Pandai Besi live at Cassette Store Day 2014 (courtesy of irockumentary.com)

The past few years have been great for Southeast Asia local music, and 2015 is no exception. Although mainstream music unsurprisingly stuck to regurgitating melodrama and sugar-spice, the underground churned out music whose creativity is on par with the best. The Internet’s cultural prevalence certainly played a large part in this, providing an open door to literally any sound music fans want.

Hence, we have now kind of idiosyncratic music made by adventurous troubadours such as Indonesia’s band, Pandai Besi (a side project of Efek Rumah Kaca) or Philippine’s band, Typecast; the kind of music that reaches far beyond the popular. Instead, the young people are launching band inspired by grunge, folk, or even ambient rap -- among many other off-kilter early influence. Here are some of the best-music-so-far from several countries below that you’ve probably never heard of.

1.Indonesia

The indie music scene in Indonesia emerged in the mid-1990s inspired by alternative music coming out of US and UK. At first it was just a experimental project of youngster minimalist garage band, until now, there are a lot of genre including Indie pop, folk, funk and many more.

Top 7 on playlist:

The Trees and The Wild - Honeymoon on Ice
Answer Sheet - Riverside
Afternoon Talk - There’s One Thing You Should Know
Good Morning Breakfast - Long Tall Viona
Pygmy Marmoset - Cerita Tentang Pohon
Rusa Militan - Senandung Senja
Frau feat. Ugoran Pasad - Sepasang Kekasih Yang Pertama Bercinta Diluar Angkasa   

2.Thailand

Thailand music reflects its geographic position at the intersection of China and India, so Thai musical instruments are varied and reflect ancient influence. Nowadays, Thailand has a huge and thriving music scene. They have their own distinct music styles and a rich musical heritage. There is a strong western influence to some of their music but there are also distinct branches of musical styles that are purely Thai, especially in their indie music scene.

Top 7:
Part Time Musician - My Only One
Gym and Swim - Octopussy
KOBE - The Ballad of a Man and His Sorrow
Clash - Smooth
Bart & Friends - Secrets
The Bottom Blues - 1 2 3 4 5
Basement Tape - Old Picture

3.Vietnam
Throughout its history, Vietnam music has been most heavily influenced by the Chinese musical tradition. After years, the embrace of Vietnam music culture has increased, as each new generation of people in Vietnam has become more exposed to and influenced by westernized music along with the fashion styles of China, Japan, and South Korea. Vietnamese music has been able to widen its reach to audiences nationally and also overseas. There are many famous underground artists who have risen to fame through the Internet, even indie artist.

Top 7 on playlist:
Thái Trinh - Là Con Gái Thật Tuyệt
Bâng Khuâng - Tìm
Hòa Minzy - Cơn Mưa Ngang Qua
Trúc Nhân ft Thảo Nhi - Bốn Chữ Lắm
Trang Pink - Phút Yêu Đầu
Androkomaro - Super Duper Love
JUSTATEE - Forever Alone

4.Philippine      
Philippine indie music is developed through the mixture of different culture such as Asian, European, Latin American, and indigenous influences. From its origin, the music scene has been centered in Manila, so, Tagalog and English are the dominant languages. Even, there are also underground bands emerged and along with them were their perceptions of idealism and self-expression, keep on using their native languages. This somehow makes Philippine music become rich and diverse.

Top 7on playlist:

Outerhope - Twenty Years from Now
Arigato Hato - City Sleeping, You Are Cute
Exit in The Skies - Night and Day
Typecast - Will You Ever Learn
The Color Green - Walk Me Home
Rivermaya - You’ll Be Safe Here
Palmy feat. Erlend Oye - Crush

as featured on Blast Mag May 2015 issue.