Ojie and the rest in Yogyakarta and also the kids in Semarang. From then onwards, my relationship with the Indonesian scenesters grew and we bonded very well,” he said.

He’s been around ever since.

“The people in Indonesia’s indie scene are very passionate. They listen to the music, they dance with it. Wild rock n’ roll enthusiasts are all over Indonesia,” he said.

And that’s what brought him back to Indonesia to tour with his new arsenal, a solo album.

“Actually, the solo thing was unplanned. It happened after I broke up with my ex-girlfriend. I was really devastated after that and started writing new songs. One day, a friend of mine, Joe Kidd, asked if I wanted to play in his show — a solo set — and I agreed.

“After that show, people invited me to play at their shows and people kept on inviting me to play solo sets until I managed to release my debut solo album,” He said. His talent is great; he can play so many instruments he is truly considered multi-dimensional.

He played two gigs in Jakarta and Bandung earlier this year, and speaking of it afterwards, it’s surely not going to end there, as more gigs are to come in the future.

“I hope we can connect as much as possible and open more opportunities for us to keep on coming to Indonesia to play, to spread our music,” he said.

Jayzuan is surely around to stay. Check him out at twitter.com/mohdjayzuan or myspace.com/mjhome.

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