Chia, who hails from Muar, Johor, is known to be a perfectionist, who endeavours to perform his music as technically accurate as possible. Seremban-born Mark, on the other hand, considers himself a showman, and loves playing for the crowd.
Clearly, the two complement each other perfectly. Both, fixtures in the local music scene, Mark and Chia are great individual performers: together, they make a terrific duo.
Mark and Chia started collaborating about 10 years ago, but their partnership is still going strong today. The duo credits this longevity to a mutual love of each other’s music, and a willingness to share the spotlight.
“Mark is a really easy person to work with professionally. We have the same wavelength in music,” Chia said.
“Raymond is a good gauge for keeping chord structures and sequences in check. He’s the engine, I’m the paint job,” Mark added with a laugh.
The duo contributes their unique blend of music to private events, weddings, anniversaries and birthdays, and corporate functions all over Malaysia: Chia takes on the keyboards, while Mark is a fingerstyle guitar player.
Their musical repertoire covers a wide span of artistes and time periods, but the duo particularly enjoy belting out tunes from Glen Campbell, Alabama, James Taylor and John Denver.
Chia considers country music his first love: he grew up listening to his parents playing Campbell, Kenny Rogers and Merle Haggard in the car. In 1991, he joined renowned local country band Southern Reign.
One of his music career highlights was becoming second runner-up in the Group Category at Carlsberg’s CenterStage Competition with Sherman Tan in 2003.
He and fellow musician Gerard Singh (as the duo Big Game) released an album of original English material titled “Social Animals” in 2009.
Mark, on the other hand, got his musical start at the Strikers Pub in Seremban’s Paul Street (now Jalan Yam Tuan). He performed all around the country, even in places such as Langkawi, before eventually settling down in the Kuala Lumpur music scene. In 2007, he played the pub circuit in Brisbane and Gold Coast.
His love of country, Mark believes, originated from his father Reggie Rajendram, a former bassist for local country bands The Renegades and The Old Timers. He fondly recalls accompanying his father on the job, travelling from their home in Seremban to country bars in Kuala Lumpur.
“I used to watch the legendary band Os Pombos from under a bar’s swing doors. That’s how small I was,” Mark quipped.
Mark and Chia will be performing alongside Os Pombos, as well as other talented local acts such as Lyia Meta, OnStrings and the Thompson Country Band at the first ever Malaysian Country Music Festival and Awards (MCMFA) on Sept 8.
The show is in aid of the Malaysian Association for the Blind (MAB), and is supported by FMT.
The duo believes that while country music is blossoming in places such as East Malaysia, it is still quite a niche genre here. Mark shared how he has encountered audiences who flat out refused to listen to country music.
“I think when many Malaysians think of country music, they think it’s just about cowboys. But in reality, it’s so much more than that. I’ve always been about storytelling in music, and country songs are usually very beautifully written,” said Mark, who is working on his first original single, “Come On In, I’m Playing.”
He hoped Malaysian pubs and bars would help to “educate” music lovers by allowing performers to play a variety of songs and music, instead of just popular hits that have been done to death.
“The lyrics of country music really pull me in. The songs are all about everyday life, the troubles you’re given, and things everyone can relate to, like pain and love,” Chia concluded. “I hope this festival introduces more people to this style of music.”
Tables for the gala, which begins at 6pm, Sept 8 at Menara BAC, Horizon Hall, 52, Jalan Utara, Section 52, Petaling Jaya, are available at RM10,000, RM5,000, RM3,000 and RM1,200 (inclusive dinner).
Loose tickets are also available on a first come, first served basis. For bookings send a WhatsApp message to 03-4031 7666.