S’pore band My Writes wakes up from the dead
Yahoo! MusicScene shines the spotlight on talented, up-and-coming Singaporean bands or musicians. This week, in the second part of our feature on bands playing at BayBeats 2011, we speak to My Writes, who were defunct for some time before their invitation to play at the festival.
A simple phone call woke them up from hibernation, just when they thought their days of performing were over.
Singapore band My Writes -- which was formed in 2005 -- was actually at a point where they could not even remember when their last gig was.
"Actually, if not for Baybeats, the band would still be in hibernation mode. So when we got the invitation, we met and pulled ourselves together and started jamming," the band's guitarist, Shaun, told Yahoo! Singapore.
The call from the Baybeats organisers could not have come at a better time too.
Having now sorted out their own lives after National Service for the guys, and settling down with a job, the band -- comprising Dhaniah, 24, Shaun, 25, Muhammad, 27, Zul, 24, and Hanifi, 25 -- is now refreshed and raring for a new start.
"I think it was good that we took the break the past few years to sort out our lives, because just before we became defunct, we were becoming very stagnant and there was nothing new being brought to the table," said lead vocalist, Dhaniah.
"Baybeats was like our motivation, and something to work towards. In that process, we rediscovered ourselves and a couple of months back, we decided to return to songwriting again and work on a second album," added Shaun.
In fact, their invitation to Baybeats was actually all the more surprising given that they actually failed in their audition to play at the festival last year.
"Last year, we were raring to go and auditioned for Baybeats. But we did not even get selected into the top 30 bands. This year, we did not even think about it, but we got invited to play," said Zul, the band's bassist.
Watch a video of My Writes performing live:
Hailing from backgrounds of various genre influences like punk rock and fusion jazz, My Writes describes their music as a "rojak" of sorts -- a mixture of each member's style.
Described as a band that dishes out "riveting melodies and heartfelt confessions", it is obvious that they are thankful for their journey thus far, and this second chance that they have gotten.
"It's a good feeling to be playing together again. It's been quite a long time since we played as a band and, to me, to play music that you love on stage with your friends is something that money cannot buy," said drummer, Muhammad, who is involved in seven bands and working towards playing music full time.
They also made special mention of Bob -- a member of the local band, The Guilt, who are also playing at Baybeats -- who allowed them to record their first album in his studio for a "ridiculously small sum". He also helped the band in their musical direction and got them gigs in the underground circle.
The local music scene will be keeping a keen eye on My Writes, as they play at Baybeats 2011, which they said is both a beginning and an end.
"One one hand, we want to stop playing our old songs because we have been playing the same ones for many years. We will also want to see this as a new beginning as we make a fresh start in our journey without Hanifi, who will leave the band after the festival due to other commitments," explained Zul.
Catch My Writes in action at Baybeats 2011 at the Arena stage on Sunday, 21 August at 9.15pm.
