Long Time Coming

First published in Sunday People, New Sunday Times
28 June 2009

Long time coming
MAX KOH


Butterfingers in the middle of making their 1000 Tahun (Mahu Hidup) video.


After more than 15 years, local band Butterfingers won its first local industry award. MAX KOH has the story

BUTTERFINGERS has been around for more than 15 years, beginning humbly at the heights of the grunge rock era when Kurt Cobain and his ilk ruled the airwaves.

Drawing influences from the Seattle sound (Pearl Jam, Nirvana etc), four blokes got together at the end of 1993 and formed what is arguably one of the most celebrated independent Malaysian bands around today.

Winning a large fan base with its hard-hitting ‘‘live’’ gigs, Emmett Roslan Ishak (lead vocals), Loque (Khairil Ridzwan Anuar, guitar), Kadak (Mohd Fakharudin Mohd Bahar, bass) and Loko (Mohamad Hafiz, drums) went on to release their first album 1.2 Milligrams in 1996 and Butter Worth Pushful the following year.

Considering that Myspace was not around then, it is a testament to the band’s winsome spirit that continues to catapult them to become forerunners of the 1990 underground music scene.


Director of Photography Aaron Chung and director Kerol.

Then in 1999, the band released Transcendence which exhibited musical growth and songwriting maturity. By pushing themselves away from the grunge tag, the band could shift over 50,000 units, considered an amazing feat at a time when local English-singing rock acts were largely ignored.

Its fourth album, Malayneum, came out in 2001, and further showcased the band’s evolving sound by drawing influences from traditional Malay motifs and instruments.

Butterfingers had clearly established itself as one of the most original if not innovative bands in the local scene.

In 2004, it released its first full-length Malay album, Selamat Tinggal Dunia, which was a phenomenal success.

Post-Selamat Tinggal Dunia spelt a time of uncertainty for the band as Loque and Emmett moved to Boston and Canada respectively for their studies.

Then last year, they surprised fans with the release of the aptly titled Kembali, which the band members described as their “brightest album” yet.


Any resemblance to Karam Singh Walia?

Remp-it meets TV reporter...

Emmett as a newsreader in the video.

With songs such as 1000 Tahun and Merdeka, they appeared poised to recapture the anthemic nature of their earlier works.

Their newfound independence (they have parted ways with their record label) has also meant more creative freedom.

For Kembali, the band got director Khairul “Kerol” Azri to direct three of its music videos: Mati Hidup Kembali, 1000 Tahun and Merdeka.

1000 Tahun went to win the Best Music Video awards at the Anugerah Industri Muzik in March this year. Mati Hidup Kembali was also nominated for the same award.

What is surprising is that it was the first time Butterfingers won an AIM award.

Over a cup of coffee, director Kerol says: “They (the band) are really a cool bunch. They are really game to do anything. There’s nothing snobbish about them.

“As the video was self-financed by the guys, we really had a small budget to work with. Thus, it presented a challenge for me and my team to come up with something creative to appeal to the viewers,” adds Kerol who has been a fan of the band since since 1.2 Milligrams.

The premise for the video, 1000 Tahun, sees the band acting as newscasters in a parody of a news show. With tongue-firmly-in-cheek, the video made fun of cultural aspects such as mat rempit, the colonisation of English words among local street names, and the Malaysian football league that no one watches.

“We were really surprised we bagged the awards. We are probably one of the first to feature mat rempits in our music videos,” says Kerol who graduated from the New York Film Academy.

Aaron Chung, the director of photography, quickly adds: “The AIM has a long history of giving their awards to big-budget videos. But here we are, with a small budget and a video that features the band dressed in ‘black metal’ outfits and make-up, sarcastically poking fun at various aspects of the Malaysian culture.

“I supposed the jury appreciated the bizarreness of our video,” he says with a laugh.

Chung says he was banking more on the Mati Hidup Kembali video which featured a single-shot camerawork and an interesting premise of soldiers being dragged in the forest during the Japanese Occupation.

“And can you believe that after so many years, this is only the first time Butterfingers has won any awards at the AIM?” adds Kerol.

Kerol and Aaron first met where they were classmates at Akademi Filem Malaysia (AFM). Kerol went to further his studies at the New York Academy after the first semester, while Chung stayed on to complete his course here.

They have worked together on numerous projects such as the film, Jarum Halus, Nitrus’ music video Kesah, and 6ixth Sense’s music videos Tanpa and Tak Bisa Memilihku.

“Making the 1000 Tahun video was relatively simple. However, we had to schedule the shooting in such a way when all the band members could make it as they have full-time jobs,” says Kerol who is hoping to make an indie zombie feature next.

Although the videos get very limited viewing on television, they are definitely making waves online. At Press time, 1000 Tahun had about 70,000 views with more than 100 favourable comments from viewers.

“We are really happy that fans are excited of the videos. The main purpose of the music video is to sell the song,” says Kerol who insists on liking the song before choosing to direct it.

*Pictures courtesy of Aaron Chung and Kerol.