A man on a mission, Giacherie Tipik hopes to see local cultural and contemporary artistes to perform in international arenas. Through CatSound.co, he dreams of Kuching to become a Music City in the future.
Creating a solid foundation for local talents
Bridging talents to the world — Giacherie Tipik said it has always been his dreams to have a creative space funded by the government and administered by the community. Hence, in 2017, he established a non-profit agency Creative Artrepreneurship Transformation: Music Company (CatSound.co) to set an export office for contemporary and cultural music as well as align its programme through Music Cities and Music Tourism initiatives.
Together with his wife, their goal for CatSound.co was to allow the abundance of talents in the state to be exposed. “There has been a consistent increase in the number of talents in Sarawak, yet the demands and exposures are very low. So we figured, why don’t we broaden our searches?”
Hence, the 33-year-old sees CatSound.co to be a platform for local talents to reach international arenas through music showcases, festivals and conferences.
Collaborating with United Kingdom-based strategic consultancy Sound Diplomacy, CatSound.co was given the chance to bridge music to the firm’s vast networks of festival directors, booking agents and others. “A year under their guidance, I believe that, somewhere in the future, we’d be creating a solid foundation for local talents as well as international artistes to cross to and fro a foreign land. In other words, expanding the fishing pond.”
“Other than that, we can gain insights from the music industry of different countries,” Giacherie said. With their current virtual concert, Fondness Drops Virtual Charity Concert 2020, Giacherie said this is an example of a way to introduce local talents to the world.
Overall, the ambitious man sees in the future that more opportunities and acknowledgement will be given to our local artisans. “Despite running a non-profit company and trying to keep it afloat can be demotivating, but deep down, I know, CatSound.co can be beneficial for many in the future. Especially economically,” he said.
Music City
With that, he hopes to see Kuching becoming a music city like Melbourne, Australia. “We want to work closely with the state government, even the local councils in regards to implementing ‘Night Time Economy’ to further boost the local music industry.”
According to him, implementing the ‘Night Time Economy’ policy can help create more job opportunities, and simultaneously help boost the economy.
“Opening up business from 6pm to 6am, the ‘Night Time Economy’ sees its opportunity within night businesses, food and beverages, security, law enforcement, cleaning services, maintenance, transportation, sound and light supplies. And in return, this will all create more job opportunities,” he shared.
The man behind
Hailing from Kuching, Giacherie shared that recently he received a call from the British Publishing House for him to be recorded into the publication house’s third edition of ‘BritishPedia — Successful People in Malaysia’.
The first question that went to through his mind once he received the call was, “Do I even deserve this?” Nonetheless, he disclosed how happy and blessed he was to be recognised, “despite the journey is still a long way to go in terms of the definition of success.”
For that, Giacherie thank his parents, family members and especially his wife, “after all, I know I wouldn’t be who I am today if not for her. She has been my very source of inspiration and reason to push forward. With her hands on mine, alongside the many individuals that I’ve worked, partnered, and collaborated with, in the past and present, they have continued to shape me and probably will continue to be in the future.”
Previously, Giacherie worked with Angkatan Zaman Mansang (Azam) Sarawak on community development projects, at Sara Urusharta Sdn Bhd and was the head of operations for MaGIC and Borneo744.
Projects by CatSound.co
- CatSound Fireside Chats
- WAK2018 = Zee Avi, Tempered Mental
- Rona Bunyi = OAG
- Jelajah Elektrik Borneo, Estranged
- RWMF 2019 = Festival Directors
- YES Sarawak Youth Empowerment Summit 2018
- At Adau ‘OBA’ Album Launch in collaboration with Sarawak Tourism Board – first of its kind
- Presenting for Music Cities Conference by Sound Diplomacy
- Chengdu, China 2019
- Seoul, Korea 2019
- Bangkok, Thailand 2019
- Webinar 2020
- Rainforest In The City 2019
- Record Store Day 2019
- All That Jazz 2019
- Fondness Drops Virtual Charity Concert 2020
