Monophone returned after a long hiatus as Merah Putih Club (MPC) brought back the annual music event last month. Merah Putih Club, an Indonesian student organization in Limkokwing University brought local artists to the Monophone stage, two well-known indie bands ‘Kyoto Protocol’ and ‘The Stonebay’.

This year the Merah Putih Club cabinet added a new twist to the event by making Monophone the final stage for the ‘Battle of the bands 2013’. The 6 finalists that passed through the auditions awed the judges and the crowd with 2 songs each.

Madam Ratna Andarwaty Herman Prayitno, Head of Dharma Women’s Association, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia - Kuala Lumpur graced the event that was held at Limkokwing Hall of Fame.

Things kicked off with the beautiful Carolyn from Korea with her hypnotizing voice. Then a group of three students from various faculties at Limkokwing University performed a self-choreographed contemporary dance to a song by ‘Parisude’; a band made up of Limkokwing alumni.

However, the band ‘Rockafellas’ consisting of students from Bangladesh managed to beat the rest winning the grand prize of RM 1,000 at the Monophone 2013.

Madam Ratna said that she was really happy with the talent that all the students showcased during the Monophone. She was totally impressed with the creativity that they have and she will be very pleased if Merah Putih Club invites her for other events as well. 

‘Kyoto Protocol’ felt very honoured to be able to perform and collaborate with MPC. “After performing on stage we felt very good. Yes it was thrice as good because it felt awesome. We were surprised that the crowd recognized our song and sang along with us. It actually brought tears to my eyes,” said Fuad, the band’s vocalist.

“I felt very pleased when I saw all the members accomplished the task that was assigned to them. And to see the crowd enthusiasm when the main guest star Kyoto Protocol played, it was unexpected. Honorary guest from the embassy Madam Ratna’s compliment made me feel that all the tears and sweat I put in with my team to make this event a success was not in vain. This year and last year’s Monophone shared the same concept which is a music concert from students for students. Monophone is only the beginning of the creativity among Indonesian students in Limkokwing, be ready for more of our events,” confessed Antonia Timmerman, the current president of Merah Putih Club.

Indonesian student studying in Malaysia, Luthfi Fathin shared that, “My favourite performance was by ‘The Stonebay’, they had performed very nicely and smoothly. All my other friends came to this music event to enjoy and spend time together. Another thing that really caught my attention was the art exhibition by my friend Nadya; a Limkokwing Professional Design student, who does life drawing. All the artwork that she presented had her character. The decoration for Monophone this year was a bit different than any other year, because it had more folk vibe. The main guest star the Kyoto Protocol also rocked the stage. In the end I must say this year’s Monophone really brought back the crowd like the event used to.”