2019 Shortlist
— Penang Book Prize
“Film music becomes a celebrated indicator, a sophisticated melting pot, and a symbolic arena where the past, the present, and the future compete with one another to create hybrid artistic and cultural forms. . . . Cosmopolitan Intimacies provides fresh insights to a crucial phase of Malay recent history that has been invisible till the present day—at least to Western readership.”
— Journal of Folklore Research
“This book is not only of interest to film fans, musicians, composers and film-makers who are keen to know more about Southeast Asia and the Malay world, but would also be of interest to scholars wanting to expand their knowledge of the role of cosmopolitan and cultural intimacy in the nation-making history of Peninsular Malaysia.”
— International Journal of Asian Studies
“Combining approaches in history, ethnomusicology and film studies, [Adil Johan] performs a fine job in presenting an academic text that is novel, informational, and intellectually engaging... This book provides an avenue for intellectuals, academics and film aficionados alike to further understand Malay film music in and beyond the nationalist contexts of Malaysia and Singapore.”
— newbooks.asia