gardening at night

by Lounge Lizard

Photos Courtesy of Ferns

Hailing from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, singer/ guitarist Warren Chan, keyboardist/ vocalist Abigail De Vries, drummer Dave Wong, bassist Chew Phye Boonand guitarist Wong Chee Meng (who has since left the band) also known as the indie pop act, Ferns (http://myspace.com/fernfrens) has just released their debut album On Botany under Fruit Records. Frontman Warren speaks his mind with Aging Youth about gardening, being one of the Top 25 Rolling Stone’s MySpace bands and if they can be depended upon in a bar brawl.

Amongst all the greenery, ferns seem to me like they take a backseat to the rest of the flora community. Flowers always take centre stage while weeds are a nuisance. People tend to neglect ferns. Is there a special connection you guys feel towards this plant?

A fine question to mull over. Our ferny friends may be overlooked, but people do like to have ‘em around cos they're no fuss, no muss and hardy, to boot. Nondescript, but certainly dependable in a pinch when you have an urge for foliage. We identify with that. Plus, we'd like to think that we sort of “grow” on you - hah!

Anyone in the band has a green thumb?

Nope. Believe me - we’ve inspected each and every thumb thoroughly to verify this! We’re not dismissing the idea of toes and other appendages, however.

The band won special accolades as one of Rolling Stone magazine’s top 25 bands on MySpace. How did that happen?

We entered on a whim, thanks to (Kuala Lumpur-based rock band) Couple (who also won a spot on the list), not expecting anything. This was like two days before the closing deadline for entries, too, so it was pretty surprising that we were picked in addition to Couple and White Shoes & The Couples Company (from Indonesia) representing South East Asia.

Of course, it's not a definitive list despite what they claim, but it's pretty cool to think that someone at the big RS took the time to actually sift through 1700 entries to spotlight a little ol' backwater band like us. It’s also comforting to know that MySpace plays a big role in helping humble bands like us and Couple especially, to reach a wider audience.

Being a band based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, you guys are signed to Singapore’s Fruit Records. How did that come about?

Because honestly, we’re the only band in Kuala Lumpur doing what we do, and there are no labels (or scenes) here that we would fit in with. We’re a pop band, they’re a pop label – it was a pretty logical decision. Again, it was thanks to MySpace that led them to discover us.

Meng was credited for playing guitar on the album On Botany. In addition, he serves double duties as a recording engineer and mastering engineer. How did that come about?

Meng is actually no longer in the band, due to the twin demands of wedded bliss and work commitments. First and foremost, his passion and business is studio work and he’s been working at this even before he joined the band as a guitarist. He runs Standing Wave Studios (www.standingwave.com.my) and is the go-to guy for starving indie musicians seeking quality recordings. His killer guitar chops are matched only by his killer studio skills. So yeah, we’ll miss him.

And I’ve noticed that Lied’s Adlin has been standing in, covering Meng’s parts. Isn’t he like a village bike or a band slut? He’s been in a gazillion Malayisan indie acts.

What some people might not realise is that Adlin was actually in an earlier incarnation of Ferns before heading off to fame and glory fronting his own outfit, Lied. So it’s more like a homecoming of sorts. But yeah, you name it and he’s done it. Part of the attraction is simply because aside from being a great singer, he’s also a super versatile and really cool guitarist. Plus, he really knows how to work that facial hair.

Everyone I heard who knows him is very fascinated by that goatee! Anyway, Ferns sound very gentle, compared to the truckloads of indie pop bands out there. Warren tends to whisper rather than sing. My friend described the band as having a sensitive songwriting style. How did you manage to develop this style? Was it a conscious decision?

We’ve all had great fun in the past screaming like jackasses and damaging ourselves in previous, more spirited bands. But with Ferns, we felt it was important to commit ourselves writing songs that could contain certain longevity. We’ve never had any grand plan other than to create memorable pop music with a spoonful of imagination. It’s difficult to consciously will a certain style into existence.

I would have to say that there are certain sensibilities that we’re drawn to, but once the first few songs were written, the rest automatically followed invisible parameters. We write and play to the best of our abilities and hope people like it.

We’ve never said, “Let’s try to write a song that sounds like XXX band,” because that doesn’t work. That it sounds “sensitive” is completely incidental as well. Everything just fell into place. All sorts of pop music inspires us, particularly that of bands like The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, Grandaddy, Wilco and Luna - though you might be hard-pressed to hear it in our music.

There are some pretty intricate arrangements on the album? Does the band sit down and work through it or do you dominate the entire process?

If I come in with a melody, lyrics and a structure, it’s still not a real song by any measure. It takes the whole band to complete a song. We’ll probably just jam through a few times and settle on something that feels right. We’re not the type of band to agonize over things, because in the end if your basic song isn’t memorable or compelling, you’ve failed – no matter how well-arranged it sounds. The production/recording process does give you abit more leeway to experiment though, so I’m grateful for that.

‘This Sweet Refrain’ has this line which I love: “Before I die/ I ought to tell you that I lied.” What was the lie?

The narrator, being a natural self-loather, has never believed that he deserves his one true love. Sometimes, the lies we tell ourselves are worse than those we tell others.

I love the ‘This Sweet Refrain’ video shot by Fairuz Sulaiman. Who conceptualized the idea of doing it like a cheesy Mando-pop karaoke video? And wassup with the fish head though?

Originally, I proposed a Melayu rawk ballad-style video, the type you used to see on RTM TV back in the day – the soft-focus lens, lovers strolling around on the beach. But then Fairuz evolved that into the karaoke concept, which was really cool. Boy-meets-fish, bestiality ensues. Again, completely Fairuz’s idea. Our only direction to him was that it had to be funny. The director’s cut will feature our aquatic princess ending up on a fishmonger’s chopping block instead.

That’s pretty morbid dude. ‘Death Of A Lifetime’ has a very Kent-ish vibe to it. Are you guys into Swedish pop-rock acts as well?

Not at all actually. Like we mentioned before, we’re really unfamiliar with the whole indie/twee/swedish pop scene. But I do have to express great admiration for Jens Lekman, though he’s more like a twee-Magnetic Fields-Jonathan Richman hybrid.

The surprisingly chirpy ‘Death Of A Lifetime’, the dirge-like ‘When We Die’, and some of songs carry the theme of death. Is Warren really that morbid?

Couch philosophy says you can’t live life if you can’t face up to death. We’re not glamourizing the death aesthetic ala My Chemical Romance because that’s kind of silly. But on a personal level, it’s something to consider because non-permanence helps us appreciate things better.

Are you guys guilty as charged on the twee pop cliché of being painfully shy and delicately sensitive?

These timid exteriors belie the awful tension of a raging rock monster begging to be let out. Just kidding! Though for some reason we are aligned with the twee pop scene, we’ll admit to a general unfamiliarity with its cultural aspect. No, we’re all pretty well-adjusted with the exception of our drummer Dave who’s the resident badass of the band – this is a good thing!

Can we rely on you guys in the midst of a bar brawl?

Collectively, we would nominate our champion, Dave to bring down the wrath of Zeus upon our foes.