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In today’s café culture, good coffee is only part of the experience. Customers are increasingly choosing cafés that offer warmth, comfort, and spaces worth sharing with friends and on social media. A thoughtfully designed garden or collection of indoor plants can influence how long customers stay, how often they return, and even how they remember your brand. For cafés throughout…
Damai International, the international arm of Damai Entertainment and a subsidiary of Alibaba Group, has launched ORCA (Original Creative Artists), a new artist development and content production label designed to discover and nurture emerging performers…
Imagine walking into a hall where a piano can teach itself, artificial intelligence helps musicians compose new works, and music technology designed for gaming, film, broadcasting and even smart vehicles sits alongside instruments of traditional…
Every year on May 4, Star Wars Day brings with it a wave of nostalgia, references, and familiar themes. Yet beyond its cultural footprint, the music of Star Wars offers something more enduring, particularly for…
The 5th Petrichor International Music Competition has officially extended its application deadline, offering musicians worldwide a second chance to submit their work for one of the most substantial independent competition prize pools this year. With…
From Frozen to Borodin: More than 1,000 young musicians from across Hong Kong will perform in a five-concert series this April organised by the Music Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, highlighting the…
Applications are now open for the 2026 Hong Kong Youth Music Camp, organised by the Music Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, with registration closing on 30 March 2026. More than 400 young…
📍 Quick Facts What: The Notebook Musical When: September 2026 (exact dates to be confirmed by organisers) Where: Manila, Philippines (venue to be announced) Tickets: Available via official ticketing platforms (link to be added once live) Theatre Group Asia (TGA) is set to stage The…
Few composers today command the kind of cross-continental presence that Joe Hisaishi now sustains with…
Earth Day Across Asia: A Continent of Climates Earth Day in Asia does not arrive…
Six stories shaping music, culture, and the arts across Asia and beyond. This week’s developments…
In an era where music careers are increasingly self-directed and digital-first, the decision to pursue…
Midday listening rituals from the tropics, tuned to a global classical pulse. There is something quietly indulgent about pausing in the middle of a tropical afternoon to listen—really listen—to classical music. At 12:00pm yesterday in Malaysia’s timezone (MYT), while the…
A Film Story That Isn’t About Film YouTube has overtaken The Walt Disney Company to become the world’s largest media company by revenue, reaching an estimated $62 billion in 2025. On paper, this is a Hollywood story. In practice, it…
Built in the late 19th century by Chinese tycoon Cheong Fatt Tze, the Blue Mansion stands today as one of Penang’s most iconic heritage landmarks. Located in the heart of George Town, the capital of Penang Island, the indigo-hued residence…
Building a brand of celebration for the body, mind, and spirit, and resonance between the slow economy and local culture Located in southwestern Taiwan and surrounded by the mountains and the Pacific, Taitung has held the Taitung Spirit Festival since…
When an interview day and time to meet Malaysian sitar artists was made available to me, I jumped on the opportunity right away. Why? It wasn’t at all difficult to…
On a humid evening in Kuala Lumpur, while the city thrums with its usual blend of traffic noise and late-night chatter, Monica Tong is already at her desk, sifting through a draft story submitted by…
Pinay mezzo-soprano singer Michelle Mariposa was one of the 1,500 participants of the Metropolitan Opera’s Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition. The 30-year-old Filipino-Chinese singer from Quezon City wowed judges with…
Recently released, Sir David Attenborough presents Asia, a seven-part series dedicated to our planet’s greatest continent, revealing its most remarkable landscapes and animals. Filmed over the course of nearly four…
The 22nd edition of Music China wrapped up after four dynamic days at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, bringing together business, creativity, and conversation from 22–25 October. The fair welcomed around 1,700 exhibitors and more than 114,000 visitors from 121 countries and regions, marking…
The Indonesian Music Conference (KMI) 2025 officially opened this week at The Sultan Hotel & Residence in Central Jakarta, bringing…
When former U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Kuala Lumpur for the 47th ASEAN Summit, global media turned its gaze…
Among the nine groundbreaking works selected from eight countries for the 2026 Immersive Competition at the Festival de Cannes, one…
The Singapore Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2026/27 season, marking a significant artistic shift with the appointment of Hannu Lintu…
An evolving artist enters a new touring phase across the United States and Asia. The indie artist begins a new…
The Sarawak International Festival of Music and Arts (SIFMA) is tuning up once again — and this time, the notes…
A therapeutic brand birthed by a slow city surrounded by mountains and the sea Surrounded by the Pacific, Taiwan is…
In a music landscape shaped by both innovation and accessibility, new tools are redefining not only how we create sound, but who gets to create it. This week, two products stand out for very different, but equally meaningful reasons. Play Anytime, Anywhere: Aeroband PocketDrum 2 Max Aeroband PocketDrum 2 Max For musicians looking to break free from physical constraints, the…
The Global Score: One Big Market, Two Realities In 2024, the global recorded-music market was valued at US$29.6 billion, according…
Introduction: AI & Music Creation: Is the Future of Music Artificial? From viral TikTok beats to chart-topping pop hits, artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing how music is created, produced, and shared—and it’s happening fast. Gone are the days when music relied solely on human creativity;…
SXSW attendees gathered on the evening March 10 to celebrate the winners of the 2025 SXSW Innovation Awards, sponsored by LATAM Airlines. Hosted by three-time Grammy nominee SaulPaulSome, the Innovation Awards is an opportunity for some of the most creative projects across 11 categories to…
Chinese Animated Blockbuster Ne Zha 2 Premieres Worldwide The much-awaited most recent version of the Chinese mainland’s animated blockbuster “Ne Zha 2” premiered on Tuesday night in Hong Kong and was scheduled to officially hit Hong Kong theaters on Saturday. Ne Zha is perhaps one…
On 11 August 2025, the New National Theatre Tokyo (NNTT), Japan’s premier performance venue, launched the boldly imaginative Natasha — a one-act, multilingual opera by Toshio Hosokawa with a libretto by Yoko Tawada. As the third new commission under Artistic Director Kazushi Ono, this production not only continues NNTT’s recent dedication to cultivating Japanese contemporary composers but also stakes a…
In the world of late 90s television, few shows dared to blur the line between courtroom drama, emotional introspection, and musical fantasy quite like Ally McBeal. Created by David E. Kelley, the series wasn’t just known for its quirky characters or surreal narrative style—it carved…
The Premiere & first impressions In its international premiere at Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre on 21 June 2025, Gang-a Tsui Theater’s Apostate arrived as a daring philosophical theatrical that dares its audience to think—and keep thinking. Renowned for its cerebral storytelling, the Taiwanese troupe…
For something so universally adored, chocolate remains surprisingly underrated. Sure, we gift it on Valentine’s Day, savour it during celebrations, or reach for it when in need of comfort — but do we truly celebrate chocolate for all it represents? Beyond its rich, indulgent flavour,…
1. A New Beat for Music TourismAnguilla’s first-ever Music Tourism Convention puts the island on the global map as a destination where music, culture, and sustainable travel converge. It’s not just a conference — it’s a blueprint for how small islands can amplify creative economies…
The Ministry of Culture and the Royal Commission for AlUla have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Riyadh during the Cultural Investment…
International Music X (IMX) recently announced the global launch of its 2025 season, establishing a strategic partnership with Music China,…
In today’s café culture, good coffee is only part of the experience. Customers are increasingly choosing cafés that offer warmth,…
Damai International, the international arm of Damai Entertainment and a subsidiary of Alibaba Group, has launched ORCA (Original Creative Artists),…
Imagine walking into a hall where a piano can teach itself, artificial intelligence helps musicians compose new works, and music…
📍 Quick Facts What: The Notebook Musical When: September 2026 (exact dates to be confirmed by organisers) Where: Manila, Philippines…
Every year on May 4, Star Wars Day brings with it a wave of nostalgia, references, and familiar themes. Yet…
📍 Quick Facts What: The Notebook Musical When: September 2026 (exact dates to be confirmed by organisers) Where: Manila, Philippines…
Every year on May 4, Star Wars Day brings with it a wave of nostalgia, references, and familiar themes. Yet…
Few composers today command the kind of cross-continental presence that Joe Hisaishi now sustains with ease. With 43 confirmed performances…
Among the nine groundbreaking works selected from eight countries for the 2026 Immersive Competition at the Festival de Cannes, one…
Earth Day Across Asia: A Continent of Climates Earth Day in Asia does not arrive as a singular experience. It…
