Maverick ROTTW publisher Rom keeps looking forward

MALAYSIANSKINI | With a shock of long white hair and a house that looks like a haphazardly stacked museum of rock music, Mohd Rom Mohd Noor cuts quite an unlikely figure in the suburbs of Selayang.

Perhaps best known as the publisher of the iconic rock magazine ROTTW (short for Rhythms of the Third World), which ran from 1996 to 2016, he has played several roles in the music industry.

From supplying sound and guitar equipment to owning a music store, mentoring young bands, playing music himself and most prominently as a journalist and publisher.

Port Dickson native Abang Rom, as he’s fondly known, took a circuitous route to a career in publishing..