Please join us for the last SPIL lab of the year, percussionists Chia Cheng Kok, Lee Si Yuan; vocalists Loke Xiaoyun, Kok Siew Wai, and Yong Yandsen (tenor sax). Let’s get together before the year’s end! See you at the Percussion Store on Saturday!
Date & Time: Saturday, 13st December 2025
Time: Doors open @ 8PM
Venue: Percussion Store
Add: A-01-03 LG Floor, Dataran Cascades, No. 13A, Jalan PJU 5/1, Kota Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Admission by donation: RM30
For tickets: 012 919 8031 (WhatsApp)
Musicians’ profiles/FB event: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BGzpQY8uE/?mibextid=wwXIfr
More info:
[email protected]
www.klexfestival.com
www.facebook.com/groups/klexfest
Instagram: @klexfestival
#klexfest #klexspil #seriousplayimprovlab #percussionstore #improvisedmusic #freeimprov #freejazz
Founded in May 2014, SERIOUS PLAY IMPROV LAB (SPIL) is the music series of KLEX Festival. It is an art laboratory focusing on music experimentation and improvisation. SPIL provides a platform for musicians from various backgrounds to collaborate and present a new collective expression through improvisation. Over the years, many local and international artists have initiated experimentations and collaborated in the SPIL series, enriching the region’s experimental and improvised music scene.
ABOUT THE MUSICIANS:
Currently working as a percussionist/ timpanist in the National Symphony Orchestra based in Istana Budaya, Malaysia, Chia Cheng Kok is also music educator of various school and university orchestras. As an active percussionist, Chia has either performed or conducted in the Winter Guard International Competition, Japan International Orchestra Music Festival, Jiayi City International Music Festival (Taiwan) and also played with the Asian China Youth Symphony Orchestra in Cambodia (Angkor Wat), Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra and many prominent local orchestras and bands. Chia was recently invited as soloist in a double percussion concerto year of dragon with Professional Cultural Chinese Orchestra.
Born and raised in Subang Jaya, Lee Si Yuan began his journey as a contemporary drummer at the age of 8 before transitioning to classical percussion during his high school years. Since then, he is deeply ingrained as a ‘contemporary classical’.
Loke Xiaoyun sings, and plays the piano, the flute, and the Sape. She also has deep interest in different aspects of music and was involved in different academic research projects in music education, music sociology and ethnomusicology. Trained as a classical musician, Xiaoyun first dipped her toes in atonal vocal improvisation when she was a member of Merle Noir. She also draws inspiration from nuances in different ethnic singing styles. Xiaoyun enjoys working with different artists from disciplines, such as dance and visual works. One of her collaborative works was a multi disciplinary project with Seni Tiga #8: Foundry. She also contributed to KLEX Nusasonic Radio Episode #1: So Far So Good in 2020. Apart from performing, Xiaoyun is a music educator with students from different age groups and currently in training to be a Dalcroze Eurhythmics certified instructor.
Kok Siew-Wai started out as a video artist, now active as an improvised vocalist and artist-curator/organizer. She has shown her videos, curatorial video programmes and performed in Asia, Europe, Australia, Canada and USA, including allEars Improvised Music Festival (Norway), Asian Meeting Festival (Japan), CTM Festival (Germany), Hanoi New Music Festival (Vietnam), Kuala Lumpur Contemporary Music Festival, Nusasonic (Indonesia) amongst others. Siew-Wai is interested in improvisation and the exploration of expressions with the human voice.
Yong Yandsen is a free jazz and improvised saxophonist from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Yandsen has released albums through XingWu and Herbal Records in Malaysia, Utech Records (USA), Dream Sheep (Italy), and his solo debut on vinyl through Doubtful Sound (France). He has played at allEars Improvised Music Festival (Norway), Asian Meeting Festival (Japan), Mosaic Music Festiva, Jazz in July (Singapore), amongst others. Yandsen, together with Darren Moore and Brian O’Reily, form the improvised trio Game of Patience. Hungry Ghosts is his trio with European musicians Christian Meaas Svendsen and Paal Nilssen-Love. In 2022, the Big Foot quartet was formed with Akira Sakata, Seo Takashi and Darren Moore. Yandsen is the co-founder of a Malaysian record label, LaoBan Records, focusing on releasing contemporary improvised music. He is also the co-founder of Khatulistiwa, a local venue for experimental and improvised music.