The Return Of The Kings

Is it a royal welcome for Malaysian rock’s prodigal sons? Two of Malaysia’s former premier rock bands returned to the stage in May for a show at Laundry Bar that should’ve set nostalgic addicts abuzz. But what were Nitrus and John’s Mistress up to while they were gone?

NITRUS
About two years ago, KL-based band Nitrus were buzzing in the local scene with a couple of hit singles making the rounds on local radio, most notably the refreshingly catchy slice of college rock that is ‘Kamu’. But then they dropped off the radar, allowing fresh faces such as the unstoppable Hujan and Estranged to dominate the Malay rock scene, although vocalist/guitarist Edriely Ibrahim swears they were never away. “Disappearance? No, we were never away. We’ve always been here, trying to survive in the music industry,” before adding almost bitterly, “It’s just that we’re not getting much coverage and publicity from the media. Furthermore, in our industry there’s a lot of discrimination and cronyism being practised.”

But the lack of interest has not stopped the band, also consisting of  Syed Helmy Alhabshi (guitars), Mohd Azle Mohd Isa (bass) and Iskandar Syah Ali (drums), from labouring their music out to the masses, starting with the recent release of their sophomore album, 2, which essentially picks up from where the band left off two years ago, with bright warm guitars, uplifting and large choruses and just enough Indon-rock sensibilities to slant it towards a larger audience. But Edriely thinks the band has changed quite a bit in the last two years. “We would like to think we’re different these days because we pay more attention to music arrangement and lyrics to create a more mature sound,” he stresses. “That is probably why even diverse audiences like the Chinese and Indians can accept our music.”

www.myspace.com/nitrusband

JOHN'S MISTRESS
Unlike Nitrus, John’s Mistress actually did in fact go on a hiatus. It was one that was riddled with talks of band member wars, and the pressure and perils that came with being at the top of the local rock pile. But vocalist/guitarist and main lynchpin Kon Hiro Fumi has a more diplomatic take on it: “We were actually discovering working life, like most people.” But band members did go and Fumi has returned with a new lineup consisting of Arul (drums), Jon (guitars), Yuki (keyboards) and Shahrul (bass), and a renewed zest to test musical waters again. “Music has been in my blood for a long time,” says Fumi, who is of Japanese lineage. “I actually needed to get it out of my system so I grabbed my guitar and a record player, and started recruiting new band members. And that’s how John’s Mistress got back in the game.”

It’s this very zest that has resulted in the band’s new single ‘Heroes’, a driving guitar-drenched pop rocker that’s already setting radio ablaze at the moment, proving that Fumi did not lose his commercial compass during his sojourn. “I was actually still writing new material during that period of disappearance,” shares Fumi. “I guess we needed a break, but before you even notice, years have passed.”

Seven years is a long break indeed, one that has seen the music-scape of Malaysia change dramatically, but what has this “break” done for the band and what can fans expect from the new John’s Mistress in this vastly changing music scene? “In terms of sound, we are more experimental compared to the last John’s Mistress,” reveals Fumi. “We have more members now with the addition of a guitarist and a keyboardist, and we’re writing more in Japanese as well (with second single ‘Kimi’).” This multilingual approach is purportedly to fulfil Fumi’s ultimate goal for John’s Mistress, “The biggest plan we have is to be able to gig in my homeland, Japan.”

www.myspace.com/johnsmistressband


WORDS THE GEEK PHOTOS JOHN’S MISTRESS & NITRUS

*Taken from Junk's June 2009 issue