Some songs are merely white noise and just something to accompany your drive home. But some songs bring meaning to the stages of life we’re in. We caught up with the local favourites to ask them what they’re currently listening to and why it’s their favourite at the moment.
Youth Portal
The dream pop outfit does not have a preference to a genre as a collective, and it’s reflected on their current favourite jams. “We mostly listen to the stuff we listen because we simply enjoy it, good melody, cool and simple arrangement or just something relatable” says Ikram. A variety of music makes itself through the band members’ list.
The drummer, Tazky is currently delving to Inner Wave’s dreamy, uniquely unstructured record ‘Underwater Pipe Dreams’, whereas the bassist, Aimaan is listening to Kero Kero Bonito’s Only Acting, a track from her latest record. Aimaan appreciates the fact that it’s a “great indie pop tune with an experimental noise break”.
The vocalist, Ikram, is listening to American duo, The Egg’s ‘Garden’ — laced with noise-infused rock element, he likes it for the melody.
The lead guitarist, Zaki, is currently listening My Bloody Valentines’ 2013 record ‘MBV’. “For me this album is like no other, the dimension is very wide and endless, lushful, dreamy and striking I don’t even know how to even describe it with words but it hits right through my heart”.
The keyboardist & rhythm guitarist, Ash is listening to Canadian electro-pop ensemble Men I Trust’s Tailwhip. The song feels like an intersection of the past and the present, as it’s feels very nostalgic to him and it fits his taste of music at the moment.
Spooky Wet Dreams
Spooky Wet Dreams’ conceptual, nu-patriotic album is currently getting a lot of attention.
The vocalist, Ze, is currently hooked to Mitski’s brand new record, ‘Be The Cowboy’. “I like how fresh it sounds man, especially ‘Nobody’, that was written based on her experience living in Kuala Lumpur.” He sees Mitski as the amalgamation of The Voidz going disco with Lana Del Rey as their frontwoman.
Another one of his current favourite is the ultimate Malay indie-folk record Bersendirian Berhad by Bayangan. “I loved it the first time I heard it, and I love it now. The honesty in Fikri’s voice and lyrics gets me like the broken adult that I am, just observing and feeling things you know.”
Insomniacks
Iqie, the vocalist of one of the most talked about pop units in Malaysia, Insomniacks, shares with us a peek of his playlist. First on the list is one of the tracks from Peach Pit’s debut LP “Being So Normal”, ‘Tommy’s Party’. “It’s got that laid back vibe you can just zone out to”, followed by ‘Autumn’s Song’ by Stephen Day. According to Iqie, it’s the “type of shit I wish I wrote.” Orang Malaya’s ‘Smile’ and Midnight Fusic’s ‘Off My Mind’ also make the cut.
Jetcetera
Jetcetera is an indie-rock cum synth pop ensemble that’s new to the scene, having released a single back in October called ‘Hear Me Out’.
The vocalist, Aida is currently hooked on ‘Pristine’ by Snail Mail. “I can’t stop listening to it especially after watching this interview where Lindsey Jordan explained the structure of the song and how the song became what it is. It’s the only thing I play on the guitar for the past week.” Snail Mail is the moniker used by Lindsey Jordan, a 17 year-old who has gotten immense success in such a short period of time especially when her debut album ‘Lush’ peaked in 2018.
The guitarist, Nani Zul, has Salt In a Wound by Boygenius on repeat for the past few weeks. “I love how the vocals carry itself in this song and how it started off with minimal instruments and it slowly escalates to heavy guitars and intense vocals. I feel like it’s in line with what their singing at the end, ‘they say the hearts & minds are on your side, they say the finish line is in your sights, what they don’t say is what’s on the other side’. It’s one of the songs that I wish I had thought of. It’s so wholesome, musically & lyrically.”
