KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 — Urbanscapes, Malaysia’s largest arts and music festival, will be from November 23 to 24 this year with satellite shows on October 31 and December 3. And it’s slated to be the biggest one yet.

“Urbanscapes will be held on larger scale this year, not just physically. People from all over the region will be attending the festival and we’re expecting 25,000 attendees for the Big Weekend,” said Adrian Yap, organiser of Urbanscapes.

International acts like Franz Ferdinand, Tegan and Sara, Two Door Cinema Club as well as local bands like Kyoto Protocol and Oh Chentaku are some of the artistes performing this year.

In fact, Yap has been travelling around Asia these past few months to set up ticketing counters in other countries.

Attendees from Thailand can buy Urbanscapes tickets from ThaiTicket Major, one of the biggest ticketing operators in Thailand.

Yap noted that half of the attendees at past Urbanscapes were not from Kuala Lumpur so he decided to make things easier for people attending from neighbouring countries.

Urbanscapes is partnering with hotels, shuttle and taxi services to ensure easy access to the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park (MAEPS) in Serdang. This will be the first time the festival is held there; previous venues included KLPac in Sentul and Padang Astaka in Petaling Jaya.

Expect funky ‘flash mobs’ such as this at Urbanscapes. - Pictures by Choo Choy May

“Padang Astaka was a great venue for us for two years. The state government was very generous and supportive but there were challenges with the venue, with it being in a residential area. MAEPS is a very unique venue because it has ample parking space and there are beautiful rolling hills nearby,” said Yap.

What’s interesting about this year’s Urbanscapes are the satellite shows pre- and post-Urbanscapes.

The reason why the organisers decided to have separate events because it was challenging to ask artistes to play on a set date, explained Yap.If it were a concert, then it would be a different story altogether. Yap hopes in the future that

Urbanscapes would be a week-long or month-long event so that everyone can enjoy it.

An art installation made of shoes! - Pictures by Choo Choy May

The majority of the international indie acts performing at Urbanscapes has never set foot in Malaysia before. So how did Yap manage to get them to come?

Last year, Sigur Ros played at the festival and it is fortunate that the agents who brought Sigur Ros here are the same agents for Franz Ferdinand. It is also because Urbanscapes has established itself as a must-go event for lovers of music and creative arts.

“Word gets around,” said Yap. “Malaysians in general have an interest in ‘live’ music and ‘live’ DJs -- that is why bands want to come play here. There have been so many events and a lot of shows and these are the foundation of the festival. We’re a platform for interesting happenings in various scenes in Malaysia,” said Yap.

One of the things to look out for this year are the comedy acts. This year, Actorlympics will be part of the lineup in Urbanscapes. Comedians Kuah Jen Han, Jason Leong and Douglas Lim will be part of Urbanscapes.

“There will also be installation artists from Spain, Thailand and the Philippines,” said Yap.

What differentiates Urbanscapes from other music festivals is its Malaysian identity as a homegrown festival. Food, arts and culture has always been a big part of Urbanscapes.

“We’re conscious of trends and we’re not a niche or elitist community,” said Yap.

To make it accessible to all ages this year, there’s going to be a kids area for families who want to enjoy the festival. Some of the people who attend Urbanscapes have been doing it for years and they have grown to have families on their own.

An attendee taking photos with a local celebrity at last year’s Urbanscapes. - Pictures by Choo Choy May

“We want to make them feel like they have grown up with Urbanscapes. It’s like a rite of passage,” said Yap.

Those familiar with local indie acts of the past would be delighted to know that acts like Damn Dirty Apes and Nice Stupid Playground will be making a comeback just for the festival.

Yap also promises interesting food such as Yemeni and Peruvian cuisine.

Last year, there were 17,000 attendees for both days at the tenth Urbanscapes. It was filled with good food, fun activities, amazing artiste lineup and interesting vendors. This year, expect to experience that and much more!

For more information, check out www.urbanscapes.com.my.

This story was first published in Crave in the print edition of The Malay Mail on October 17, 2013.