| Written by Siti Adibah Bte Mustafa,
on Tuesday, 5 August 2008
|
Published in : Culture, Music |
A heads up again on another one of the six finalist bands of ‘Listen to the Salad Days: A Confessions Initiative’ – Murder by Ska, a local punk rock band five years into the making. Young, energetic and passionate, these four lads from various tertiary institutions across Singapore are stepping up to start living their dream as musicians. Here’s a thumbnail view at what makes Murder by Ska the performers they are as Youth.SG chats with them over email.
Youth.SG: Who’s who in the line up?
Murder by Ska: Khairul Azhar (Bassist), Haziq (Drummer), Hasif (Lead Guitarist), Zyrul Shahryszal (Rhythm Guitarist).
We see that you’ve defined your music using interesting expressions. What exactly do ‘Ska’ and ‘3rd Wave’ mean in terms of your music?
MBS: We like to brand ourselves as playing punk rock. Mainly punk rock. We are proud of our punk rock heritage and influences, but we also use the terms ‘ska’ and ‘third wave’ because they roughly describe what our version of punk rock sounds like. ‘Third wave’ is a further breakdown of the ska genre. The different ‘waves’ in ska have distinct variations in mood, tone and pace, where ‘third wave’ is a faster, tougher version of ska.
How did you get started? How old are you?
MBS: Murder by Ska is five years old this year. We decided to get this band going on Dec 23 of 2003. Azhar and Haziq, being unhappy with their individual bands after a gig, decided to collaborate and play something new, something that they really enjoyed. A couple of years later, they tweaked the line up and brought in Haziq’s brother and Zyrul, a friend of Haziq’s during his secondary school days.
What is Murder by Ska about?
MBS: Murder by Ska is all about being proud of who you are. It’s about enjoying what we do, playing music. And it’s about being straight to the point. Let the world know what you are feeling. Also, our band is about telling people of all the issues that are going on in the world today. People sometimes just live in denial, in their own shell. We are out to tell them, that there are problems, anything from hunger to war, to poverty and corrupted young minds. And that they, as an individual, have the power to do something about it, that they can help change the world for the better.
Who and what are your influences?
MBS: We are greatly influenced by Rancid and Operation Ivy. Other bands would include Catch 22, Greenday, MxPx and the like. We like how Rancid and Op Ivy sound, as in, they’re quick, catchy, but not long winded. No 10 min solos, no over the top drumming, or theatrics… just music. They might not sound the best at times, but they’re definitely skilled musicians who know how to get the crowd going. And it’s not a bad thing either that their songs are sometimes politically inclined, which is what we try to do.
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"We set out on a mission, to bring to the people a certain kind of music. We haven't changed.
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Your MySpace profile features only two songs ‘All for the Money’ and
‘Apa Nak Jadi’. Firstly, why don’t you upload more? Secondly, why
release a Malay song? Is it personal or purely for promotional
purposes?
MBS: There’re a few reasons why we haven’t uploaded songs.
Firstly, it’s because we are all busy people. 3 of us are schooling,
and Haziq is in NS. Secondly, we don’t have too many songs to upload.
We haven’t been recording as furiously as we should have. Thirdly, erm,
we just figured out how to use MySpace after all these years. Also, the
Malay song is personal, definitely. None of our songs were made just
for gimmicks or anything. The song is the about the personalities and
lifestyles of certain groups of youths in the Malay culture who we
felt, at the time when we wrote it (and still do), needed to be
addressed. So I thought it would only be fitting for the song to be
done in Malay. Plus, it felt more personal, it being in Malay.
Has the band always been like this?
MBS: Music style, yes. We’ve played this kind of music since we
began. And we hope to continue for a long time to come, hoping that we
don’t stray away from our roots. That goes the same for our influences.
The band line up has changed. Once, to the Murder by Ska people know
today. That’s it. We don’t want to change our line ups. We’re a pretty
headstrong band. We set out on a mission, to bring to the people a
certain kind of music, and we still are. We haven’t changed much.
Tell us about the first time when all four of you disagreed or quarrelled about something that wasn’t related to music.
MBS: This is a tough question to answer. Amazingly we’ve never had ANY quarrels, or disputes within the band. ESPECIALLY when it’s NOT related to music. I guess we’re pretty tolerant and understanding of each other.
But there was this one time, when the band wasn’t really happy about Azhar being in a relationship with a girl. He got distracted, and neglected the band. Furthermore, the band felt that she wasn’t the right girl for Azhar, because she was over-possessive of him. The band felt disappointed, angry and worried about Azhar’s well being.
Who plays what role in the band?
MBS: Azhar is the leader in the band. He makes the decisions and writes all the songs for us. Most of the internet works are done by him - MySpace, etcetera. Haziq is just as important as he is the one who goes outsourcing for gigs and performances to further promote the band. Zyrul just loves to suggest new songs to play and it doesn’t hurt that he’s the “good looking” one in the band. Girls always want to see him on-stage. Haha. Too bad he’s attached, girls. Hasif is the one who completes the band. He’s the cool guy in the band. Also another chick magnet. Haha.
What binds you as an entity?
We’ve been so used to each other, if we don’t have one, we’ll feel awkward, empty. I guess it’s the love of music and the band that binds us. We are proud to have found each other, and we’ll do all we can to stay together. Girls can come and go, but the band stays. And we’re putting in a lot of effort to keep it that way.
How does inspiration come to you?
MBS: Very slowly we must say. We draw our material from observing the environment we’re in. Be it in the news, or our immediate surroundings, we get our inspiration from society. We try to write our songs so that they address a certain issue in life at any point in time. We don’t only want it to sound nice, but we want it to mean something to the listener. So, gaining inspiration could come from hanging out in Orchard Road, or sitting at home watching the news. The news is a great influence. BBC radio, etcetera.
What does music do for you, as a listener and a performer?
MBS: In this hectic life we live, with all the responsibilities of a growing youth, music just helps to slow things down and give us a clear thinking. Calms us down.
As performers, we would say that it is a good outlet to release stress. With the loud sounds, and sweaty crowds singing along and dancing, it makes you forget the world, and forget your responsibilities and problems. Anyway, as performers, it always brings a great sense of satisfaction when we see the people liking our music, singing along, just enjoying themselves. It brings a smile to our faces. And as a band, performing is a good way to bring joy to people, at the same time, sending them a message. Performing is a good way to let people know what you want them to know.
Can you see yourselves doing this in the long term?
MBS: Yes, we’re not teenagers anymore. If we can manage our time well, and set our priorities right, we’re sure we’ll be doing this for a very very long time. We’re sure all of us WANT to do this.
Do you believe that music should carry a message? If yes, what does your music say?
MBS
: MUSIC MUST CARRY A MESSAGE!!! It’d just be random sounds if it had no message. Our music? Simple. Peace. Be yourself. Have fun. Responsibilities.
How have you been promoting your music and getting it out there to the masses?
MBS: Honestly speaking, we haven’t been doing much promoting. We just don’t know how we should do it, without looking fake and in the race for fame. We want to be sincere. If you happen to hear our music, then good. If not, it’s okay. At most, we’ve been spreading our MySpace address, gig updates, and recorded songs.
Why should we listen to you?
MBS: Because our songs are about culture, society, people and life, which all affect you, and the person next to you. Who knows, we might be singing about you, or your life, as it is. Without all the ‘I miss you, I love you’ crap. Our songs will get you thinking, about the important things in life. Family, friends… Our songs might change you.
If you could capture your band’s essence in the title of a famous song, what would it be?
MBS: It’d be ‘Stay Together For The Kids’ by Blink 182. Because ultimately we’re playing music for the people out there. For us, yes, but we want people to listen, too, right? We want them to be them to grow up having fun, and still be the best that they can be .
Catch Murder by Ska this Saturday (Aug 9), 3pm onwards at *scape for Listen to the Salad Days. Find out more on Murder by Ska’s performances updates on Salad Days’ MySpace profile here.
ARCHIVE: ALL THE SALAD DAYS BANDS
Backbeat
1989
Murder by Ska
Fire Away, Samson!
The Nerves
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