THE boys of pop rock outfit Kugiran Masdo have been steadily entertaining music listeners in Malaysia with its winning brand of retro 1960s "pop yeh yeh"-infused songs since its formation in 2015.
Groovy tracks like 'Bunga', 'Bercanda Di Malam Indah', 'Dinda' and 'Janji Manis', which went viral on TikTok, only served to broaden their listener base, especially in Indonesia.
A staple at local gigs and concerts, the band is also happy to be able to expand its horizons by performing overseas and bringing in a wider group of people together via music.
In May and June, Masdo organised a successful tour that saw the boys playing in Bandung, Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Bali in neighbouring Indonesia.
More recently, core members Ali Sariah, who is the lead singer, bassist Putu Ceri and guitarist Asmawi gained valuable experience and exposure after participating in music festivals in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and Busan, South Korea
Ali, whose real name is Aliff Fahmi Bahtiar, said they had an amazing time performing for the first time in those two countries.
"We just came back from Ulaanbaatar and Busan earlier this month.
"Kugiran Masdo represented Malaysia by participating in South Korea's Round Festival and Playtime Festival 2024 in Mongolia.
"The experience in Mongolia was extraordinary, as the Playtime Festival 2024 event featured 13 stages in total," he said in a 'Berita Harian' report.
Ali added that the location and atmosphere were unforgettable.
"It was a very interesting location since we were entertaining the audience in a mountainous region.
"The beautiful view aside, the audience that came for our session was the best. Even though we performed our song in Malay, that didn't stop them from having fun.
"We always choose to sing Malay songs in any of our performances abroad. And they certainly enjoyed our music."
Ali said Kugiran Masdo received the opportunity to perform in Mongolia and South Korea after making an impression with their performance at the Asian Music Festival in Singapore last year.
"Many promoters and agents attended that event, and that's where they saw our style of performance.
"The audience in Singapore at that time loved it, so they felt that we could be taken abroad.
"Thank God, we've been blessed to be able to participate in various international music festivals."
Ali added that the band would be heading to Thailand, Vietnam and several other countries next.
"We also want to build a network with organisers abroad. According to Spotify's data, our listeners are not only in Malaysia, but also in Thailand and some countries we have never been to."
Talking more on their experience in Mongolia, Putu Ceri, whose real name is Ahmad Azanol Khushairie, said: "It's fun to play in festivals abroad because the audience is bigger. It's different. To be honest, the music festival in Mongolia was totally amazing.
"We were surprised when we set foot there. We drove in a car to the concert location, which was two hours from the city.
"We saw a crowd of spectators coming on horseback. We initially though we were scammed, but when we arrived, we were so excited because the music festival was in a mountainous area that was so beautiful."
The bassist added that the facilities were also good as the organisers had set up a telecommunications tower and a bank there.
"Except for the toilets, which we thought two or three times about actually using them. But it's normal when participating in a music festival.
"It was a bit extreme in Mongolia, but it was such a meaningful experience."
Back home, Kugiran Masdo will be performing with Malaysian rock queen Ella and 1990s rock band Spider at 'Mahardika Concert: Spider X Ella X Masdo' on Aug 30 at the Spice Arena in Penang to mark the National Day celebrations.