‘Deep House’ Music Scene Rising in Kota Kinabalu

Did you know that there’s a deep house music scene brewing in Kota Kinabalu? Last Saturday night, I was invited by Amir Yusoff to attend the Moondance “Groove Your Mind” event at Luna Rossa.

Crowd consisted of local socialites and expats

Surprisingly, the turn out of the crowd was pretty good. When I moved back to Kota Kinabalu in 2002, the city just wasn’t ready to embrace deep house music back then. Today it is a different story as K.K. has grown tremendously and the city is now home to many more expatriates and repatriates. It wasn’t the right time then but it looks like it may be the right time now.

It was a pretty good turnout

Luna Rossa is just a beautiful space for this purpose, spotting a fusion of Indomalay ethnic wood carvings, statues, tactile fixtures and great mood lighting. It has the right ambiance for the delivery of tasteful beats into the bloodstreams of its visitors, a big factor to why people flocked to the dance floor with nothing but funky tunes as their cue.

Deep house lovers getting their groove on

In fact, I heard someone say the event had the vibe of Ku De Ta in Bali, while another person said it felt like he was chilling in a trendy lounge bar in Jakarta. Judging from the success of that night, I wouldn’t be surprised if people are hoping Amir Yusoff will continue to bring high quality groove parties to K.K.

People sitting at the garden area

Here are some more pictures from that night. I couldn’t resist posting the cutest pose yet from Mel C making the Asian peace sign(lower left photo), while she proudly displays the bag she ordered from TheBagBar.com.

Picture of and with people

It takes a special person to be able to pull off a parody of the sacred sign without offending those who swear by it. She kind of just whipped her finger up to her face really fast, half-ashamed of her dorkiness, as if to say she only means it if nobody’s looking (because she actually means it). Haha. This is why I love Mel… she’s such a beautiful person! Meanwhile, Sue was just giving me a hard time with the faces. She left me no choice but to use this shot of her where she’s kind of pulling a dodo face, but it’s better than scaring the children and furry animals away!

Pictures of and with people

Last but not least, here’s a shot of Amir and his partner getting some freestyle acoustic action in as additional layers to compliment the electronic tracks. The percussion just blended so well, and that isn’t always true everytime you see a set of bongos come out at clubs. In addition to being good and having a great track selection, what really sets a perfect routine apart from an “almost” great one is knowing just how much to give the crowd (no more, no less) and this level of groovy can only come from a combination of talent for rhythm and extensive experience in entertaining live, which is where Amir truly shines.

The multi-talented Amir on the bongo

To sum it up, the bad news is Luna Rossa isn’t a permanent lounge bar that offers house music on a weekly basis yet. When there aren’t any special events they operate strictly as a restaurant and wine bar. The good news however, is that Amir works with the most sought-after DJs in the region, and has plans to organize more of these parties in Kota Kinabalu as long as there is a demand for them.

If you missed this great event and are interested in attending the next one, follow Amir’s updates at FreestyleAvenue.com.