René Mark Barrow - Vocalist, Voiceover Artist, and Rhythm Guitarist
|
René Mark Barrow is a Sabahan-born British recording artist, Voiceover artist, and singer who lives in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. His grandparents are Malaysian, his father is English and his mother is Chinese. He moved to the UK for further education when he was young and returned to Malaysia in 2010 to pursue a career in the entertainment/education industry. He is the lead vocalist for the Asif & Rene Jazz Band, the rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist for the Jackfruit Band, and band leader and rhythm guitarist for Khameleon, Sabahan Funk Band.
|
|
His 2010 debut album, That's Life, was aired on national radio stations TraxxFM and SuriaFM, and recently, he was one of the Finalists on the 2012 PALMA International Sing a Malay Song Competition, broadcast on national television channel RTM TV2. Of the experience he says, "I was so nervous...my body was shaking, my voice was shaking, and it was hard to stay in tune. I've never had to sing on television before, but I'm grateful for the experience. It's been an exciting journey over the last three years since I decided to go professional, and I'd like to see what happens."
|
|
Rene was also asked to do some acting on Sabahan artist Dayang Noraini's latest music video, Jangan Ambil Dia, which reached number 1 and 2 in a number of Borneo's music charts. He also did some guest backing vocals for Dayang Noraini's English language versions of Until the End of Time and Not Me.
About acting, Rene says, "It was a surprise when Dayang asked me to act in her music video, and it was a lot of fun...I did a bit of acting for the PALMA competition too, and I wouldn't mind doing a bit more, although if i did actively pursue it, I would probably need to take acting classes. But that's fine...I'm a perpetual student and I love learning." |
As well as performing, he also enjoys teaching vocals, and has a Higher Diploma in Vocals from the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance in London, as well as Specialist Certificate in Vocal Styles from the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
His life has been a series of what he regards as mostly 'happy coincidences'. One fun one he has fallen into is being the rhythm guitarist for a jam session in a pub with Wimbledon tennis greats, André Sá and the Bryan twins, Bob and Mike, although at the time, he had no interest in tennis and had no idea who they were.
It is also by a happy coincidence that he has performed in the 2012 Kinabalu Interational Jazz Festival with the Asif & Rene Jazz Band, as well as performing with the Jackfruit Band in the 2011 Nanjing Jazz & World Music Festival and the 2011 JB Arts Festival, and performing at the 2010 Kota Kinabalu International Jazz Festival with the UMS Big Band.
A relatively shy and unassuming person, he prefers not to say too much about himself on a regular basis. However, one of his favourite random memories is that he bumped into Peter Graves, the star of the original Mission Impossible series on the footsteps of the Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort in his hometown of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
His life has been a series of what he regards as mostly 'happy coincidences'. One fun one he has fallen into is being the rhythm guitarist for a jam session in a pub with Wimbledon tennis greats, André Sá and the Bryan twins, Bob and Mike, although at the time, he had no interest in tennis and had no idea who they were.
It is also by a happy coincidence that he has performed in the 2012 Kinabalu Interational Jazz Festival with the Asif & Rene Jazz Band, as well as performing with the Jackfruit Band in the 2011 Nanjing Jazz & World Music Festival and the 2011 JB Arts Festival, and performing at the 2010 Kota Kinabalu International Jazz Festival with the UMS Big Band.
A relatively shy and unassuming person, he prefers not to say too much about himself on a regular basis. However, one of his favourite random memories is that he bumped into Peter Graves, the star of the original Mission Impossible series on the footsteps of the Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort in his hometown of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
|
|
|
