BRIEF BIO OF AN ECLECTIC AUTODIDACT

A well-known figure in Malaysian literary, musical, and theater circles,
Antares has written, directed and acted in plays; composed and performed music live and in the studio;
and contributed reviews and illustrations to magazines, newspapers, blogs and websites
As co-founder, visionary and webmaster of
Magick River, Antares busies himself networking globally
with kindred spirits who share his dream of a humanity in harmony with nature and the cosmos,
guided by ethics and aesthetics
rather than driven by economics and politics.

In the late 1970s (under the name "M. Eeel") Antares performed with a popular bluegrass combo
called
K.D. Possum & The Flying Fox, playing harp, mandolin, and occasionally contributing a song or two.
In 1984 he released his first solo album, Solitary Vice (& Other Virtues), followed by 2nd Coming in 1986.

Adoi! (a collection of satirical essays and cartoons on Malaysian life) was published in 1989
and achieved wide national acclaim, selling over 13,000 copies.

A compilation of Malay sayings annotated and illustrated by Antares (under the name “Kit Leee”)
was published in 2001 as Two Catfish in the Same Hole
by Times Books International, Singapore.

In 1994  Moth Balls (an anthology of scatological & eschatological poems) was published
under the Magick River imprint. That same year a limited edition CD,
The Moon Close To My Face Is A Fish
,
was issued by Angelica House, featuring the zen poetry of Gozo Yoshimasu,
sung by Brazilian shaman-singer Marilya
Corbot to original music
composed and performed by Antares (credited as Kit Leee).

Antares relocated in early 1992 from Kuala Lumpur to the wilds of Pertak in Ulu Selangor
where he co-founded an alternative community called Magick River and began to culturally interact
with his nearest neighbours, an indigenous rainforest tribe.

Interestingly, that same year he collaborated with popular musician Rafique Rashid
and ethnomusicologist Sunetra Fernando on the musical score for the milestone children's musical,
Suara Rimba
(adapted from Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling). 

Commissioned in 1993 by Melbourne-based dancer-choreographer Chandrabhanu
to compose music for a 30-minute freeform contemporary work (Birthplace Reclaimed),
Antares enlisted the help of Rafique Rashid, Sunetra Fernando, and Tim Bremser
(a visiting Canadian musician) - and with Temuan ceremonial singer Mak Minah's diva-like performance -
the happy result was the debut of AKAR UMBI- a funky musical fusion
of urban and jungle spirits which proved a great hit when the group was invited to play
at a benefit concert before 42,000 people at the Shah Alam Stadium, Selangor, in September, 1994.

AKAR UMBI proved to be a sensation at Sarawak’s first Rainforest World Music Festival in August 1998.
The next year the group was among the featured acts at the festival – but three weeks after returning from Sarawak -
and just two days before AKAR UMBI was scheduled to begin studio sessions for a planned album -
ceremonial singer Mak Minah unexpectedly died.

In August 2002, Antares finally fulfilled his pledge to Mak Minah that her songs would live on
by producing a CD entitled AKAR UMBI ~ Songs of the Dragon

From April 2000 till the end of 2001 he guest lectured at a private mass communications college, 
conducting a course called “Aesthetics, Creativity and The Imagination.” 

He also collaborated on a 52-minute documentary (Guardians of the Forest) on Mak Minah,
her tribe, and the devastating challenges posed to them by a dam project in their ancestral homeland.
This was part of a multimedia project by Magick River, recording the Temuan heritage via a documentary,
a CD of Temuan ceremonial songs, and finally a book on their cosmomythology
(
Tanah Tujuh ~ Close Encounters with the Temuan Mythos) published in March 2007
by Silverfish Books.

In 2006, Antares produced and directed Rhythm of the Rainforest -
an 80-minute documentary on the phenomenal Rainforest World Music Festival
(held every July in Sarawak, Borneo)
from which a DVD was released commercially in May 2006.

His involvement in the arts has given him valuable insights into contemporary shamanism. 
Since April 1992 Antares  has lived in Pertak, Kuala Kubu Baru, in a reality affectionately dubbed 
‘Magick River’ - where he focuses his energies on healing himself and Mother Earth, 
and weaning himself off a serious addiction to Facebook. 

Antares has three beautiful children: Moonlake (1969) and Belle (1971) from the Lotus (Lily Fu); 
and Ahau Ben (1996) from Anoora Chapek
with whom he shared the High Hut until the freak mudslide
of October 8, 1999.  For 3 years they lived in a rented house in Kuala Kubu Baru town

but since September 2002 have returned to Pertak Village -
the new Orang Asli 'resort' situated
between two magnificent rivers. 

[CLICK ON ABOVE LINK TO VIEW FAMILY ALBUM]

On August 28, 2000, Antares was inducted into the Comic Order of Sexy Grandparents
with the advent of Max Alexander Lüer. His second grandchild, Alisa Grace,
arrived safely on July 19, 2003, followed by her sister Hana Grace, on October 14, 2004.
Most recent arrivals: Princess Reiya Sunshine Lüer
(13 March 2006)
and Ryder Lee Lankhorst (15 January 2014).


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