the indie music revolution in malaysia (part 2) - what next?

A perceptive reader asked a very good question when he commented on my previous post regarding the indie music revolution currently happening in Malaysia. Here's the comment by Danial:

"Since the second-half of 2007 was the beginning of our indie explosion & it continues to bloom now in 2008 (with once there was four gigs during the weekend, it was hard to choose which one to go!), what would you hope the future of this scene will be, say in 2009?

Are we gonna be stuck in organizing gigs & concerts (it's now getting bigger: RockOnRave & KL Indie Fest) all year long or is it high-time for us to start the initiative in spreading this thing for the whole nation (& the world) to see i.e. taking it to the next level?

What I would love to see is that we set-up our very own indie radio station. Yes. Call it Radio Indie Malaysia (the abbreviation would be RIM, *snicker*) or something. We'll just play music from our local & international independent bands: it'll be some sort of a platform for these musicians to get their music heard for the masses. It'll be OUR alternative media for those discontented "listening public". Who needs the old order? Why not make our own industry?"

Well Mr Danial, I do agree with you on one point, that is we simply need to have our own 'industry' (if that's the correct way to put it), and that we don't need the old order after all. What I'm not so sure we should do is to go about it the same way the industry's been doing it all these years.

Let's not forget that the main reason the scene's got this far so far is the democratization of everything by the internet. The radio, TV and press only took notice when there's already word spreading around on the internet by the kids.

I was involved in an "Indie vs. Mainstream" debate on Xfresh FM last night, which frankly (and thankfully) was not much of a debate, and more like a friendly chat discussing what "mainstream" and "indie" means. I, for one, have never been interested to show nor explain why the things I like are better/superior than others, because frankly I don't think that what I like is better/superior than others. I just like 'em, and that's it. And if I'm not into what you're doing, well it's just not my cup of tea, that's all.

Since what's been happening with the indie explosion over here is more or less an organic word-of-mouth thing, I honestly think we should just let it develop the exact way it's started, i.e. organically. More exposure on the radio/TV is just an old mainstream strategy. There have always been radio shows playing "indie" music for years now, but they almost always get cancelled after, at most, 3 years. Why? Because radio depends on sponsors/advertisement, who look at ratings to make their decision, and "indie" radio shows are never meant to attract to high ratings. Unless you play popular "indie" rock tunes, which the normal radio shows will play anyway. It's a game countless people have played, and it's a game designed to not let the indie kids win.

If survival is hard enough for "indie" radio shows, survival for an "indie" radio station over here is really a futile question, unless we get a rich sugardaddy to finance the whole operation. Now that's a different question!

So really, we don't need to do things the way the mainstream's been doing it. We don't need to have our own radio station. We don't need to have our own TV station, or our own newspaper/magazine. All these things cost a lot of money to even start, and when big money comes into the equation, corporate considerations will also come into the picture. And whenever the word "corporate" is in the picture, you'll only get watered down versions of your original intentions. And watered down indie is never, ever a good thing.

Come to think of it, actually the indie kids DO have their own radio station already, and it's called the internet. We DO have our own newspaper/TV media channel already, and it's called the internet. We can now make our own listening playlist, and find the music we like by ourselves, without any need for any DJs or radio programmers to shove music down our throats. We can deliver news our own way through the internet. Heck, we can even make our own news!

Don't have any "cable" to get noticed? Well go make your own "cable". We have the internet now, so go make friends with people out there. With so many social networking sites available now like Myspace, Facebook, Friendster etc, why limit yourself to just using them to flirt or find dates?

What we do need to think about to go to the "next level" is just to come up with the goods. Keep on writing and recording great songs that people can connect with. You can have all the platforms you want, but without the "goods", you won't get anywhere anyway. So just deliver the goods, and somehow, someway, you'll find yourself going to the "next level".

To me, the beauty of this whole "indie" revolution is that it is more or less like watching democracy at work, manifesting itself in its purest form. It's a revolution by the people, for the people. And it leaves the establishment and the system out of the equation entirely.

What happens next is all up to you kids to decide. But if I were to have any say in it, just don't forget this: "If it ain't dumb, it ain't rock n roll!!"

how to form a band (and not kill each other doing it)

A lot of you kids have been asking me for tips on a lot of things, how to get a band started, how to get gigs, how to write songs and many others. Now I'm in no way an expert at these things, not even close, but I guess it won't be wrong if I write about what I think is the decent way to go about doing it. So here it goes:

1. Ask yourself WHY you wanna do this in the first place

This is a very important question to ask yourself, because the way you approach things will no doubt differ according to the reasons why you wanna do this. If you're thinking of becoming popular or a star in a short time, then maybe forming a band is not such a good idea, as personally I think it's a long, hard road, for most bands anyway. If becoming a star in record time is your reason, then it's not something I know how to do, as Couple's been around for 13 years now, and we're still nowhere near being stars! So maybe taking part in a talent/reality TV show might be a good idea. Hehe. But if your reasons include love of music, or a need to express yourself, or just to enjoy making music with friends, or by yourself, and playing live, and sharing an adventure, then let's proceed to the next question.

2. Ask yourself what do YOU like?

Some bands have democratic aspirations, yes, but I think it's normal for most bands to have one person, or at the most 2 persons, as the creative drive behind them. So, to these persons I'd advice them to just follow their hearts. I know a lot of people will answer, "I listen to everything", when asked about the music they like. But c'mon, even parents have a favourite child (even if they'll never admit it in public). So, be honest, and ask yourself what sort of music/genre(s) YOU like, and then go through with it. Remember the answer to Question 1 above? You're doing this for YOU, so have some balls and stick your neck out and show to the world - "This is what I love, and therefore this is the music I'm making - this is ME." Only then will your band have any shot at longevity, as only people who really love what they do will keep on doing it regardless of whether their band is successful/popular or not.

3. Do your research

Now that you've decided on what you like, delve into it wholeheartedly. Know it as best as you can. Devour as much as you can. Know/understand what makes you like it. Get a feel of how the songs are constructed. Explore the hallmarks and nuances of the genre(s). Better still, dive headfirst into music history. Make it a point to know as much as you can about as many genres of music as you can. At least that way you won't fall flat on your face, as you're less likely to proclaim that what you're doing is something 'new' or 'original' because the more you delve into music history, the more you'll realise that everything's  been done before. But don't worry, that doesn't mean that today's music is worthless, because you just need to realise that there's a world of difference between paying tribute to/getting influenced by someone and plagiarism. Just be true to yourself, do what you truly love, and you'll be fine. Don't burden yourself with all this lofty, big ideas about creating something 'new', 'original' or 'fresh'. Leave that kind of worrying to pompous assholes who think so highly of themselves that they think that everything they do must/should change the world. Music is a reflection of your soul, and if you're true to yourself whilst making it, it will come out, and that reflection of your soul in the music you make is already something unique only to you. What more do you want?

4. Be humble (Part 1)

Being in a band, like it or not, is an ego game. So don't forget to be a human being. And don't forget that your bandmates are human beings too. Never forget that at the end of the day it's your band's 'sound' that people will remember and pay attention to first, not how great the lead guitarist, or the bassist, or the drummer, or the singer is. Depending on the kind of music you do, some players might have to restrain themselves more than others, in order to serve the band's 'sound'. Maybe less guitar wanking is needed in certain genres, or minimalist drumming needed in others, so I'm sure there will be some people in this sort of situations who might think they're better than all that. That is why it's very important to do your research, so that you'll understand the fundamentals of what you want to do better. Always remember that it's the BAND that's most important, not the members. So be humble, and don't be selfish, as the band is not yours alone. If you still think you're better than the band, then quit that band and form your own band, one that you think can better serve your skills.

5. Know your strengths and weaknesses

Again, be honest to yourself and humble enough to admit what your weaknesses are. And of course, be humble enough not to overestimate your strengths. When you start jamming with your bandmates, pay attention to each other. Try to notice each one's playing style. Make a mental note of what each person's strengths and weaknesses are. Better still, talk about it with your bandmates. That way, you can write and arrange songs around that. Accentuate your strengths, and minimise or try to avoid the weaknesses altogether. The most important thing about a band is that it has to be tight. A tight as hell band playing the simplest of music is still a million times better than a loose, all over the place band playing 'complicated' music. Going about being in a band is not so different from going about living your life. If you're weak physically but are excellent with numbers, which would you choose, being a rugby player or mathematician? Easy, right? So, just apply that same logic when you're in a band!

6. Know when you're ready

This is the most crucial part. You've now written your own songs. You've been jamming a lot. What next? This is where you really have to be honest with yourself, AND ask your friends to be honest with you. Maybe you can demo some songs and listen carefully at home, or give some to your friends for them to listen to. The most important thing is to really decide whether the material you have or your live performance skills are good enough to be unleashed to the world. Put yourself in the shoes of the listener. Ask yourself, if you're a listener and you heard the songs, would you get excited by them? If you're the audience and you're watching your band's performance of the songs, would you like it? If you think there's still work to be done after you asked yourself those questions, then by all means do work on it. There's no hurry whatsoever to introduce your band to the world. Most of us get only ONE chance to impress, so make the best first impression you can. A great first impression will surely lead to something. Luck may have something to do with it, but I honestly think there's no such thing as blind luck. I heard this great phrase in a documentary: "Luck is when opportunity meets preparation." And I really think that's true.

7. Be humble (Part 2)

Like I said above, playing music is almost always all about ego. You might start out just to have fun with friends, but what happens when you suddenly have 'fans'? Egos can easily inflate, and when they do you can easily lose sight of things. So, always remember WHY you're doing this in the first place. Again, your answer to Question No. 1 above is very, very important.

So, there it is kids, a simple guide on how to form a band, and not kill each other doing it! I hope it'll help a little bit. Maybe I'll do another post next about how to get gigs or how to 'up' your band? Hehehehe.

the indie music revolution in malaysia

There's quite a lot being written about this whole 'indie music revolution' currently taking place in Malaysia. From bloggers to newspaper writers, everyone's saying their piece. I'm not in the business of predicting which bands/acts will make it big this year or next year, so this piece will avoid all that. What I'm interested in is why it's taking place now, and not 2 years ago, and not next year.

If you ask me, I think it's a combination of a lot of things. People always say that a country's progress is always reflected by its arts scene. And I'm sure it's no mere coincidence that this whole indie revolution is happening just as the Malaysian political landscape is experiencing its own seismic shift in its make-up. In fact, one would have to be very naive to not want to draw parallels between the two.

For my money, this whole shift is a direct result of us everyday people having more options when it comes to access to information, thanks to increased easy access to the world wide web. Politics-wise we people have far more places to go to when it comes to getting our news. The mainstream newspapers/television/radio no longer have a monopoly on the opinions of us everyday people.

By that same analogy, us everyday music loving kids no longer have to depend on mainstream radio/television to tell us who to listen to or to like. There's Myspace, iMeem, Last FM and all sorts of social networking sites and file sharing sites where us kids can simply discover all sorts of music.

However, easy access alone is no cause for a revolution. Discontent is. For far too long we've been bombarded by average, unremarkable music, pushed down our throats through the radio & TV by the record companies in Malaysia. Full of A&R people who have totally lost touch with what the kids want from Malaysian acts, they stubbornly refuse to mix in with the grass roots and instead try to clone whatever Indonesian acts that make it big over here. People talk about how A&R people should have their finger on the pulse of the music scene. I doubt they even have that finger, let alone know where that pulse is.

We keep on hearing complaints by music industry people of how harmful this 'Indonesian invasion' is, but it's a problem they create themselves. Isn't it obvious by how successful the Indonesian bands are here that the public wants something fresh and different? Isn't it very obvious that Dewa, Sheila On 7, Padi, Peter Pan, Samsons and Nidji are obviously very different and obviously fresher-sounding than Search, Wings, Jinbara, Amuk, Spider, New Boys and the like? But why keep on pushing more rock kangkang and rock leleh Malaysian bands down our throats when it's so obvious that the public wants something else?

And no, don't tell me that there are no Malaysian bands that have that 'fresh' sound. Even before this whole indie music revolution we already have OAG, The Times and to a lesser extent Exists doing their own thing singing in Malay. Butterfingers also came up with a Malay album that's as un-rock kangkang and un-leleh as they come. With the exception of OAG and Exists, radio support for our own 'new school' bands are almost non-existent. So, it's not just the labels but also the radio that has to take their fair share of the blame.

What about the local awards like the AIM? Why is it that year after year, the nominees and winners never seem to involve this whole 'new school' Malaysian bands? The answer is simple, to enter your album to be considered for nomination in the AIM, one has to be a member of RIM first, and that my friends involve membership fees that are quite prohibitive (around RM3ooo, if I'm not mistaken) if you're an unsigned, struggling indie band. So in reality what the AIM does reflect is that portion of the Malaysian music industry that can afford to pay the RIM membership fees, which probably explains why the more 'urban' (i.e. more affluent) acts are the ones who usually get nominated and win. Which will also explain why non-urban acts like my band Couple will probably never ever get an AIM nomination. Hehehe.

And then there's the TV series Kami, and the meteoric rise of Meet Uncle Hussein and most importantly, Hujan. This small TV series and these 2 small bands basically destroyed all the safeguards and barriers previously put up by the major label cartel and the mainstream media in Malaysia. What basically happened was that a lot of denials and pride had to be swallowed, as these 3 phenomenons, no matter how 'budaya barat' they are (as the elders and the mainstream will always say whenever they don't understand something), are just too important and too big to be ignored. Ignore them and risk losing out on a lot of potential profits. Being the capitalists they are, of course the industry will embrace them.

All of the above factors might be small, but at the end of the day they do add up. Hence the discontent. Not just among the musicians/bands, but also among the listening public. There's only so much crap you can take before you finally say enough is enough, right? And if you ask me, that's exactly what's happened here in Malaysia. The last general election results powerfully demonstrated that a lot of us Malaysians have said exactly that, enough is enough.

And this whole indie music revolution currently happening in Malaysia is also that, kids finally saying enough is enough. Kids slowly making their voices heard loud and clear. They're saying this is what we want. These are the bands we like. You media people might want to push such and such bands as the next big things, but we know better what we want and what we like. The days of the media trying to push their friends' bands as 'geniuses' or next big things will very soon be over, if not over already. The kids now have far more options to choose from. And choose they will. Ah, how beautiful that is, democracy!