These 18-Year-Old Malaysians Already Have Over A Million Plays On Spotify
Catch Midnight Fusic at the first-ever Unlimited Grooves Festival, a part of Urbanscapes, on 10 November!
By Jia Vern Tham — 30 Aug 2018, 08:03 PM
While other high school graduates deliberate on their future, the boys of Midnight Fusic have already made it to the international stage
The young, indie rock band includes Raja Arif Aizudin (rhythm guitar and vocals), Adrian Danial (lead guitar), Muaz Rabbani (drums), and Firdaus Azmi (bass).
On top of having performed at Indonesia's We The Fest this year, these 18-year-old boys already have over a million plays on Spotify under their belt.
We talked to the boys about their experience as a young band, the origins of their favourite song, and what to expect from their upcoming performance at the Unlimited Grooves Festival this year:
SAYS: How did your EP, 'When Love Was Around', come about?
Arif: We've written those songs while 'Lovesick' and 'Heart of May' were already out there. It (the EP) was kind of in the process the entire time.
We finished everything by the end of last year, and we had an Indonesian band who produced the EP for us back in March. It was a super awesome experience!
SAYS: Tell us which song on your EP means the most to you boys as a band.
Arif: It's 'Flowers'. I think most people can relate to it because we tried to raise awareness about people around us who might be suffering from mental illnesses.
The song was also written to let those people know that we're here for them, and we're voicing out for them.
SAYS: You guys have been working together for two years. What's the hardest thing about being in a band?
Adrian: I guess (conflicts only happen) during the songwriting process when we all have clashing ideas.
Muaz: It gets pretty bad. (laughs)
Arif: But we always work it out! We gather all of our ideas, and they always end up being meant for each other.
SAYS: Being at your age, have you received any negative comments from your elders about what you boys do?
Arif: Our parents have always been supportive. But we had teachers and other elders who doubted us for focusing too much (on our music) because to them, we were not going to make anything out of it.
Adrian: At first we took it really hard, but we grew to not care about what they tell us. (laughs) We don't make music for them, we make music for us and the people who love music.
SAYS: You're performing at the Unlimited Grooves Festival this year. What should people do before coming to a Midnight Fusic show?
Muaz: You have to be sad!
Adrian: You also have to let loose before our show so we can have fun together.
Arif: Because that's basically what our music is. We have a funky sound but we're lyrically sad. You can be sad and have fun at the same time. (laughs)
Catch Midnight Fusic at the first-ever Unlimited Grooves Festival, a part of Urbanscapes, on 10 November
The boys will be performing alongside UK rock band Wolf Alice, Brooklyn-based Bodega, South Korean pop-rock band Se So Neon, and more at the historic Chin Woo Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.
You can purchase tickets to the festival here.
This feature is part of the #saysplaylist series, providing your playlist with a breath of fresh Malaysian air
If you have any Malaysian bands, singers, or songs that you think we should feature, let us know in the comments below!