Friday June 29, 2007
A first for the Republic
Reggae band Republic of Brickfields is set to re-ignite the local live scene, with their debut album and a nationwide tour.
By RIZAL JOHAN
rizal@thestar.com.my
IN THE local independent music scene, he is already considered a legend. He has been around since the indie scene’s infancy in the 80s. People started to take notice of him (with flowing Rasta locks and all) and his metal outfit, Koffin Kanser, in the 90s. Besides fronting Koffin Kanser during live performances, he also fronted another band – the reggae covers band, Republic of Brickfields.
He is none other than Aru.
And now, after making five Koffin Kanser records in a span of 10 years, Aru has finally released the long-awaited Republic of Brickfields’ debut album, Ganjaran. Not only that, the band have been on a nationwide tour to promote the album. Aru hopes that the local live scene will be re-ignited by bands that tour.
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Koffin Kanser (with frontman Aru, centre) performing at Rock the World Music Festival at Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, last December. – Filepic |
Aru states that being on the road and performing live outside a band’s base gives them hands-on knowledge of what it takes to be on the road and serves to improve their playing.
“The only way we are going to match overseas bands is by going on the road and playing live. Only then will you know what is it like to deal with a crew and all the ups-and-downs of organising shows, and only then will you grow in terms of your music and as a person.”
Another reason Aru is advocating touring is to re-ignite the live scene locally which will also make it more accessible for local bands to tour and have shows.
“I want to popularise the live scene and I hope that it will grow. I want the new generation of local musicians to enjoy what us otai (old-timers) have done. I want to do good for the local music scene.”
The Republic of Brickfields’ history is interesting. For one, the name was coined by former member and local indie scene stalwart Joe Kidd as a collective of poets, songwriters, artistes and musicians living in, well, Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur.
“Joe came up with the name and it was to represent, originally, a group of young boys (including myself), all out-of-towners who had come to the big city, KL, to earn a living. And that included a diverse group of creative people – musicians, artistes, poets and the like. It was from that circle that we put together this reggae covers band,” recalled Aru, who hails from Alor Star.
As such, the Republic has seen its fair share of different line-ups over the years; the only constant member in the band is Aru. Interestingly, the Republic is one of the few local indie bands to have lasted so long and still remain well known, largely thanks to Aru and Koffin Kanser.
“Whenever Koffin Kanser plays a show, I automatically get asked if Republic of Brickfields is interested in playing as well. So whenever Koffin Kanser plays, Republic of Brickfields shares the bill, too,” said Aru.
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“I always get asked about the Republic and what we’re about but without an album, a product, it was hard to get people interested in the band and their music. I’ve been a reggae fan ever since I was seven. With the Republic, I got the chance to play the music I’ve always loved, in the hopes that the kids get into it as well. But, more often than not, we get the same requests every time we play – Bob Marley’s No Woman, No Cry. Even in the Marley catalogue, the kids only know a few of his songs; they associate reggae with Marley but there are so many reggae bands out there. I’m trying to get them to listen to as much reggae music as possible.”
Not that Aru has a problem playing No Woman, No Cry over and over again. He states that among the many genres of music in the local indie scene, reggae is the one that unites all these divisions .
“There are metal-heads and punk aficionados and they’re very loyal to their music and bands that they support. Reggae, however, is the only form of music that brings all these kids together,” said Aru.
And it is the kids that drive Aru to keep doing what he does.
“I want to have a positive impact on the kids. I’ve been in the scene for so long, and it’s a good thing to see these kids playing their own reggae songs now. Reggae is definitely coming up in the underground scene. I know that it is always associated with drugs but that’s the wrong perception. People look at me and my hair and because I play reggae, they think, ‘Yeah, he smokes marijuana’, but I’ve stopped smoking cigarettes for seven years now.
“What’s important is the music, not the lifestyle. I want to reach out to the kids through reggae because nobody listens and talks to the kids these days.”
Ganjaran is distributed by EMI Malaysia.
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