When it comes to making music, leave your manners at the door.
Bokazzi, is a local band made up off four loud, mind-expanding, awareness driven guys with fantastic hair! Quirky and cool as individuals and as a band, Bokazzi is made up off drummer Kevin Theng, bassist Julian Lim, guitarist Amir Syawal and vocalist Giresh Das.
With an unique sound that varies from punk, rock, pop, jazz, soul, and hip hop; Bokazzi exudes a kaleidoscope of emotions through their music and emulates a penetrating sound that provokes thoughts leaving their audiences wanting more. Strong willed and bound by their principles, the band always makes it a point to stay true to themselves, their sound and their signature brand of rock.
Recognising local talent, Hype.My caught up with these rockers in an exclusive interview. Check it.
How long have you been performing together as a band?
We’ve been together almost 2 years now.
How did you guys come up with the name Bokazzi?
Bokazzi (Boh-ka-si) means to have no manners in the Hokkien dialect. It’s also a word we use a lot amongst our friends in daily life to describe anything that’s ‘overboard’ or out of the norm. When it’s time to make music with Bokazzi, we leave our musical manners at the door.
How did you guys meet?
Through the music scene. We’ve known each other for years before we formed the band. Julian and Kevin have been playing together in several different bands and Giresh was also singing for one of those bands. We met Amir when we set out to record some songs and we used his studio. We needed a guitar solo for this one particular song and the only guitarist in the studio at the time was Amir. A couple of months later, Amir came onboard full time.
What do you as a band think/feel about the current local music scene?
The local music scene is about to blow up from every corner. We feel that local bands have been going through a sabbatical of sorts the past few years, working on giving the best performance and production. 2014 is going to be interesting.
If Bokazzi could collaborate with a local artist, who would it be?
M. Nasir, the most “bokazzi” musician in town. If you don’t know why, go find out why he was banned from performing publicly once upon a time.
If Bokazzi was an ice cream flavour, what flavour would you be and what song would best represent your flavour?
Ginger vanilla ice cream. Familiar, but with that little extra smack hiding behind that you won’t see coming and can’t figure out. Our song Attack is an example.
If Bokazzi could change one thing about the current local music industry, what would it be?
We would love to see bands/acts concentrate on organizing their own shows and making it a mission to fill the venue everytime and also start blazing a real, tangible tour scene that all other bands can follow across the country. We think it’s time we made longer sets a standard for bands, and the only way to do that (as far as we know) is to run the show yourself with a bunch of similar minded friends.
What is the one thing that not a lot of people know about your band?
We’re at each other’s throats all the time, and we mean all the time. There’s never a conversation without one person taking potshots at someone else. NEVER.
What is the worse thing that you’d say could ever happen to you at an event/performance?
A collapsing stage doesn’t look like a lot of fun to be on. Collapsing stage, hope we will never ever have to.
As a band, if you could meet anyone in the world dead or alive, who would it be and what would you say to them?
Dave Grohl. What would we say? Thank you for making Sound City!
If Bokazzi had a million ringgit, how would you spend it?
We would buy awesome gear to continue pumping out awesome sounding music for our supporters. And maybe buy a horse, we don’t know yet.
What is next for Bokazzi?
An EP in the works and hopefully a banging 2014 filled with crazy shows. Fingers crossed!
Thanks guys!
Thank you Hype.My for taking the time out to speak to us! Cheers.
For more on Bokazzi, like them on Facebook and check out their Soundcloud page!
Here’s Attack by Bokazzi. Enjoy!
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