People Come All The Way From Ipoh To Watch This Malaysian Sibling Duo Band Play In KL
Here's why so many adore FUAD, the dynamic duo of Lisa Fuad and Arief Fuad.
One random night, Arief Fuad knocked on his sister Lisa's door after listening to the demo of their first single, (don't sleep) mallory, to share an idea that would change their lives
"Let's start a band and call it FUAD using your song as the first single," said Arief, according to Lisa.
What makes the tracklist of their debut album Dispositions special is that many of the songs were written by Lisa when she was just 13 to 15 years old.
Image via @FUADduo (X)
FUAD went from filming parts of their Wait and See music video in Lisa's bedroom and bathroom to landing a spot in the Good Vibes Festival 2024 lineup
Despite working with a tight budget for the music video, FUAD teamed up with Girls In The Park, a female-led art and film and collective. Together, they brought the vision to life.
The final product turned out to be a success, and Lisa couldn't be prouder of how it all came together.
Having never played at a festival prior to GVF, Lisa was incredibly excited about hitting that milestone.
"What led up to [GVF] was a lot of band practice, mostly because we wanted to get used to wearing in-ear monitors, which are a staple for us now!" Lisa told SAYS.
Image via @FUADduo (X)
Now, fans are travelling long distances just to catch FUAD live, and the brother-sister duo couldn't be more grateful for the roaring support
Arief describes hearing "very loud singalongs" through their earplugs during their very first live performance.
"Yeah, a bunch of people have told us that they had driven all the way from Kajang or even Ipoh to watch us play in KL, which is so crazy to me," Lisa said.
Image via @doongheng (Instagram)/@FUADduo (X)
While they have built a loyal fanbase across Malaysia, no one gets VIP listening privileges quite like their parents at home
Whenever Lisa and Arief clash over ideas during music production, they often turn to their parents to cast the deciding vote.
"They [our parents] won't hold back if they don't like the song! So their opinion as a 'neutral audience' is super valuable for us," Lisa added.
Image via @lifethirtyfive (Instagram)/@FUADduo (X)
FUAD's music marries talent and heart, from dreaming about visuals for music videos to writing songs about their cats
In true magical fashion, Lisa's vision for their Wait and See music video came from recurring dreams she would not stop having.
The duo draws inspiration from all sorts of things. Take this snippet from the chorus of an unreleased song about their cat, Penny Lane:
"She's there when I'm awake,
She shows up when I sleep.
Peace in the form of a girl,
Named after a street."
Image via @Rakitamy (X)
In true Hannah Montana fashion, Lisa leads a double life of studying mass communication at UiTM while working on her artistry, usually on the weekends
"I've received a lot of advice from people in the industry but honestly, I usually just do what I like," says Lisa.
She never takes any criticism to heart, whether it's related to FUAD's music or in general.
While she's able to effectively balance her uni performance and music career, Lisa always makes it a point not to beat herself up if she leans more into one side than the other.
Image via @FUADduo (X)
What's next for FUAD?
According to Arief, FUAD is working on two more singles this year and the plan is to release them as a double single.
Stay tuned, because the singles will be out sometime soon!
Image via @FUADduo (X)
In the meantime, listen to their most recent release, Hot Kitchen:
This feature is part of the #saysplaylist series, providing your playlist with a breath of fresh Malaysian air
Image via Pixabay/SAYS
If you have any Malaysian bands, singers, or songs that you think we should feature, drop us a message!
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