M'sian guitarist meets local fans
By Rosli Abidin Yahya

Man Kidal spinning magic on the guitar. Photo: Norizan Murshid

More than 100 fans of Man Kidal, the Malaysian guitar legend, were given a rare close-up of his playing genius at a session held at the Holiday Lodge in Jerudong on Wednesday night.

The event was held to mark the launching of a guitar clinic entitled 'Cliniq Man Kidal' organised by Brunei Darussalam's Oziee Production and Malaysia's Just 311 Entertainment.

The guest of honour of the function was Brunei-Muara District Officer, Dato Paduka Hj Harun bin Hj Ismail.

At the session, Man Kidal showed the fans why he was held in the same class as internationally-acclaimed guitarists such as Yngwie J, Mamsteen, Carlos Santana and the legendary Jimmy Hendrix. Through an active career that spanned more than 20 years, Man Kidal altered the course of popular music in Malaysia and became one of the most successful and influential musicians of his era.

An instrumentalist who radically redefined the expressive potential and sonic palette of the electric guitar, he was also a composer of a classic repertoire of songs ranging from ferocious rockers to delicate, complex ballads.

To his rock fans, Man Kidal was the most charismatic in-concert performer of his generation. "Man Kidal is a visionary who collapsed the genre boundaries of rock, soul, blues and jazz and an iconic figure whose appeal linked the concerns of many musical fans," said his fans.

Organisers hoped that by attending the Cliniq Man Kidal, local guitarists could acquire new techniques to redefine the electric guitar in their own image. "Man Kidal aspires he can transfer his ingenuity to a few Bruneians whom he hopes could reach the international standard in the same class of famous world guitarists.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin