BAND INFO >jUnKoFuNc (MALAYSIA)

jUnKoFuNc (MALAYSIA)

What do a bunch of musicians who are busy with studio recordings, music festivals, music workshops and traveling for gigs in and out of the country do with their time off? They play more music. But of course. jUnKoFuNc is a project band conceptualized by renowned Malaysian guitarist Albert Sirimal and Asia’s master bass player  Andy Peterson in mid 2007 and is made up of  highly talented individuals, masters of their craft, getting together to explore, inspire and push each other to their musical limits. The genre chosen for this project is funk. The band consists of Albert Sirimal on guitars and main vocals, Andy Peterson on bass, John Ashley Thomas on drums, Justin Lim on keyboards, Badar on percussions and Ahmad Muriz on saxophone.

ALBERT SIRIMAL began making a name for himself as a soloist in 1985, eventually taking the runners-up accolade in the Carlsberg Top Of The Pubs Competition in 1989.  He has since parlayed his talents as a soloist and as part of various multi-talented bands in the KL entertainment circuit and also toured with the likes of Sheila Majid, Ning Baizura, Prema Lucas, Zainal Abidin, Jamal Abdillah, Too Phat, M. Nasir, Ferhad and Reshmonu. Albert's distinctive guitaring ability saw him exploring beyond Malaysian shores and performing gigs in Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Germany and the UK. Albert will be handling guitar and main vocals for jUnKoFuNc.

ANDY PETERSON is the most sought after bass player in Asia. An outstanding and an amazing bass player, Andy has worked with extensively with Jackie Cheung, A-Mei, David Tao, Billy Cobham, Harlem Yu and local artistes like Siti Nurharliza, Steve Thorton, Zainal Abidin, Sheila Majid and the list goes on. Currently a Yamaha Bass Endorsee, Andy just goes head on any genre given, be it jazz, rock, soul and in the case of jUnKoFuNc, its Andys favourite, funk.

Teaming up with Andy to handle the rhythm section would be JOHN ASHLEY THOMAS on drums. Described by his peers as a very talented and a phenomenal drummer, John started playing drums since he was 3 years old.
His credits include working with Grammy award-winning flautist Nestor Torres and touring the Blue Note circuit in Japan with Motown legends The Three Degrees, and playing at numerous jazz festivals including Arts Alive! Jazz Fest in South Africa and Jarasum International Jazz Fest in South Korea. 
He has performed with premiere Jazz/ Latin/ Funk musicians and bands like Farid Ali, Steve Thornton, Grey Lyon’s, Alonso Gonzalez, Akihiko Matsui and Jiro Okada of Junky Funk from Japan, Yu Quan from China, Frank Gambale. He has also won the overall Best Drummer Award 2002 at the Yamaha AsiaBeat Band competition and currently a Yamaha Drums Endorsee and Sabian Cymbals International Endorsee. John currently heads the band Funk Mob.

Also in the ensemble is JUSTIN LIM who will be handling the piano and keyboards. Justin has performed and recorded with musicians and artistes of diverse inclinations. His performing experience includes stints with artistes like Isaac Entry, Noryn Aziz, Angelita Li and Kris Dayanti. He has contributed his talents to various recordings such as the yet-to-be-released album by the Greg Lyons Nonet, indie icon Pete Teo's sophomore album Television (2006) and Malay pop artiste Min Malik's single "Jemu" (2000). From 2004-2005, he was a member of the now defunct indie rock outfit, Her Reverie, playing guitars and keyboards. His compositions and arrangements can be heard on Ong Yuen Kwan's spoken word album The Most Beautiful Time (2007) and also on the independent film Thank God I'm an Atheist (2007). Justin Lim is a recent graduate of the Penn State University with a MMus in Composition/Theory. Justin can be caught regularly plying his trade at the local jazz-aurants around Kuala Lumpur.

When the idea of getting a horn section to be part of the band, the vote was unanimous. AHMAD MURIZ CHE ROS. A graduate from the highly acclaimed Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, majoring in film score, Muriz may like jazz but his feet would not stop tapping to contemporary orchestral music. Currently attached with the Malaysian Philharmonic Ochestra, Muriz extensive work on arrangements and composition exploring the rich heritage of traditional Malay music has been highly respected by music lovers and musicians themselves. Muriz will be playing the saxophone and handle all brass arrangements for jUnKoFuNc.


And to top it all, providing bit of latin flair to the whole music arrangements is BADAR. Having associated himself with the likes of Mr Gambus @ Farid Ali, Karen Nunis, Badar is also one of the most sought after percussionist in Malaysia. He has dedication towards his profession has taken him all over Malaysia and across Asia. Badar can be caught playing regularly alongside Albert Sirimal shuttling between KL, Singapore and various parts of Asia.