Think 3:06 - Couple

How a small-town band brought Malaysian indie rock to the world
By Chris Chew

For a band named after a synonym for ‘two’, the kind of numbers Couple have drawn in 2006 add to significantly more than a deuce: 600 copies of their debut studio album Top of the Pop sold; over 40 gigs across Malaysia and three other Southeast Asian countries; distribution deals in two of the world’s biggest music markets; two music videos; and 4,861 friends and 46,254 profile views on their Myspace site.

Tonight, at a dingy pub in a two-star Kuala Lumpur hotel, another number has cropped up: 20. That’s approximately the number of people watching Couple perform. The crowd consists mostly of band members who played earlier, familiar industry faces, plus the odd hotel guest, forlorn and sipping his beer in a darkened corner.

No matter. With trademark buoyancy, Couple plonk their US power pop ditties on the sparse yet receptive audience. In a sugar-rushed 25-minute set, the band debut three songs and cram five more from Top of the Pop.

“December’s been a busy month for us,” says frontman Aidil Rusli, lounging in the hotel foyer after the gig. The band played a self-organised gig to around 60 punters the day before. Tomorrow, they would be frolicking on the rooftop of a corporate building with some 300 school-leavers at a student-organised pool party. “We’re also playing at a prom next week, then [Malaysia’s premier rock festival] Rock the World the following weekend, then a couple more to end the year…”

“Hectic man!” echoes bassist Ojoe. “But it’s okay lah, we don’t mind.”

“Ya, we actually had one on Christmas Eve that I think we’ll have to cancel,” says Aidil.

“Why?” asks Ojoe.

“Because you can’t make it, remember?” replies Aidil, reminding the goofy bassist of his personal obligations.

“Oh really? Aiya,” says Ojoe.

“It’s okay, we played in Thailand,” says Aidil, referring to the band’s November stint in Bangkok’s Fat Festival.

“And we got on MTV!” chimes in new guitarist Ariana.

“Ya, MTV,” says Aidil. “That was fun. It’s been a busy year.”

All that busyness, culminating in a jam-packed December, yet nary a word of complaint from the jolly, lovable foursome (including new drummer, 18-year-old Shahrin Ismail). In many ways, Couple might just be the most refreshing band to arrive on the Malaysian indie scene for many years. Stripped of the industry’s unspoken expectation for bands to parade themselves as card-carrying members of the underground hipsterati, the four-piece power pop act erupted across the music radar in 2006 with their distinct brand of affable, straightforward lyricism and down-to-earth personas, while subscribing to the age-old mantra of hard work. And while their indie cred has been built on a bedrock of affections towards iconic bands like The Who and The Posies (the latter which Aidil fan-boyishly ogled at during their appearance at Singapore’s music festival Baybeats this year, and succinctly summarised the experience as, “Goosebumps”), their musical tastes shamelessly expand towards radio-fare offerings from the likes of Oasis and Click Five.

All that would usually have resulted in another anonymous addition to the Malaysian indie rock scene—if not for the fact that Couple are also one of the finest sounding bands around. Playing a brand of chunky, delectable power pop that oozes charm from its three-chord pores, shades of Teenage Fanclub and the Beach Boys frequently crop up in Top of the Pop’s two-minute melodies. Yet they are minutes that transcend their minimalist constructs and durations—catchier than the flu, infinitely more desirable and noticeably harder to eradicate from the human soul.

“I know our music isn’t hip,” says the 29-year-old Aidil nonchalantly, “but it’s okay. We’re not trying to be hip and trendy. We’re just making music that”—he pauses, stealing a grin at his fresh-faced bandmates—“is music I want to make!”

MINING TALENTS
The rise of Ipoh rock in 2006 proved to be an invigorating injection into an indie scene long oversaturated by Klang Valley’s hundreds of rock urchins. Apart from Couple (Aidil was born and bred in the Perak capital, even though the band is currently based in KL), acts like dance rock darlings Bittersweet and lo-fi rockers Free Love have risen to become some of the hottest live acts around, while the Radio Malaya compilation released by Bodysurf Music has proven to be one of the year’s most important bookmarks for Malaysian indie; its May launch party was arguably one of the year’s best gigs.

“Bittersweet, Odie Audio, The Metrosexual,” says Mohd Jayzuan, co-founder of Bodysurf, ticking off the voluminous list of Ipoh acts who plied their trade in 2006. “[There are] lots of talented bands here that are really good, and [they] are the new hope for the scene.”

More importantly however, the surge of gigging venues, media coverage and radio airplay are proof positive that despite undergoing a virtual silence for the first six months of 2006 due to the black metal fracas, Malaysian indie might currently be nearing its tipping point. A blossoming community of curious fanboys and girls has pushed the scene into pockets of wider acceptability, where local acts are mentioned in the same breaths of conversation as global icons, and locally produced albums no longer come attached with a “for Malaysian standards” disclaimer.

At the crest of this surging wave is Couple. Recorded over four months in Standingwave Productions studio, Top of the Pop was released in April 2006 to rave critical applause nationwide. Critics hailed it as “a collection of hummable, sinfully addictive songs” (The Star) and “short, sweet and stickier than Elephant glue” (The News Straits Times).

As if local validation wasn’t enough, the band’s inherent tunefulness began to resonate across the Pacific, as American music blogs and online zines began picking it up. A Los Angeles youth clothes label inserted ‘Now That I Can See’ as part of their promotional CD to be distributed to 70,000 teenage girls California-wide, and reputable music magazine Paste have included the song in a soon-to-be-released online global music venture with Coca-Cola.

Across Asia, the response was equally stirring. The band received radio airplay in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, and gigged in all three countries. ‘Now That I Can See’ was added to MTV Asia’s music video playlist, while Nokia gave the band a free phone in exchange for making their second music video, for ‘Say Hi’, using one of the phone giant’s new generation video handsets. And Japanese record label Wizzard-in-Vinyl have signed the band on to a distribution deal scheduled for January 2007.

THE MAGIC NUMBERS
The stats could go on, but two numbers stand out. The first is 11, which is the number of years the band has been in existence. Beginning in 1995, Couple released their first EP In Love in 1996, followed by four lo-fi efforts that never strayed from their jaunty roots. Eleven is an even more respectable number when you consider that most indie bands barely last beyond five years before life’s other obligations creep in, or before the latest music trend prompts the dismantling of a current passé sound, and the formation of a new getup with trendier leanings.

But Couple have rarely been about trends, even when industry buzz over their second EP Turning Melancholy to Magic in 2001 quickly fizzled out. The band’s delectable music and even-tempered personalities make them easy to dismiss as unserious about what they do, but Aidil isn’t deterred. “Brit rockers are pompous bastards,” he says unapologetically. “And post-rock seems to be going down a bit. So this year, maybe people were looking for a new sound to get into. But for us, we’re just continuing what we’ve been doing all along.”

The second important number that comes into play is 20,000. In April, their first single ‘Now That I Can See’ caught the attention of New York-based indie record label Sizzleteen Records, and 20,000 was the amount of ringgit the band needed to fund their American tour, a result of the label signing them on and slotting them to play in various festivals across America. “It was mainly for airfare,” explains Aidil. “We calculated that if we could stay in some people’s houses, and then eat real simply, then it would be enough.”

The opportunities and implications were enormous. While selected Malaysian acts like Pop Shuvit and Love Me Butch had limited albeit noteworthy success in Japan, Thailand and the Philippines this year, Malaysian independent music remains very much a non-factor on the global music landscape. In contrast to the country’s filmmakers who continue to woo new eyes via the film festival circuit, music makers struggle to find prominence anywhere beyond the standard Southeast Asian locales. The world’s biggest acts continue to bypass the region in favour of Australia or Japan, while the more recognisable sounds that emanate from these shores tend to be of the world music ilk.

Sadly, even sheer hard work could not produce the desired result this time. Searching for corporate sponsorship, Couple strived for several months, approaching numerous companies with their proposals, offering to associate their tour with any brand that would chip in with the necessary funds. But no company responded. “Most of them would tell us, ‘Oh, this is not part of our brand strategy’,” says Aidil. “I guess companies aren’t willing to take a risk with a small, independent band like ours.”

Not one to stand around with a donation box, Couple have no qualms about putting in countless hours of unglamorous work to get their music out to the masses.

“I know some people say we are being exploited,” says Aidil, referring to the band’s penchant for liberally distributing their music through numerous channels free-of-charge and drawing criticism from those who seek to retain creative value. “But indie bands in Malaysia cannot afford to be exclusive. It’s a win-win situation for both parties. They get our songs, and we ride on their distribution and networks. And you never know whose hands your music will end up in.”

Those hands are becoming increasingly hefty. Rolling Stone magazine recently nominated the band in its Best Bands on Myspace contest. 2007 will see the band expanding their frontiers with possibilities of touring Japan and Australia, as well as the continued pursuit of that ever-elusive American dream. Meanwhile, another album is in the works, scheduled for the second half of the year. “We’ve got the songs already,” says Aidil. “We wanted to do it at the end of this year, but you know lah, with all that happened…”

Once again, Couple aren’t complaining. With a year like the one they just had, the negatives can only serve to make the positives sweeter. Aidil recalls walking around the city one day in July with some Bodysurf Music friends and members from Norwegian power pop band Beezewax, who were down to perform in KL and Ipoh. As they handed out flyers to passers-by, most ignored them. But then a young Malay teenager stopped them for a chat. “He was a Mat Rempit-looking fellow,” says Aidil, in reference to the illegal motorcycle racers that prowl Kuala Lumpur’s midnight streets. “The kind of guy you thought would be more into Search and Wings. But when we showed him the flyer, he was like ‘Oh these guys, yeah I’ve heard of them!’ And then we began talking about indie music. I was like, shit man! Even this guy knows indie!”

If the maths are right, a few more unlikely numbers will add up to an even greater musical equation next year. Then there’s multiplication…