Baybeats 2009: Estranged (KL) Interview

Estranged, a band from KL fast growing in popularity in their hometown and the region, recently made their Singapore debut on the Esplanade Powerhouse for Baybeats 2009. Audioreload caught up with the hard rockers in their hotel before their set. [http://www.myspace.com/estrangedinfo]

Line-Up
Rich – (Vocals)
Din Hormatov – (Guitars, Backup Vocals)
Hanafi aka Enha- (Lead Guitar)
Andy – (Drums)

Introductions, for the ill-informed?

Rich: Estranged started out in 2001, when I was attending a music college, which is where I met Din, and decided to form a band. We looked around college for others who were interested, chose and settled on the name Estranged.

A name that had stuck since. Do you guys have any influences that have shaped the sound of the band?

Rich: Personally, I listen to a lot of hard rock and nu-metal, like The Deftones, Korn, Limp Bizkit, which was the same for Din as well and also explains the desire for us to form a band together.

How has the band grown since then?

Andy: I personally feel that the sound of the band has matured from our first to second album. The technical help we got in terms of production and recording was much better.

Din: Much unlike the early days, where the music would be very basic. Riff-verse-chorus, lets go. The songwriting process comes more naturally for us now, and as we improve we will get more ambitious with our music.

A bit more on songwriting. Estranged is rather diverse lyrically and has songs in both English and Malay. Can you discuss that?

Rich: Essentially, when we started out, we covered songs from bands that we love, and also challenged ourselves to write our songs in English. After the years went by, we decided to write songs in Malay, because after all, we are Malaysian, and I think it’s important for us.

Andy: Sometimes when you sing a song in Malay it just sounds like old school rock, which is not always the sound we’re looking for! Lyrically, both languages are very different and we use that to our advantage when we want to convey a particular style better.

Is there ever any pressure to write more Malay songs?

Rich: I think it’s negative thing to say we are pressured. I don’t look at it that way, inspiration should come freely, and we would like to keep it that way.

I noticed there are elements in your music that touch on rather heavy and political issues of today. Would you like to comment on that?

-all the members of the band turn to Din-

Din: Well, it’s not that we want to be a political band or anything like that. When we were thinking of a concept for our second album, Remain Unknown, we decided to include things that were real to us. As a band, I think we want to express our feelings towards things that affect our lives, rather than the old clichés of love, girlfriends, my-heart-your-heart, the moon is too round, etc.

What are the main issues you guys feel strongly about?

Andy: It varies, but to talk about politics, I guess we feel strongly about matters close to home, like corruption, environmental issues, and social issues. It might seem like we’re just singing about problems, but it’s more about building awareness as well.

Din: We also have a song about a child kidnapping case, for which to date nothing has been done. It’s more about expressing our feelings towards real issues of today.

There seems to be a trend of politicizing rock music. What are your opinions on that?

Rich: I believe it is down to the fact that more people in the world are aware of such things happening in the world. Personally, I believe music is a very emotional form of expression. It has the power to move people, and change the world.

Estranged has a reputation for being a high-energy band, and you guys have had an opportunity to demonstrate that during the recent MTV World Stage in KL. What was that experience like?

Rich: Damn great! (band echoes: damnnn great) It was a great honour to be able to represent Malaysia and the rest of the region and share the stage with some really successful international acts like Hoobastank. Nice to find out that despite their success they are essentially really down to earth and humble.

Andy: We were really impressed by the work ethic of the bands, and of MTV. It’s great that MTV gave us the opportunity, as an Asian band, to showcase our music to the rest of the world. Hopefully some big celebrity like Bono will watch it and be moved to do some more charitable things for the world. -laughs-

Final question, any memorable experiences or gigs?

Rich: This story goes way back to when we first started out. We had this gig in Penang, near the indoor stadium we were really excited about and worked really hard for, literally practicing every night for it. So we traveled at our own expense all the way there, arriving early in the morning, right on time for our sound check. And then, right after the sound check, they asked us to play. It was like, “Ok guys, that’s your slot!” when there was nobody there at all! I suppose now that we look back on it, it was kinda tragic… but funny.

Din: We recently played at a festival in Taiwan, when halfway through our set, a member from the crowd raised a blow up sex doll.

Andy: But of course we were professional about it and didn’t get distracted even though it was upside down at some point and they were doing stuff to it. The crowd was really supportive and Rich managed to get them jumping through the set. Great stuff.

Alright guys, thanks for your time and all the best for your set later!