Eastern Margins is where it's at

The term “Asian” often gets thrown around as a catch-all – and Eastern Margins are here to disrupt that homogenised narrative. A music collective, record label, and a tight-knit cross-continental family, Eastern Margins connect international voices of East and South-East Asian alternative scenes that break all conventions. Dropping their second community album Redline Impact and throwing a full-fledged Margins United festival in London, the collective has been keeping busy. 

‘Most people’s view on Asian music is somewhat limited, so I wanted to showcase how vast the sonic landscape of “Asian music” could be,’ shares Jex Wang, the label manager and the lead A&R behind the compilation. Building on the sounds of everything from Indonesia’s Funkot to Filipino Budots mixed with Kuala Lumpur traffic jams and Saigon’s bustling 5 am banh-mi stands, “Redline” philosophy puts forward the multitudes of ESEA identities. In their latest release, Redline Impact takes that further – demolishing genre boundaries and imposed expectations. ‘We want to provide artists who represent ‘Alternative Asian culture’ a platform where they can express themselves in a way that is authentic and aligned to how they envision themselves as an artist,’ Wang continues.

Despite the stress and the chaos of ‘juggling all the artists, their teams and collaborators to deliver assets to a set deadline’, Wang professes that all the obstacles ‘are nothing if it means more projects like this can exist.’ To celebrate this seismic moment for the Asian alternative – a flourishing scene that had been flying under the radar for way too long, we caught up with the London-based LVRA and MEYY, Kuala Lumpur’s Shelhiel, No_4mat from NYC, Sydney’s Bayang, and Shanghai-to-London G3GE. All contributing to Eastern Margins’ vibrant tapestry of future-forward sound, they represent a new generation of music-makers to keep your eyes on. 

GC: If you had to describe your work in 3 words, what would it be?

Bayang: Radiant, Sydney, Skinhead.

No4mat: Ethereal, raw, transcendence.

Shelhiel: Edgy, euphoric, love.

G3GE: Cross-media, multiple, free.

GC: In your opinion, what aspects of your artistry set you apart?

MEYY: I feel it’s hard to say that about yourself. Everyone out there is different and so we’re all the same really

Shelhiel: I actually enjoy great pop songs and I wanna push the boundaries of them to be still “categorised” in an EDM or underground sphere. My references and favs are almost all female & girl groups, be it J-pop or pop. And it doesn’t feel weird to me that I wanna be an amazing SEApopstar.

LVRA: Every artist draws from their own set of unique experiences, that’s why art is endless and whether or not other people can connect with what you have created is a fun and challenging aspect of the job. 

GC: How is the aspect of storytelling reflected in your music?

LVRA: I think the stories in my music follow the traditional cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth; it often centres around feelings I have and how they consume me during certain periods of my life, before flowing into new ideas. 

No_4mat: It starts with a feeling. I let the mood guide the sounds and structure, layering elements to reflect a narrative arc. Every track has its own world, and I want listeners to journey through it.

Bayang: I try to remember that it’s the body of work itself that will tell the story, and that the whole will be greater than the sum of its parts. I try not to hang too much off of one song, and just let them be what they are – knowing they’re all smaller parts of a greater mosaic.

GC: Where do you look for inspiration?

G3GE: For music, most of the time I get inspiration from 2000s Chinese pop music. I was born in the millennium, and that’s when pop music like that was playing in the streets. You can hear the shadow of that era in my music, especially some of the melodies. Regarding the visuals, the inspiration comes from daily life. I often start with an idea and then do a lot of research. I think some articles, video materials, etc. can give me inspiration indirectly. 

LVRA: There is an overwhelming amount of information out there in everything and I think my challenge has been to keep myself focused enough on one thing to remain consistent within a project. I can pretty much draw inspiration from all things; art, people, nature, experiences…

No_4mat: I’m drawn to nature, urban landscapes, and the contrast between them. I also look at film, fashion, and moments of quiet, everyday life. Human connection plays a huge role too.

GC: How does your work interact in the communities you exist within?

Bayang: I like to think (maybe too optimistically) that I’m part of a greater underground movement of outsiders that have been slowly gravitating towards each other over the years. Maybe there isn’t a specific sound, city or genre keeping us all together – but there’s a certain attitude, and a hunger for more than we’re promised that pushes us to lean on each other. I’m proud to be a big part of that. 

No_4mat: My music is about bringing people together, creating shared experiences on the dance floor or in intimate settings. I strive to make spaces where people feel seen and heard, especially within underrepresented groups.

MEYY: It’s really something I rarely think about which is probably the beauty of it. Creativity in general needs space and freedom, unrelated to people, communities and opinions. Once you start thinking about how people should receive it, your creativity suffers. It is great to see it resonates within my community and once it’s out I love to connect with them! 

GC: If you could change anything about the music industry, what would it be?

LVRA: More government funding for musicians. Too many are pushed out of the music industry for financial reasons – too many recognizable and bigger artists also still continue to struggle to fund tours and records. 

MEYY: I started replying to this question and literally wrote two full A4 pages lol. In short: I wish we would all stop trying to go viral and focus on development and research within an artist project. Creating a platform and expressing a story that people can truly connect with because, at the moment, I think people being able to sit with their feelings is of the biggest importance. This can only happen if one would have the funds to sustain this “development time”, and currently the music industry isn’t providing those funds to anyone who isn’t an A level artist. It’s definitely a vicious cycle we’re stuck in – a lot of little things need to change. The industry also just got burnt out because of hyper capitalism and the supply demand chain in music being off balance. But ecosystems have the tendency to heal themselves if we let them. 

GC: In your opinion, what is the most underrated music scene at the moment?

Bayang: For me, it’s got to be all the various forms of regional club music across the third world – from Durban gqom, to vinahouse, Filipino budots, and the deep recesses of Brazilian baile funk. There’s just so many various expressions of reverie, in all such distinct flavours. It gees me up crazy!

LVRA: Glasgow. So many talented musicians and the government continues to cut funding in Scotland as well, which is a huge disappointment. 

No_4mat: The underground scenes in Southeast Asia are incredibly dynamic right now, pushing the boundaries of electronic music with so much passion but still flying under the radar.

GC: What are some of the most common misconceptions about the art scene where you’re based?

MEYY: The aspect of “competition”. I don’t really feel a competitive energy in the scene – more a sense of togetherness. Like we’re all lowkey struggling together lol.

No_4mat: That it’s only focused on trends. There’s a rich depth to the culture in NYC, with so many artists creating from a deeply personal place, but that gets overshadowed by what’s commercialised.

Shelhiel: There’s no one “true/United” Malaysian sound that represents us, we are the ultimate remix sound of Asia.

G3GE: A lot of people will judge others on their appearance and style and automatically put them into a certain category. For example, if you’re a sweet and cute looking girl, others will expect you to make two-dimensional music. But if you go for something else, the mainstream audience might think you’re engaging in abstraction.

GC: Who stands out to you in a crowd when you play?

LVRA: Anyone who can match my energy… or give me even more. (slay)

No_4mat: It’s always the ones who lose themselves in the music, who move like no one’s watching. You can feel their energy amplify the whole space.

MEYY: Hot people.

GC: What is something you wish you knew when you’d just started your career in music?

Bayang: How useless comparison is, and how crucial genuine friendship is.

No_4mat: That it’s okay to say no. In the beginning, I thought I had to take every opportunity, but protecting your energy is just as important as building your brand.

MEYY: Protect the music, protect where it comes from.

GC: What is your most controversial opinion / hot take about the club/music scene at the moment?

Bayang: IN A PERFECT WORLD, EVERYONE WOULD BE AN ARTIST AND NO ONE WOULD BE A CELEBRITY.

MEYY: People should really consider how and why they make music. Because of social media and DAW’s becoming so easily available, many people seem to consider music as one of the most accessible vehicles to fame/power/money. Don’t get me wrong, there can never be enough art and there is nothing wrong with wanting to be successful. But this undeniable shift that demands your musical project to be extremely lucrative polluted the musical landscape. There is arguably “too much” of this type of music that’s piling up and making things fall apart. Music should always be made with an intention that stretches further than trying to make a bag or as a product of “rise and grind”. If you had all the money and power in the world, would you still be doing this? Or are you just using music to get to something else?

Shelhiel: Techno is really boring.

GC: Favourite memory / highlight from the process of creating Redline Impact?

Bayang: Standing in the studio with Nerdie, Juan, Johnny and Antonia and just laughing until our ribs hurt because we were having that much fun with the process of making music. 

No_4mat: I was briefly living with my parents for the first time in a decade, which created a special moment for my parents, my partner and I. The title LIC2WNY stands for “Long Island City to West New York”. The move was a time of transience for me, and creating the track felt like I was encapsulating this once in a lifetime memory, a moment that will likely never come back but also one I will never forget.

G3GE: When we were working on the intro of Gance!, we ended up adding some dialogue because it felt empty with just the melody. We asked some of our closest friends like Billionhappy, Huang he, Pavao, Xiaji to send us voice notes via WeChat, and then we linked them together into a whole dialogue to simulate a groupchat. It was so much fun.

GC: What does being part of Eastern Margins mean to you?

Bayang: It’s always important to have new people to run up the ball who are willing to take proper risks. It’s mad to have people dedicated to doing that for the bustling (but internationally under-appreciated) scenes across Asia at the moment, and greatly broadening the understanding of the region artistically. These places are already popping, it’s great to have a means to build some bridges between communities. 

MEYY: I think Eastern Margins holds up a very important and beautiful mirror not only in the music industry, but also culturally in general. What I also love so much about EM is that even though everything is very consciously and strategically done, everything still feels very organic and sincere. 

Shelhiel: Right ppl doing the right things at the right place and right time. There’s no better chance like this and history making like EM rn.

GC: Do you have any pre-show rituals?

Bayang: I stay dead sober until I’m done. I actually get pretty nervous before a show, no matter how big or small it is.

LVRA: Pee and drink water. 

Shelhiel: 14. I will pray that god will bless me and bless the show, everyone have a really good time and let love fill the air.