Our contributor, Boon Lee, spoke briefly to Kuala Lumpur based indie rock outfit, Jaggfuzzbeats, on their latest release ‘Rest Now’, ahead of their performance at the Good Vibes Festival 2017.
‘Rest Now’ is Jaggfuzzbeat’s latest release, how has your music evolved since you first started playing together?
Azrul: Well I would say we’ve matured in terms of songwriting and composing. Back then we were mostly playing around, just throwing in anything we can think of. Now we actually have a process that we go through together and that helped us shape the music that we make today.
Omar: Yeah have to agree with Azrul, we definitely sound more matured. Back then we didn’t really care, we just wanted to rock out.
What is one thing you’d like for the listener’s to takeaway from the album?
A: I’d like to see the album as a distant memory comprising of all those moments we went through growing up. From rejections, falling in love, losing someone, feeling out of place and just hitting rock bottom all together. And what I’d like for the listeners to take away from that is knowing everything happens for a reason and the only way to go in life is forward.
Explain to us Jaggfuzzbeat’s creative process & what was inspiring you during the recording process.
A: I mainly start the process with a (sometimes very) rough draft. It would sound very out of place and weird at first haha but that’s when I share it with Omar and that’s where we start putting out ideas. Giving any needed touch the song needs. I guess it was simply being in that creative space that inspired me. Just being myself and doing what I love that got me going.
O: Yeah, Azrul is the chief writer in this band, he’ll pass me his rough ideas, and I’ll see what I can add. Then, once we have everything down, we take it to the studio and have them properly recorded. Doing what I love gets me going too huhu.
What has been your biggest challenge as a band? How have you been able to overcome that challenge and if so, how?
A: Putting this album out was a pretty big challenge personally considering the things we had to do along with it like printing the CDs, promotion, the album launch etc. We were mainly handling everything ourselves but we wouldn’t have done it without the help from our amazing friends <3 So shouts outs to Melodiya, Stakeshop, Urbanscapes, The Bee and everyone who helped out.
Does Jaggfuzzbeats believe in guilty pleasures and if you do, can you share with us your musical guilty pleasures?
A: I mean if you find pleasure in it you shouldn’t feel guilty about it honestly haha But I would say mine is Ariana Grande. Every time her song is on I’ll just start boppin’ to it even when I don’t remember all the words haha
O: I personally have a lot of musical guilty pleasures, they range from outdated post hardcore/pop punk stuff to even Mainstream songs that annoyingly gets overplayed on the radio , such as Despacito.
How rock & roll will it be at Jaggfuzzbeats’s Good Vibes’ set?
A: I mean we pretty much rock & roll at every show haha but, I have a feeling our set at Good Vibes this year, we’re gonna amp it up a little bit. So, definitely rock & roll gila lah.
O: Yep, rock & roll gila lah.
For more on Jaggfuzzbeats, check out their official Facebook page here.
Interviewed by Boon Lee
