Pete Teo

Pete Teo
(Chinese: 张子夫)
Birth name Pete Teo
Born (1972-12-26) 26 December 1972
Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia
Genres Indie folk, indie rock
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, musician, film producer, music producer, actor
Instruments Vocal, acoustic guitar
Labels Redbag Music
Website peteteo.com
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Teo.

Pete Teo (Chinese: 张子夫; pinyin: Zhāng Zifu, born 26 December 1972 in Tawau, Sabah), is a multiple award winning Malaysian singer songwriter, film composer and filmmaker as well as a sought-after actor in what has become known as 'New Wave Malaysian Cinema'. His work is associated with non-partisan reform politics in Malaysia – in particular, using new media resources to promote wider democratic participation, press freedom, and racial unity. Teo's work has been featured on the BBC, CNN, KBS, NHK, as well as numerous international film festivals and arts events. He has made some of the most watched viral videos in Malaysia.

Biography

Teo begun his career with two albums as a member of the cult Hong Kong indie duo "Mid-Century" 「中葉」. He subsequently released two solo albums – Rustic Living for Urbanites (2003 / produced by Ronan Chris Murphy) and Television (2006 / produced by Nick Lee & Pete Teo) on his own label Redbag Music. Rustic Living For Urbanites won the Best Music Video and Best Album Cover category at the Anugerah Industri Muzik Malaysia (AIM – Malaysian Music Industry Awards) 2004. His follow-up album Television – an alternative folk music album filled with reflections on a media saturated world and Americana – won all 3 categories it was nominated for at AIM 2007 – Best Album Cover, Best Music Video and Best English Album – where Teo emerged as the biggest winner of the night, the first non-mainstream indie artist to do so in the history of the awards. "Television" subsequently became the first Malaysian record to be licensed and released in South Korea. Teo was also the first ever Malaysian artist to play at the South By Southwest music festival in Austin Texas in 2007.

In April 2008, Teo independently produced a zero-budget, non-partisan, non-profit, multi-artists recording of his anti-racism composition 'Here in My Home'. Entitled 'Malaysian Artistes For Unity' (MAFU), the project attracted pro bono participation from over 50 Malaysian artists, media personalities and arts activists – including Ning Baizura, Awie, Afdlin Shauki, Jason Lo, Maya Karin, Tony Fernandes, Jaclyn Victor, etc. and many others personalities and volunteers.[1] The music video for the song, directed by Yasmin Ahmad and Ho Yuhang premiered at the Malaysian Music Industry Awards 2008 to a nationwide television audience. In the weeks subsequent to its release, the video became one of the most viralled videos in the world – reaching as high as no.3. Both the song and the video are available for free download on the project's official website.[2]

In 2009, Teo released 15Malaysia – an anthology of 15 short films themed on social political issues in Malaysia. The project became a watershed in Malaysian popular and political culture, not only by featuring politicians as cast, but also recording more than 15 million visitors on its project website in 60 days. The feature-length version of the films has since been exhibited worldwide including at the Pompidou Paris, Golden Horse Awards, Busan International Film Festival, Rotterdam International FIlm Festival and more. In the same year, his compositions for the soundtrack of Yasmin Ahmad's film Talentime became popular in Malaysia – with the song Pergi (performed by AIzat) winning the "Song of the Year" Award at the Anugerah Juara Lagu.

Teo released a music video promoting the vote entitled Undilah in 2011. Featuring celebrities and both government and opposition politicians, the video was banned for broadcasting by the Information Minister Rais Yatim shortly after release. In the subsequent media uproar, the Prime Minister Najib Razak "unbanned" the video and it went on to become ond of the most watched videos in the Malaysia for 2011. Teo was also listed by CNN as amongst the 135 Asians to watch.

16 September 2013 – Teo released "Hari Malaysia" – a music video funded by the public celebrating the 50th year of the formation of Malaysia. Made with archive news footage and extensive CGI visual effects, the video featured a cast of superstars and politicians including Michelle Yeoh, Nurul Izzah Anwar, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Ambiga, Namewee and more. The video also featured the songs "Slipstream" (performed by Melina William) and "Kembara" (performed by Asmidar).

In February 2015, Teo was chosen to represent Malaysia in Art Midwest's Caravanserai project, where he undertook a tour of Texas, Georgia and Florida conducting exhibitions and workshops on his film work. In August of the same year, he shot a rare two hour interview with ex-Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in Tokyo as part of an ambitious documentary project on recent Malaysian political history. The project has as yet an undetermined release date.

In March 2016, Teo was cast as principal support in Dreamworks / Paramount's live action adaptation of classic manga/anime Ghost In The Shell directed by Rupert Sanders and starring Scarlett Johansson. The blockbuster is expected to be released globally in April 2017

Discography

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Sanctuary Cameo
A Tree in Tanjung Malim
2006 A Company Of Mushroom
Before We Fall in Love Again
Raindogs
Gubra as film score composer
2007 Waiting For Love
2008 Papadom Uncle Lim
2009 Talentime as film score composer
Call If You Need Time
At The End of Daybreak
Stretch
15Malaysia film anthology, as producer
2010 Malaysian Ghostly Tales
Year Without A Summer In sound design and audio post
Claypot Curry Killers as composer
2011 Stretch Mr Thong
Undilah! Public service announcement, as executive producer
2012 Be Quiet as producer and director
2013 Papadom 2 Uncle Lim
Stay Alive as director
Hari Malaysia Music video; as executive producer, director and composer
2015 The Beautiful Losers
2016 KL24:Zombies
2017 Ghost in the Shell Tony

Awards

References

  1. ↑ Jo Teh (27 May 2008), "A song of hope and racial unity", The Star/News/Nation, Petaling Jaya, retrieved 6 April 2010
  2. ↑ Download/Here in My Home/MAFU
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