love, sex and whipped cream

by Lounge Lizard

Photos by AYP

In 1997, the band settled into what most fans consider as their classic line-up of Esam(vocals, guitars), Syed Ahmad (drums), Syed Munir (guitars)and Kamal (bass). Fresh from contributing to local film-maker, Eric Khoo's Mee Pok Man OST and the now-defunct-Springroll compilation, 'Flush After Use', the quartet pulled out their musical coup. Their best-loved song (at least, my personal all-time fave),'Goodil'was tucked in (yet again) Eric Khoo's 12 Storey OST.

After contributing to (yet again) another movie OST, Glenn Goei's Forever Fever OST, Stoned Revivals steamrolled their debut album,'Golden Lovesongs From The Evil Island Of The Handsome Tropical Cannibals' in 1999. It's a mouthful, yes but widely beloved by many for its eclectic, heady blend of pop, soul, funk, bossa nova, triphop and electronica. Flushed with solid musical arrangements, the album delivered 14 instantly accessible pop tunes.

However, things have been rather quiet for the band since 2001 when both Kamal and Munir left the band. Aging Youth got tired of sticking our cameras into people's faces during their performances and crashing other folk's rehearsal sessions. So we headed down to the band's watering hole, Chips at Ming Arcade to have a chat about the band's current situation, their future and sex. Something about ropes and whipped cream...Kinky...

I remember back in the mid-90s, you guys were playing shoegazer-ish indie rock. By the time the Spingroll compilation 'Flush After Use' came out, you guys abandoned the wild guitar effects and stripped down to a jangly indie-pop style. Esam, was that a conscious decision back then?

To me, Stoned Revivals has alway been about breaking from the norm and not going for what's the "in" thing or flavour of the month. Back in 1990 when we started, we were just kids playing what we loved. The kinda stuff you only got to listen on John Peel (Sessions) or traded with friends. The early jamming sessions were like a mix of Stone Roses, Jesus And the Mary Chain, Sex Pistols, Bathory, Dead Kennedys, The Cure, Fugazi, Sonic Youth, Anti Nowhere League, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Ride, etc. You name it, we played it. Simply put, we were a bunch of kids who loved independent music. I've never set out to be a part of any bandwagon and so we played what was not cool even in the underground back then. A lotta HC (hardcore) stuff were buzzing in the scene. We decided to just move away from that and tried to find our own voice. Simply put, we just love to follow the flow and groove, depending on what kinda mood we were having. Well, that's practically what you'd be getting from us. We did 'Goodil' when disco was so uncool. Haha... It was not the norm to have a trumpet player back then too... or a turntablist live onstage.

I love 'Goodil'. Do you guys take song requests? I hadn't heard it live in ages!

Well, 'Goodil' was actually something I wrote for an ex for her birthday or something like that. It's kinda strange how I (came up with) the chords structure an hour before heading to the studio and let the guys listen to the structure and melody. When Ahmad filled in the drums and Kamal with that discofied bassline, it just grooved, just one of those moments I guess.

The way it clicked with the listeners was just amazing...even l'ill kids were humming it. To me, that was just one of those unforgettable moments for an obscure underground band like us back then. Recording wise, we went to Lion Studios and Syed Ahmad did some magical stuff layering the track with strings and other elements. I guess as a band we have always been open and democratic. Yeah, we did a lot of requests back then but as every song goes, once you've played it to death, then you would rather not touch it again. Maybe... just maybe if we were ever in the mood for platforms and polka dotted pink scarfs...

All those soulful and jazzy funk stuff just came out during Munir's stint in the band.Nowadays, it's just down to the 2 of you guys and a more electronic-based sound evident in the BarNone gig. Any plans of roping in any new members, Esam?

If you were to check out the earlier stuff on "Soul Detergent" (Stoned Revivals demo tape), there was actually the element of jazz and soul. It's just not that prominent... Check out 'Just Shaved' and the song that was unreleased,'Big Old Bastard', just bastardised jazz and this was when I was the sole songwriter before Syed Ahmad and Syed Munir got roped in. Syed Ahmad added the much loved Porn element in our sound among others. Hehe...The best thing about Munir was (that) he had really magnificent guitar skills and he was the missing link in the kinda sound we were looking for. The Crybaby Wah Wah pedal (sound). Though the songwriting duties were left to Syed Ahmad and me. And Kamal, well, he was a jazz and funk fanatic. He was the one who pulled Munir into the band. He had tonnes of CDs and was the one who's updated on new musical forms, having worked in Tower Records (before). We've always loved playing with fellow musicians, I guess. At the moment, we are jamming with Sofy and Hasan from the Bushmen and still looking for our much needed horn section. But ultimately for us, we would only use sessionists for a gig if we could pay them or else it would be just me and Syed Ahmad live.

The 1st post-Kamal-era gig I have seen you guys play was at the 1st Zouk-Out at Sentosa. I was blown away by the number of players you guys had on stage. What, there was like 10 players on stage? It was great, by the way.

That was a really fun one I guess cause it was just me and Syed Ahmad jamming with a bunch of really good friends on stage. Munir, Topet (Flow), Kaye , DJ Edryan, Firman (Wicked Aura Batucada), Sofy, Rahman (Bushmen) and some friends who just jumped in and played.

We were like super thrashed. (I've) been there for a whole week under the hot sun doing the decor for the event. The lack of sleep and high alcohol levels were mad. It was definitely an intoxicated performance but the bottom line was to have fun. From then on, we did experiment with various line ups just to keep things fresh and going.

Since my tape player went the way of the dinosaurs, I haven't heard (Stoned Revivals' first demo) 'Soul Detergent' for ages. Do you guys have any plans to release it again?

We are not planning to release it again but plan to rerecord some of the songs from that demo. (They) are already in the works. Just a matter of choosing the better ones. The original reel is still with Joe Ng (vocalist of the defunct Padres) and it's been ages that I've been wanting to get it from him. But me being the ever forgetful fella... haha. Anyways, Joe helped us a lot in getting that demo out. He was the first person who saw something in us, I guess. Something that we ourselves didn't even notice. To me, playing gigs was the most wonderful feeling we could ever get and the satisfaction of playing at places like the Substation was indescribable as a young band. But Joe insisted that we record the songs and release it as a demo. He forked out $1000 from his own pocket and that, to me, was something I don't think I could ever forget. Without the release of that demo, there wouldn't be the release of 'Teenage Queen' on the Mee Pok Man OST,'Goodil' or the Flush After Use Compilation or any other releases. That to me was the starting point of the Stoned Revivals' recorded musical journey...

I read that Munir left the band to pursue jazz and playing in Urban Xchange. Why did Kamal leave then?

The truth was, one day after jamming, we just sat down (and had a discussion). Me and Syed Ahmad decided to go our separate ways with the band. There was a lotta friction back then. We figured the most important element of being in a band was being totally ignored. We were like arguing 80% of the time without much time left to be creative. Everything was falling apart. That's what happens when you allow outside influences, (such as) money hungry idiots into the fold. Kamal was the most pissed off cause we both founded the band and he thought I played him out. We actually didn't talk for years...only til about two years back.

Well, Munir went on to join Urban Xchange and Kamal concentrated on his career. Me and Syed Ahmad I guess, we had that chemistry writing songs so we chose to carry on.

Any plans for a sophomore album?

By December.2004 hopefully, since we are already at the stage of choosing songs. But it might only be released regionally and not particularly in Singapore itself. We've not decided whether to work on the newer songs or actually rework the older stuff for the regional market. We feel (that) a lot of injustice was done on the older tracks due to the recording capacity we had and the bad mixes and overall sound... especially, from the 'Golden Love Songs From The Evil Island Of The Handsome Tropical Cannibals' LP. Syed Ahmad is a perfectionist when it comes to the overall sound and the l'il details, stuff like layers and how a certain instrument would help in the vibe of a certain song. He has been twiddling a lot with this software, Reason, playing around with samples and drum loops...So eventually, even the older songs would be receiving a new facelift. I guess we are kinda itchy to go right into the studio but for now it's a lot of jamming with the new line up to beef up the songs when played live. Being a full time musician, he has more time to do research on music and interesting genres. A lot of surfin' the net, not for porn, I hope. What we wanna do now is to record a demo version for MNM (Music And Movement) to have a listen to and then start on the actual recording once the songs are confirmed.

I love your debut LP but I've always thought that the recording did no justice to your vocals. All the dynamics and soul seem to be sucked out on the album.

After the album launch at Zouk in '99, Kamal, Ahmad, Munir and I tested the brand new CD in one of our mates' car...We almost cried listening at how crappy the sound was. And the fucked up levels. A lot of layers were missing in the mix and to put it simply, it was a disaster. We wanted to pull it off the shelves but it was already too late. Luckily, it was only the initial 1000 copies so we figured we could remix and master it, releasing a second batch. But when we spoke to the producer who had done the recording for us about it, he got all defensive. And guess what he did? He thrashed the whole recording from his hard disk!! So all we had left was the copy of e album with that we could reproduce and keep selling to the kids. But I guess that would be harakiri...So to those that own that album, well, yours is one of the 1000 ever released.

Better to have it than not! You mentioned new songs. Are they in the similar vein as those on 'Golden Lovesongs...'? Or those more driven by the Fender Rhodes?

Well it's really difficult to at this moment (as) we are experimenting with various forms of music genres, mixing 'em up...and doing something which totally us in terms of sound and feel. The only thing I can say for now is that me and Ahmad do have our specific flavours of writing. Currently judging from our last jamming session, Ahmad's going more towards that 80's indie /British kinda sound...very clean and tight. For myself, I'm more attuned to simple deconstructed soul, imperfect blues and bastardised soul for the folks, based more on vocals than intricate chords. Fender Rhodes adds a very warm and organic old skool vibe so it would definitely be prominent in some of the newer songs though we've been using it since the recording of the Forever Fever OST. I guess the new album will be more focused but still eclectic. We are dwelling in Dub/House/Blacksploitation/Soul among others. So do expect some nice l'il bits...

So what exactly is a Handsome Tropical Cannibal? Where can we find this Evil Island?

Well, it's actually a l'il island where both you and I live in. Where the inhabitants are beautiful, handsome, whatever u call it. And they would kill or stab each other just to get to the top. To be known as someone. Cannibalism is a perfect way of life. Just beautiful people comfortably in their slumber, serenaded by beautiful songs and beliefs manufactured by master totalitarians. Beautifully chasing their dreams and utopia.

Back in the 'Golden Lovesongs From The Evil Island of The Handsome Tropical Cannibals' era, Esam, your lyrics dealt mainly with love and sex? Are these topics still prevalent in what you write nowadays?

I guess it's more about love... about finding a light in a dark room... about selflessness... about life basically. I always look around me... what's happening. (I) get inspired and put that in pen and paper. My own translation of life could end up being pretty sexual...or morbid...or happy. (It) depends on how you relate to it. As a human, you can't help being disturbed by what's going on but I always try to mould that anger into something which is beautiful, something warm that everyone can relate to. Making music is a lot like lovemaking. If there is no interaction, then it becomes masturbatory. Something similar to having a cigarette with no lighter on you...

Hehehe, true true. John Squire (ex-Stone Roses) said that if guitar playing is like masturbation, he is just a champion masturbator. You seem to have cut back on your playing these few years.

Ha ha...he said that? I have realised that less is more and at this moment, I am focussing more on my vocals rather than the guitar parts. The truth is I never really knew the names of the chords that I played, even the songs that I wrote. They were remembered solely on the way I held the chords. Syed Ahmad's the maestro in these chord names and progressions and their families, etc. To me they are just different sounds and tones with no name. I am more interested in breaking the law of song writing on a whole rather than the noise or effects I could get from a certain gadget. My belief is that is more punk than what any distortion or gadget could ever produce... Or any Mohawk or safety pin could ever justify.

A-fucken-men to that. What gear are you currently using nowadays?

Anyways, I'm just keeping it simple nowadays. Currently, I'm using an Italia Modena. It's a sparkly l'il baby shaped like a Fender Jaguar. I'm really fond of cheap Japanese surf guitars from the 60s or anything weird looking with a lotta switches. Sometimes I use my Hagstrom III. Gadget wise, whether playing in Stoned Revivals or Force Vomit, I'll stick to my ever faithful Boss Digital Delay DD3 and Super Overdrive. Though my fave one with the Sonic Youth autographs just got lost during a KL trip with Force Vomit...boo hooo...

Back to the topic of sex, I've read some stuff on sammyboy.com. After writing and singing so much about sex and all, what would you personally recommend? The Goddess of Mercy on A Lotus position? Or the good old Missionary? Diagrams and charts are optional.

Goddess of Mercy? Nah, that reminds me too much of my ex girlfriend. Haha... Well, contrary to popular belief, the missionary can be an interesting position. Add to that a bit of ice, a pair of handcuffs....about 2 metres of manila rope (eeek), a pink scarf, whipped cream and not forgetting my fave mil mascaras mask.... A tip....put a pillow below your partner... below her hip area... til her buttocks are a bit raised and start banging... That's one way to get the 'G' spot. Hahahahaha