Transcript of interview with Nabil Jawahir (conducted by Amanda Lee), 18 January 2017, 4.30 pm, Skype.
Nabil is a 23-year old male Malay Singaporean. Nabil likes English rock music by bands like Blur and Pearl Jam. He does not think English pop rock music expresses a cultural connection as these bands sing about life back home, which might not be something that Singaporeans are able to relate to. Nabil does not listen to Western classical music but has read up on some of the composers. He thinks musicals and contemporary pop music derives from Western classical music. Nabil thinks that Western classical music is global culture. Nabil finds Asian instruments and music more compelling than classical instruments. Nabil comes from a long line of Malay pop rock musicians. He finds Malay pop and rock music quite predictable. Nabil thinks that traditional Malay music is feel-good music and it has a certain edge to it. He does not think that it expresses a cultural connection with Indonesia and Malaysia as Singaporean Malays are not as traditional. Nabil thinks that Malay pop rock music expresses him better than traditional Malay music as he can relate more to the R&B, rock and pop influences in the music. Nabil has a strong admiration for Chinese pop rock musicians as it is not easy changing guitar chords with each syllable. Nabil thinks that traditional Chinese music instruments are technically difficult to master and play. Nabil thinks that it should be preserved as musicians need to go back to their roots every now and then. Nabil had seen the extract of Chinese crossover music before and found it interesting. He hopes that more of these crossovers can be done. Nabil found experimental Chinese music confusing as he did not know what to make of it. He thinks that experimental Chinese music expresses and propels contemporary culture. Nabil likes older Singaporean bands like Great Spy Experiment and West Grand Boulevard. He does not like contemporary Singaporean music and thinks that today’s indie musicians should return to their roots of rock and roll. Nabil thinks that the Singaporean musical style had a tinge of melancholy, and employed the use of keyboards and emotional singing. He thinks that there is another prevalent musical style which can be heard in contemporary Singaporean music, in that all sound the same as if they all used the same formula for song writing. Nabil thinks that Singlish comedy songs can represent Singapore on the global stage if the purpose is to embrace it. However, he does not think that it is a good idea to market Singlish globally. Nabil thinks that National Day songs creates an authentic feeling of nationalism and group belonging. Nabil is the singer and guitarist of an indie-rock band called Faux Pas. He has been in many other bands but thinks that this one is different from the rest as there is a sense of brotherhood amongst the members. Nabil’s personal motivation for playing in the band is to inspire the younger generation to pursue music even if one does not have the necessary background or education in it. The band plays original songs, and Nabil thinks that it is important to write them as it expresses their opinions on things that they feel strongly about. He thinks that covers are usually done at the start to try and see where they stand in comparison to other musicians. The band was part of the Noise Music Mentorship program in 2015. Nabil found that it was helpful as they got to know more musicians and people in the industry. They have not gotten any sponsorship from NAC so far but are looking to get sponsored for an EP grant. Nabil thinks that NAC can support bands by offering workshops on marketing for example, as some bands struggle with marketing and promoting their music. Nabil thinks that bands can get more support from Singaporeans by being sincere and not having any airs about themselves. He thinks that there is a unique kampong spirit especially among the current batch of Noise mentees.
“[English rock bands are] very unpredictable. It’s, er, something different. They bring something different to – to – to the table. And with each, er, record release, they do something different to their sound. Ya. And personally I prefer something more edgy than something more soothing most of the time.”
“Most of these [English rock] bands they talk about life back in wherever they – wherever they live. So it’s very hard for – for Singaporeans to – to – to relate to whatever they’re singing. Unless it’s something general – a general topic like love, or something.”
“For most Singaporeans, [English pop music is] something nice to listen to. And what I feel is that they look – the majority look for some love songs especially, instead, er, um, something like Rage Against The Machine. Or something that – that’s politically against the government. That kind of stuff.”
“[Western classical music is] really like the – the cavemen ages for – for music. But regardless ... it – it’s – it – you need to have a – an acquired taste to listen to this kind of – of classical music. Because you – you will need to – to focus on – on the different instruments and when they come in and stuff.”
“[Western classical music is] more global. as much as – as much as it is, um, interesting and as much as it was the roots of music, I think – I personally think that Asian cultural music ... has more – is – is something more compelling. Because there are different kind of instruments like the angklung, or the erhu, or the tabla for instance.”
“My uncle was part of a – is part of a – a very famous Malay rock band that many would say are like the Rolling Stones of Malay rock. And, um, with their legacy, it kind of started this – this, um, this trend in Malay pop especially where they would incorporate things like old-school hard rock, with five-minute guitar solos and very high-pitched singing.”
“In terms of Malay pop, it’s very ... it’s very happy-go-lucky. To me personally, I mean – I don’t really listen to much Malay pop or Malay rock but ... they – it is quite predictable, lah.”
“With regards to traditional, er, to festive songs for Hari Raya, it’s – they’re all very – all pretty much the same, I feel. There isn’t much variety. But that – there isn’t much variety now, as compared to before where there were different, er, feels to it.”
“Traditional Malay music ... I mean from what I understand, traditional Malay music is mostly – revolves around angklung and a lot of percussion-based music. And – and, er, chanting and, er, singing in groups. It’s like a choir with – it’s like choir mixed with percussion at the same time.”
“The Malay people in Singapore are – are going back to their roots with, um, especially the younger generation. Um, with dikir barat and – and kompang, and kuda kepang, and stuff like that.”
“I wouldn’t feel that [Singapore is] as traditional as compared to Malaysia and Indonesia, where – where modernization hasn’t quite take – taken place yet for some areas especially in the kampongs. More Singaporean Malays – they still embrace that sense of modernization. That’s why they still can appreciate traditional music as well as modern music.”
“I have a strong admiration for Chinese pop rock. Because for any – most Chinese pop rock musicians – they are really talented. And it takes a lot to – to, um, change – especially when it comes to guitarists, change chords with every syllable. Because, er, from what I understand Chinese pop rock is – is – very – you – you go to different pitches with every enunciation of each, um, word and stuff.”
“[Traditional Chinese instruments] are technically very, very, er, difficult. The instruments are technically very difficult to learn. Especially when they’re – especially when they’re string instruments. And you have to have probably the accuracy of Hawkeye to – to – to – to be able to play with such ease and – and precision.”
“I really feel that – that without traditional music, you wouldn’t have – it, er, pop or rock wouldn’t be – even blues wouldn’t be – wouldn’t be, er, prevalent today. You still need to go back to – to your roots every now and again to nourish yourself as a musician.”
“[Chinese crossover music is] very interesting. And – and I ... I hope that – that more of these crossovers can happen. I mean, who knows probably – they – Chinese traditional music can crossover with – with punk rock, or metal, or something. And it’ll be really, really cool, I feel.”
“My guitarist has, um, shown me a few experimental, er, Chinese music. And to me it sounds very abstract, very ... before post rock came about, very post rock. And, um, like – like – like I – like I said before lah, I mean, it’s something different. I don’t quite know what to make of it, but it’s something that I will definitely appreciate.”
“The recording [of experimental Chinese music] was actually quite confusing. I didn’t know what – what to make of it. But at the same time it was ... I don’t know, to me it sounded soothing at the same time ... for some reason. But – ya.”
“Like Great Spy Experiment, er West Grand Boulevard, er, Plainsunset. Those kinds. But in terms of new – the new wave of Singaporean bands ... I would say probably Take Two. Take Two, Stopgap and, um, there is, er, one particular band that I – that I recently came to know off. Ah, Bakers in Space.”
“I’m quite lopsided in my opinion about the current trend in – in Singapore music. Because having grown up or having been exposed to more rock and roll, and – and – and, um, grunge-y, punk-ish kind of music, I find it’s very, um, it – it – the current trend is not really my cup of tea. What with, um, with all this, um, X – XX and Chvrches-inspired kind of music.”
“I feel that ... um, [Singaporean] indie should be going back to its roots, which is rock and roll. And the bands that I mentioned, they are taking, er, flying the flag of – of indie rock. Bringing things back like, er, early-Arctic Monkeys, and Franz Ferdinand, and Kaiser Chiefs, that kind of rock and roll.”
“[The Singaporean musical style] had a tinge of melancholy, especially with Great Spy Experiment. Er, as well as this very Singaporean sound. I don’t quite know how to describe it. It’s like driven – driven guitars, keyboards, very, um, emotional kind of singing.”
“In terms of making [Singlish comedy songs embrace] Singlish, I would ... I would say yes. But in terms of trying to – to market it as a global thing, I wouldn’t – I – I wouldn’t be so into it. It’s not something that – that, um, people should be ... should be trying to use in their marketing campaigns I guess. Especially in – in popular culture like TV and media.”
“I’m actually quite pleasantly surprised by is that people from overseas, when they think of Singapore music right, they think of National Day songs. And it’s a good thing. Because the songs are not bad, the songs are really, really good. The fact that it’s about your love for your country further accentuates how ... great it is that outsiders are even talking about it.”
“For the [Singaporean] youths of today, I would say indie [represents them]. But for the older generation ... I really think punk. Ya. Particularly because a lot of the older generation of musicians, for some reason they ... they are all anti-government, and anti-this, anti-that.”
“I’m in an indie-rock band. An indie-alternative rock band called Faux Pas. Um, I sing and play the rhythm guitar. And, um, my experience of being in a band. I – I been in many bands when I was a lot younger. And one thing that sets this band apart from the rest of the bands is that, um, there’s that sense of brotherhood.”
“To inspire the younger generation that you don’t need, um, you don’t need to be a music student to pursue music. Because truth be told, we don’t have any background, or theory whatsoever in music. But as long as you work hard and persevere, you can – you can achieve anything that you set your mind to. That is my personal main motivation for – for playing with them.”
“It is important to write your own songs because you’re expressing your own opinions a lot on certain topics. Things that you feel strongly about. But the songs – the – the – the things I write about are very – they’re loosely based on my own personal experiences. And ... I try to – to make them relate to the listener.”
“But every band when – every artiste when you start out, you have to do covers to try and find your own voice, and also try and see where you stand.”
“For Noise [music mentorship program], we didn’t know anyone when we applied. It was just based on our own individual – or – or rather it was just based our own, um, own talent, and what we could we come up with. And thankfully the – the mentor saw something in us that – that they felt had a lot of potential.”
“The only thing that we are looking to get sponsored for [by National Arts Council] is an EP grant. Because we – we don’t really have enough money on our own to – to – to record a full EP. Ya. That – that – that is for now, lah.”
“I really wouldn’t know [if NAC supports bands]. I mean, um, there are certain, um, bands that – that, um, will get the grant, and there are certain bands that don’t. So I – I really wouldn’t know if – if NAC is biased or fair towards certain bands. Because the way I see it, NAC – from – from what I can see NAC is just trying to – to get music and the arts back to where it once was.”
“[NAC can] have more ... of these kind of mentorships like Noise. And maybe a – a, er, workshops open to the public. Especially on how bands can market themselves. Because I think what a lot of bands – they – they struggle with – like my band, they – we always struggle with marketing and promoting, because we don’t know where to start.”
“I was a listener, I would prefer listening to a band, or a musician who is – who doesn’t have any airs about – about them. Rather than one who’s trying to be like someone else, or like trying to portray something that’s not them –that’s not sincere. And with that probably, they will get more ... more, um, fans. Um, er, a bigger and better audience.”
“There is that kampong spirit. I’ll give – I’ll give it that. The current batch of Noise mentees are – they display a very strong sense of kampong spirit, which I don’t think any other batch have had. And that’s very heartening to see.”
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