SOFAZ

From budak flat to big in Indonesia, Malaysian band SOFAZ (later known as Sofazr) stood toe-to-toe with Indopop bands at the height of the Indo wave. It was something of a clash at a time when Bahasa-sung alt-rock was more associated with the Indo bands that dominated radio. Frontman Ameer opting to sing an octave lower after their debut album brought comparisons to prominent Indo rock vocalists, too. But hindsight has shown that the band’s free pop output is some of the genre’s best—as melodic as it is catchy, the music of SOFAZ is undoubtedly Malay rock.