RRecords Night is back with another edition at their usual venue, Laundry Bar, this time with jazz indie poppers Tilu replacing Bittersweet Ipoh Britpop heroes Bittersweet, fresh off the release of their 2nd album Empire’s Transition in May as the headliners due to some unforeseen circumstances, supported by metalheads A Ruthless Cleansing, post-hardcore band Widuri and fusion act Fazz, this looks set to be quite a band-tastic and rockin’ night for all you guitar music lovers out there.

Show starts at 9.30pm on Thursday, 2nd June 2011 at Laundry Bar, The Curve, Mutiara Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. As usual, entry is free. Check out the event’s Facebook page for more info.

In 2009, Paste Magazine named Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, an initiative by The Muppets no less, as “THE BEST BAND NAME OF ALL TIME” (capital letters and all). Outlandish as that name is, you can’t help but marvel at the sheer creativity of it all. Other notable mentions in the list include Joy Division and We Were Promised Jetpacks!

Since the dawn of time, band names have excited and erred in equal measure, providing a way for marketing men to skilfully package products for the masses. For fans however, band names hold something inherently more sacred: an identity and a representation, or a precursor to their music. A band with an intriguing name is like a catchy chorus; something in your brain just clicks without any rhyme or reason.

Last Saturday, despite feeling under the weather, I decided to join my friends for Project FLiP’s Beatles Unplugged charity gig at Rootz KL. Proceeds, I was told, would go directly to a fund to help the victims of the horrific Japan quake-tsunami. Aside from that little piece of information, I went into the event pretty much clueless regarding the acts. Therefore, I paid extra attention to the emcee when he announced the bands before they appeared on stage, hoping against hope that their name would offer an indication of their genre or personality.

First up onstage was Decimal, which name-wise was on the generic and forgettable side. Despite the blah name that unfortunately rhymes with abysmal, the four-piece outfit, which are normally a quintet, did a rather brilliant job with a couple Beatles classics, namely “Let It Be” and “Drive My Car”. With a strong acoustic set backed up by a lovely albeit soft cello, the self-proclaimed cover band also produced memorable renditions of Christina Aguilera’s sultry “Candy Man” and Jackson 5’s evergreen “ABC”, which just goes to show that a boring name does not always ensure a boring display of musical prowess.

Next up was the Darren Ashley Band. Reminiscent of the pretty obvious Dave Matthews Band, the Darren Ashley Band is indeed made up of lead vocalist Darren Ashley, who opened for Switchfoot’s recent Malaysian concert as part of Busco, and his friends. No surprises there, but the real treat was in the band’s early MGMT-esque electro and synth pop influence, especially when it came to the haunting cover of “Black Bird”. “Hey Jude”, as always, was a crowd pleaser as the audience sang along, but the band’s fun-loving and carefree persona that shone like a beacon throughout their set, which included three original tunes, was the highlight, an absolute joy to watch. Nonetheless, after much research and no thanks to the Facebook event page, it seems that there is no “Band” in the Darren Ashley Band, which is a shame really. Fortunately, Darren Ashley and his band, as a name, still has a decent ring to it, no?

By now, I had forgotten my flu-like symptoms and was really grooving to the atmosphere and the music, but I never expected Mamasons to look or sound like they did. The band name would suggest a mellow exterior, or even a playful sort of ironic exuberance, but Mamasons, whose members resembled a tough biker gang more than “momma’s boys”, were here to give a show, and give a show they did. “Come Together” was the standout performance that complemented the band’s craftsmanship with lead singer Aster Kyle’s strong growl of a voice, which was tailor-made to perform rock anthems.  The band name, though, could use some work, but just be glad they are no longer known as Project LoL-e, which really just reminds me of the 90’s bubble gum pop trio LFO.

Maybe I am biased, but I never really fancied band names that happen to be verbs (Taking Back Sunday comes to mind). Call me old-fashioned, but I always prefer the conventional band name as a noun format. As it stood, Ask Me Again, the band that came onstage following the impeccable display of guitar-playing mastery from Reza Salleh, was no different. Granted, with a band name as polite as Ask Me Again, I really thought they would ask the audience’s permission before they decided not to perform a sound-check. Chaos ensued, coupled with a lot of ear covering, wincing, and plenty of shouting in no particular order. Was there even a Beatles song in there? For the general wellbeing of my ears, I left before I had the chance to catch Bittersweet, whom I thought had the right blend of sentimentality and character in the band name.

Though music is ultimately what sells records and wins fans, the band’s name should not be overlooked either. The perfect union of a band name that is true to the spirit of the group and music that is an extension of their souls is hard to find, but sometimes you just get lucky. In 2009, I purchased The Pains of Being Pure at Heart record on iTunes on the basis of their poetic moniker alone; two years on, their self-titled debut is still very much part of my playlist. Yes, sometimes luck, not love, is all you need.

By Wong Boon Ken

On the brink of releasing their sophomore album, Bittersweet recently streamed a teaser of all their songs on Empire’s Transition, and now comes their music video for their first single, 1234. Directed by Alet Arzuan, the music video is rather un-conventional for local standards, as most bands stay safe with ‘performance videos’ and simple backstories. With hints of Donny Darko-ness, layered with some ‘real’ / non-cgi effects, we feel the video will set some sort of benchmark for locally produced and directed music videos. Watch the video below and do follow the band on Twitter and Facebook.

Bittersweet – 1234 [Official Music Video] from spaceboystudios on Vimeo.

Having released their debut, Perfect Match, almost 5 years ago, the Ipoh lads are set to release their sophomore album, Empire’s Transition. Though there is no official release date just yet, and judging by their performance on The Wknd Sessions not too long ago which featured songs from the new album, Empire’s Transition seems to be packed with songs that will definitely please their fan-base. From the teaser below, which contains roughly 30 seconds of each song from the album, it seems that they’ve re-recorded a couple of songs that were released as web singles (Burn Berlin Down, Next Aidilfitri etc) since those singles were recorded before their lineup change.

Have a listen to the teaser below

Bittersweet “Empire’s Transition” Album Teaser by bittersweetbeat

Last October saw the release of the much talked about P Ramlee: Satu Indiepretasi tribute album, but only in the form of ringtone downloads. That bit of news saw countless people groaning and moaning for a proper CD of it to also be released. Well folks, your wish just came true courtesy of the good people at Laguna Records, as they’ll be releasing the compilation on CD this month.

For the list of songs and artists involved in it, check out our post about the album from last year HERE, and you can also now pre-order the CD from the Laguna Music Store (pre-orders are expected to ship out on 16th April 2011).

The My Constitution campaign, which started in late 2009 will see its final phase happening this weekend with the Rock 4 Rights Carnival happening in Fort Cornwallis, Penang, brought to you by the Bar Council Constitutional Law Committee, Frinjan and Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia. A 12-hour non stop concert and carnival, it will have performance arts and film screenings, food & beverage stalls, arts & crafts stalls, and of course performances by special guests Bittersweet and Couple, and also acts on the recently released Radio Demokratika compilation CD like Azmyl Yunor, The Maharajah Commission, An Honest Mistake and more.

The event starts at 12 noon on Saturday, 2nd April 2011 at Fort Cornwallis, Penang. Admission is free. Check out their blog for more info.

Bittersweet is probably one of the most successful indie bands today. A steady and an ever growing fanbase, a distinctive sound, shows that always delivers and impacts audiences, an upcoming sophomore album that, safe to say, is looking like a possible milestone amongst Malaysian indie releases.

The momentum of Bittersweet’s progress seems ceaseless considering the pace they move in and the strength with which they proceed with. But like any other successful band, their journey has in fact been bittersweet. Having to go through a major change in lineup that saw the departure of their frontman Pijie and rhythm guitarist Hafiz, Heri (lead guitarist and main songwriter) and Emai (keyboards) remained steady and continued on with a whole new set of yet again perfect chemistry, now with Fizan on vocals and Moon and his Rickenbacker fulfilling second guitar duties.

Bittersweet’s breakthrough sound is the success of blending 2 different music cultures together so perfectly in their music, mixing local 60s Pop Yeh Yeh references and sincere love for Brit Indie style and sound in their compositions without making it seem like it was force fed and choked with the idea of mixing different worlds, which we know, often turns out to be lackluster. Bittersweet’s sweet combination however, is indeed, a perfect match.

Click here for more info on Bittersweet.

Now here’s something that should be interesting, Ipoh Britpop heroes Bittersweet and fellow Britpop admirers Pesawat will be doing acoustic sets at KLPAC as part of the Acoustic Nights programme going on this week. We wonder how they’ll treat their usually fast paced songs, and maybe even a collaboration will be in store as well?

Show starts at 8.30pm on Tuesday, 4th January 2011 at Pentas 1, KL Performing Arts Center, Sentul, Kuala Lumpur. Entry is free! Just email azharman08@gmail.com or call Azhar at 019-2081732 to get your free seats, and hurry too because seats are limited!

Check out the event’s Facebook page for more info.

It’s that time of the year again for another instalment of Rock The World to rock the socks off all you kids nationwide. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the lineup sees the return of a lot of the festival’s regulars throughout their first 10 years like Love Me Butch, Seven Collar T-Shirt, Bittersweet, Republic Of Brickfields, One Buck Short, Pop Shuvit and loads more.

Show starts at 10am on Sunday 26th December 2010 at Car Park A, Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. Admission is RM30, and tickets are available at Ticketpro Outlets (03-78807999), Rock Corner, Music Valley and at the venue itself.

Check out the list of performers below:

• Love Me Butch
• Pop Shuvit
• Bittersweet
• Disagree
• Lo
• The Pilgrims
• Gerhana Skacinta
• Bunkface
• Republic Of Brickfields
• Dragon Red
• They Will Kill Us All
• One Buck Short
• Azlan & The Typewriter
• Seven Collar T-Shirt
• Bleeding Mascara
• Massacre Conspiracy
• Skudap Skudip
• Dichi Michi
• Couple

Due to popular demand, they’ve added another stage to rope in even more bands. Here are the bands playing the Tune Talk Indie Stage:

• An Honest Mistake
• Rosevelt
• Deja Voodoo Spells
• Car Crash Hearts
• Kyoto Protocol
• Cassandra
• Free Deserters
• Prema Yin
• Once Upon A Time There Was A Sausage Named Bob
• Hello Is This The Band
• Stonebay
• Grey Sky Morning
• Restraint
• Lab The Rat
• OAG

One of the very few venues open for independent music in Malaysia, the Laundry Bar, is now holding their first ever music festival, called The Laundry Festival 2010 with bands like Britpop heroes Bittersweet, the radio conquering Pesawat, power pop warriors Couple, and a host of up and coming stars like lovely red-haired Diandra Arjunaidi, An Honest Mistake, Halfway Kings, Definitely Maybe and loads more.

Show starts at 2pm on Saturday 13th November 2010 at the Laundry Bar, The Curve, Mutiara Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. First drink charge applies for entry. Visit the event’s Facebook page and website for more info.