Eclectic shock: five of the best new Asian bands

As a region, Asia may be known for its wide variety of music, from the commercial pop of South Korea and Hong Kong to the various indie scenes and the ubiquitous karaoke rooms in Cambodia and Thailand. But when it comes to popular music there has never been a "pan-Asian" sound, and there probably will never be one, at least not in an alternative music culture that relies on word-of-mouth and grass-roots support more than major label or corporate backing.

While the ethnic and indigenous music that once prevailed in the region can be placed within national contexts, most contemporary groups tend to find inspiration in the popular Western bands that emerged from the 1960s onwards, as well as European and US electronic artists that started to work their machines from the late '70s. The turnouts for the recent Kraftwerk and Blur concerts in Hong Kong hint at likely arbiters of inspiration here.

As such, and despite the various strands of new wave and electro having had a particularly strong influence in the region (especially in Hong Kong), there is no way to pigeonhole the most exciting new bands to have emerged in Asia. From spiritual, alternative folk-rock from Jakarta, to experimental post-punk coming out of Shanghai, and amalgamated, twisted dub sounds in Manila, there's a wide variety of sounds to be heard across the region. Here's our selection of favourites for 2013.
 

( Jakarta )

The heady, humid fug that weighs heavy over Jakarta must be having a strong affect on the myriad musicians coming out of the Indonesian capital.

Jakarta was by far the toughest city to choose a band from. This is partly what makes Polka Wars such an intriguing prospect. Having formed in 2010 the band, which consist of Billy Saleh (guitar, vocals), Xandega Tahajuansya (bass, vocals), Giovanni Rahmadeva (drums, vocals) and Karaen Raja (guitar, vocals), have played a number of successful shows over the past two years.