Borneo Jazz 2011 – Eight Performing Groups – No. 2/8 – State of Monc

By Anthony Tan - anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk

The State Of Monc, with their unique, innovative sound and striking position within the band collective, the Dutch Nu-Jazz Movement, will certainly put the Netherlands firmly on the map of the future of jazz.

This seven-strong member band from Amsterdam and Rotterdam was formed in 2000 by trumpet player Arthur Flink and electronics soundsmith/beat-maker Hielke Praagman.

Its other members are Robin Koerts on bass, Ben van den Dungen, who plays the tenor sax, Milan Bonger on alto sax, Tuur Moens on drums and Johan Hendrikse fingering the keyboard.

This group fuses slick electronic sound with pure jazz on acoustic instruments for the perfect balance between electronic beats and sounds.

Its brass instrumentation, acoustic bass and drums open up new directions and appeal to fans of jazz, dance and experimental music.

Since State Of Monc’s formation, its members have been working very hard to establish a strong profile. They have had performances sold out in top clubs and rocked major music festivals.

The band not only took their vision to fuse together complex, impassioned jazz with adventurous, dance-rooted electronics “nu-jazz” at the Amsterdam dance event and North Sea Jazz Festival but has also performed in most prestigious clubs such as Paradiso, Melkweg and 013.

In 2006, their first album “Hand To Mouth” released by EDM/City Groovez was launched.

Their impressive debut was followed by Clippertron and Clippertron Extended in 2008. Both albums were released by Challenge Records and produced jointly with Michel Schoots, formerly of Urban Dance Squad.

In 2010, they did a live CD/DVD Phantom Speaker on Sound Camp Records with half of the tracks on the CD unreleased before. It was a combined effort with Michel Schoots again.

Having performed in Germany, Morocco and Ukraine, the group is now coming to Malaysia for the Borneo Jazz festival to build up their international audience.

Let their dynamic and amazing music enthrall you. With their cutting edge pumping dance and complex breakbeats, this Dutch band spins a unique sound that ushers in a new era,

As children of the dance age trained in traditional jazz, State of Monc has seen their music reformed over the years.

Get a taste of their music with just a few clicks below. While you warm up for the coming Borneo Jazz, don’t forget to make your reservation early & See you there!







If you like their music catch the STATE of MONC "Live" on Saturday May 14, 2011 at 9.30 - 10.30pm at Borneo Jazz in Miri, Sarawak.

Resort World Genting presents "Glitz"

By Anthony Tan

"Glitz", comprising magic, acrobats and sand animation artworks

For whatever reasons when you are drawn to Genting Highlands, treat yourself and your loved ones to its resident show, Glitz, which is held nightly at the Pavilion in First World Plaza until end-April.

This three-part stage show comprises a magic act by Charles Bach, an acrobat show by the Puyang Huachen Acrobatic Group and sand artworks by Daria Pushankina.

Members of GLITZ with Kelvin (forth form left) posing for the media

A 14-dancers troupe, in colourful costumes, performs dance movement in between these three main acts.

Charles, who hails from the United States, is a renowned magician, illusionist and escape artist, who had entertained audiences worldwide, including Hollywood, Las Vegas, Norway, England, Taipei and on cruise ships such as the Norwegian Cruises.

He has also made many television appearances on international entertainment TV channels such as Discovery Channel and E! Entertainment.

Charles performing the illusion of the lady floating in mid-air on the sharp tip of an Excalibur sword

Among the illusion acts the Charles performed was his special cordless floating light bulb besides having a lady floating in mid-air on the sharp tip of an Excalibur sword. Others include flying kite, cutting a woman in halves and projection on the white screen tick.

His last act was escaping from the straight jacket where Charles invited two members from the audience to strap him and shackle his ankles. After which, he was lifted up towards the ceiling of the auditorium to be suspended upside down at about 10 metres from the stage!

The stage assistants getting ready to hoist up Charles who is shackle up-side-down

The challenge is for Charles to free himself as quickly as possible before the rope that is holding him is being burned to the point that it will snap.

This act is modified from other magicians’ normal performance, which was made famous by the great Houdini where he was strapped in the same way in the straight-jacket but lowered into tank filled with water.

Whenever we have a chance to be on the beach, most of us will build sand castles, write or draw something on the sand. Daria from the Ukraine will amaze you with her sand art animation.

Daria from the Ukraine show you the way to play with sand

She is one of the few people in the world who practices sand art animation to create images by sprinkling sand on a flat table in the right quantity with her hand to form animation images.

The excess sand is carefully removed by her fingers with drawn lines to enhance the details of her image creations all done within a minute or two.

The images are projected onto a large screen by a projector similar to the one used for presentation in meeting rooms.

Daria can transform form one scene or image with her hand movements on the sand to form a different story board or images. To enhance her sand art performance, she would select a piece of background music to synchronise with the story board, theme or message.

This segment of Glitz should not be missed as it is the best of all the performances. Daria has performed in various international concerts and festivals. Her recent performance was with an international symphony orchestra in Day of Lvov with a Swiss conductor.


China’s Puyang Huachen acrobatic troupe, comprising a mixed of young and not so young acrobats who perform in flexibility with their nimble bodies. They have been performing in over 40 countries with different acts to suit the audiences.

Their first act was a skipping rope routine while their other acts were based very much on their synchronised legs work in passing various sizes of drums using only their feet.

In one of the stunts, they even spin their partners with their foot works. They did a formation of human pyramids by hanging precariously in the air, balancing on their teammates’ body while those on top of the pyramid were juggling and spinning a large drum in the air with their feet in perfect balance.

Dances performances in between main acts

According Kevin Tan, Genting Malaysia Bhd’s assistant vice president of the promotions and entertainment department, said Glitz is a family show that will be on for six months until end April. The all in cost to produce this show is about RM5 million. Efforts will be made to constantly change their show’s acts for better perfection and accommodate repeat visitors to Genting expectations.

The show tickets are priced from RM70 to RM100 for adults and RM35 to RM50 for children.

There will be an automatic upgrade to VIP Seat with no additional charges exclusively for Maybankard credit card members

Ticket Price:
Type Adult Child
VIP RM100 RM50
PS1 RM70 RM35

The tickets are sold at Genting WorldCard centres, Box Office at Genting International Showroom and The Pavilion.

For enquiries and bookings, log on to www.rwgenting.com or call the hotline 03-2718 1118.

Terms and Conditions include:

• Automated upgrades are applicable at 6pm onwards on the show day and subject to available seats
• Tickets are not refundable
• Seating arrangements are automated by system
• Automatic upgrade seats for Maybankard holders are not applicable with other ongoing promotions or discounts