The cold lyrical character whose music brings warmth.

Balan Kashmir is one third of KLG Sqwad, a Malaysian multiracial rap trio formed in year 2002. The group came together from all across the country with the help of live shows; guest collaborations with other artistes and merchandise that helped them sustain the underground scene for many years before releasing their official singles on local airwaves. “Amplify” and “Freedom” were released in the year 2007 and gained positive feedback from listeners of Xfresh FM, Traxx FM and remained on top of the local charts on Fly FM and Hitz.FM.

The group gained strong publicity from magazines and newspapers such as The Star, Malay Mail, Junk, Juice, KLue and Cleo. They’ve opened for international concerts such as Kanye West Live in KL 2007 and Sunburst Festival 2008 alongside Kartel Records. The group’s debut album which has been worked on for almost 5 years is entitled Labour of Love and is scheduled forrelease in October 2009. Due to personal reasons, one of the group members, Yang Arif migrated to the States with his family in early 2009, leaving the group to release their debut album on their own. Although the release is finalized and confirmed, the group would not be the relevant without all three members after the release. This was the moment when Balan Kashmir decided to kick start on his solo album adventure.

Balan Kashmir: The cold lyrical character whose music brings warmth.

Balan Kashmir has worked as a solo rapper / song writer with many established names and upcoming acts which he was privileged to meet and greet along his years of climbing the ladder of success. He has written alongside acts such as Pete Teo, Joe Flizzow, Elvira, Sasi The Don, Phlowtron, Reefa, Sakti, Saran, Emcee David, Shab’d Clique and others. Kashmir was blessed with the opportunity to work with producers such as Dnavigator, Damian Shorty Soul, ILLegal, Jamie Wilson, DJ Uno and DJ Fuzz as the years passed. More songs and mix-tape projects are in the pipelines, as he speaks.

The word Kashmir and Cashmere might sound the same but the meaning is worlds apart. Kashmir is a place blessed with lovely geographical landscaping but is sadly in a state of turmoil. Cashmere means the fine and downy wool that provides warmth and is used by royal families in early times.

Doing his part for the local music scene, Kashmir had a hand in co-organizing a major unity project which involved some 50 Malaysian musicians, actors and actresses dubbed Malaysian Artistes for Unity. He was featured in the theme song and video which was directed by Yasmeen Ahmad and two government related projects: Zoom Malaysia theme song and a video for Tourism Malaysia in 2008 as well as ‘Satu Suara’ theme song and a video for the Kementerian Belia and Sukan (The Ministry of Youth and Sports) in 2009.

Balan Kashmir has roped in his long time producer, Dnavigator to start work on his solo album. The project is scheduled for release in 2010 in conjunction with the Tamil New Year which falls in April. The concept behind the album would see Kashmir exploring his mind and two languages: Tamil and English. He entwines his rhymes within both languages. This is sure to set him far ahead of the competition due to it being done with such finesse. By setting up the blueprint of the album and merchandise release, Balan Kashmir is ready to prove to the world a type of swagger only a true born ‘macha’ possesses. Stay tuned to witness the aftermath.