As our magazine continues to spotlight the Malaysian independent music scene and the people who make it move, we want to shift the focus beyond the musicians themselves. This time, we speak to Abigail Goh, the ultra-talented artist behind our 2026 mega playlist cover art.

In this interview, Abigail walks us through her creative process, what she loves most about the scene and of course, the bands currently soundtracking her days.

To begin, could you tell us a little about yourself?

HAHA I will TRY! But hi, I’m Abs Goh Tian-I, I’m a Malaysian artist, crowd surfer, and gig organizer that jumps between KL and Singapore quite frequently! My body of work has crossed from comics about caregivers, concert posters, song visualizers, and even gig direction, and I’m just getting started. I adore the indie scene from its illustrators to its musicians, and being able to create anything within the space is a dream. 

Anyway, if you’re not finding me doing some wacky side quest, please find me fighting for my life in a mosh pit near you. 

When we were searching for an artist to design this playlist cover, we wanted someone who embodies the youthful, alternative spirit of the indie scene and you immediately came to mind. What is it about the Malaysian indie music scene that draws you in?

That we try, and we try unabashedly so. Whether we are going to start off crooning to the likes of Hayley Williams or Gerard Way at Atas Angin, or we start making lo-fi beats in the tiny corners of a shared bed room with a few other siblings crowding over, we try. The Malaysian indie scene, both in music and in the visual arts, is an undaunted force of nature that does its best with what we are afforded in the country; yet for some, we never limit ourselves to it. We’re capable of dreaming, demanding, and yearning for more and finding people that’ll meet us half way and witness our efforts. I think that’s what makes our scene so special to me. 

Also the energy in the pit is crazy la, come on. 10/10. 

Walk us through the creation of this cover art from the very beginning. How did the initial idea take shape, and how did it evolve into the final piece?

When we first started our talks, I explored a couple of different options from wayang kulits to a fruitiger metro type beat, but what we ultimately landed on was the quintessential post-gig Malaysian experience: hanging out with your friends at the mamak. Regardless of what scene, world, socioeconomic background any of us might hail from there is a single third-space we all find ourselves in, and while it seems a little cliche and overdone, it’s tried, true, honest. 

Once we got that theme down, it was a matter of playing around with expression and imagery with zero subtlety. The kids are gathered around their mamak table, their gig tags still on their wrists, they’re perched up on top of a vinyl player, with the KL City skyline behind them. It’s obvious with minimal nuance, but undeniable. 

The cover features five characters from different backgrounds. Who are they, what do they represent, and why was it important for you to include them?

“Across all genres, scenes, and identities” was one of the most important pieces I wanted to hang on from the brief and I wanted to depict characters that represented exactly that. When we think of alt and indie, we might fall into an expectation of a character or a trope, and we get overtly gatekeep-y about it! 

I wanted to push against that narrative by cementing a cast of friends, all with their own unique visuals from their ethnicities, skin tones, gender expressions and drip coming together to hang out seamlessly. It’s important we see more diverse faces, bodies, shapes, outfits and identities in the indie and underground space! Thankfully, it wasn’t even a hard stretch when I can accurately say that this cast is very easily modeled after my own group of friends. 

To wrap things up, suggest three Malaysian bands you’re loving right now?

I could talk about this forever but I’m pretty sure I’m already hitting word count, or bleeding over so A FAST THREE: 

FORCEPARKBOIS

empty page. 

silent era.

Additional shoutouts to Helloluqman, Meelz and BLOSSOME. I’M CHEATING… I’M SORRY. 

Listen to Noisy Headspace’s 2026 Mega Playlist here.