Law is dictating the laws of music

There are two deceiving things about the MySpace page of Law that you need to know about. First, the three band members listed there named Law (vocals, keys), Cookie (bass) and Melo (drums/percussion) are really just one person: a 27-year-old Malaysian named Lim Onn Jian. "I find there's something inherently cooler and more romantic about the concept of a band as opposed to just one person," says the articulate audio engineer. "So...I decided to hide behind the façade of a band. Like a poor man's Gorillaz."

Fair enough. But there is a second heinous act of e-deception being committed, which lies in the plural "laws" of that MySpace address. Because as far as Law is concerned, this is only one guiding principle of music making. "It's all about the song," he says. "Song, song, song. If you've written an amazing song, it doesn't matter how you dress it up, it'll still be amazing."

Okay, noted. Now that we've cleared the air, let us smell the roses. As the vocalist and guitarist for Malaysian rock band Nereku, Law was finishing up his studies in England in 2006 when he was told that his precious band of four years was breaking up. "I imagine it's what divorce feels like: you've been together for so long, been through so much, and then you drift apart, stop talking to each other," he muses. But Law channelled that sense of loss into musical creation, locking himself in his London bedroom for three weeks. "I'd write and record the basic tracks in the afternoon or evening, go to bed, do the vocals in the morning, then start the next song in the evening.  It's the most productive I've ever been, musically."

All that productivity resulted in Law's self-titled debut, a multifaceted release that gave fair reflection of his broad musical preferences (which centre around The Beatles, The Beach Boys and David Bowie, plus ample soft spots for Motown soul, 90s indie and Daft Punk). It was completed in May 2006 and was made available for free download on his MySpace. The decision to distribute his music this way is the result of those years with Nereku fruitlessly chasing a record deal ("It's draining and very disheartening, and it deadens you musically.") and his own initial lighthearted approach to this solo project.

Nevertheless, the positive feedback Law has received this far has somewhat forced him to take things more seriously. The new release, Timezones, exemplifies that heightened focus as Law spent over two years (in between life and work commitments) polishing the songs and broadening the soundscapes. "I went through various periods of writer's block or not being happy with the songs I wrote," he says. "There were probably about 20 to 30 other work-in-progress songs that I junked."

Timezones certainly bears evidence of Law's painstaking endeavours, as it constantly alternates between the numerous aforementioned genres while adding some chunkier guitar layers. Standout track 'Stopgap' embodies this approach, unbolting its soulful beginnings into a full-blooded riff monster mid-song, all the while anchored on the lyrical refrain, "How does it feel to be used and discarded?"

With Law's music already having reached many distant shores, a time might soon come when he will have to physically navigate those different timezones that he now sings about. Yet for now, he's happy to let the music do the travelling. "I think music should be about sharing anyway," he says. "When someone tells me that they like a song of mine, that it made a positive influence on their life, it's a wonderful feeling."

WORDS CHRIS PHOTO WONG KOK SENG
www.myspace.com/lawsofmusic

* Taken from Junk's August 2009 issue