June 12, 2008

Plainsunset: Anything But!

By Cheryl Leong

The irony in the reference to their moniker, Plainsunset, is that now's actually the dawn of yet another musical era for the much-loved homegrown Singapore band. With a 12-year love affair with music behind them, Plainsunset has come a long way. Not many local outfits can boast of having released four studio albums to date, and a constantly flourishing fan base both here and abroad.

Despite disbanding in 2004 to pursue other interests, Jonathan Chan (vocals and guitars), Norsham Husaini (guitars and backing vocals), Nizam Sukri (bass) and Ronny Laily (drums) did not disappear off the radar of their beloved fans. Their 2006 reunion at the Esplanade's Baybeats, Singapore's biggest Indie-Alternative music festival, played to a highest ever attendance of 8,500 screaming fans. If that is not testament to their staying power and popularity, what is?

With their fourth self-titled album out in stores now, you can be sure that the sun ain't going to set anytime soon on the lesser-sung heroes of local talent.

MTV Asia battles wonky and static-y recorder transmission to bring you an honest, unabashed conversation with Jon Chan.

MTV Asia: What's the inspiration behind Plainsunset? A sunset is anything but plain!
Jon: I believe Ronny came up with it. Apparently, he was listening to Nirvana's "On A Plain," and he caught sight of Eric Clapton's (I think) Sunset Boulevard album cover. And he just put the two together. It did later became very apt precisely because sunsets are supposed to be anything but plain, so there's this underachiever/disappointment undertone to the name which is melancholic and sort of suits the music.

MTV Asia: So how did you guys come together?
Jon: Sham began the band in '93, under the monicker Dumb and now he's the only original member. It was later when members started moving around that the name underwent a much-needed change. [Laughs] Ronny and me came in at the end of '93 to replace a couple of guys and in '96, our then-bassist had to leave for further studies and so Nizam, whom we knew as a guitarist from a band called SMD and Breaching Musquach, was roped in. The lineup has not changed since, which contributed to a certain unified growth in the sound, I think.

MTV Asia: It was mentioned on the band's MySpace, that this latest album is your "most accessible" music to date. What was not accessible about it before, and why is it now?
Jon: In our old stuff, if you weren't into punk rock, you probably wouldn't have liked us. I remember gigs in malls where women and children would pass the stage with fingers in ears. Ah the good old days… [Laughs] I don't believe we deliberately meant to be accessible to anyone in particular. Definitely, radio play and music videos were not what we intentionally had in mind, for sure. It was just that I think our management heard the new material and decided that it was worth a try. I think it's accessible because we're clearer in our songwriting approach. I have more emphasis on lyrical quality than before, and I tried some tricks that I'd learned in vocals during the hiatus which make them a little more distinctive. I am definitely trying damn hard not to mumble as well.

MTV Asia: How do you define the change in your sounds from "punk rock to eclectic indie"?
Jon: I think we allowed ourselves to be less self-conscious of others' expectations of us. We tried to be ourselves and play the stuff that we've always wanted to. To a large degree, we stayed away from things we've always done in the past. Also, I drew from other things to put the songs together. We all listen to Braid. Sham listened a lot to the Starting Line. I went back into the Manic Street Preachers, U2, Ella Fitzgerald, Cole Porter, The Cure, Mission Of Burma. Even the approach to recording was deliberately mellow. We wanted cleaner guitars, for one. The result is that while mellower in tone, it still maintained momentum and some energy. We were also going for timelessness (we hope) in the music as well as evocative-ness - they should tell as story. U2 wrote "A Sort Of Homecoming" which is to me, one of the greatest rock and roll songs. The lyrics are like something out of poetry - landscape, homesickness, weariness… beautiful!

MTV Asia: Is there any musical direction that you haven't explored or that you want to explore next?
Jon: We haven't deliberately discussed the next one, except that Sham and I may want to include some keyboard licks into the music.

MTV Asia:Why do the themes sound so angsty? Is it something that relates to your personal life at the moment, or more like life experiences that you wish to share?
Jon: All of the above! It's a cathartic album. In all fairness, I write about myself and my dissatisfactions with my own life and reflections too. However, I am deliberately staying away from self-pity. I think music today has more than enough of that. I find self-pity disgusting, but know of its addictive nature. It's like emotional-reverse-masturbation for the ego. In this album, I'm saying "Screw the self-pity! Do something about it for goodness' sake!"

MTV Asia:What is one thing you will never write a song about?
Jon: Gay sex, I think. Can't relate to that. [Laughs] But then, there are things that one needs no experience, to have an opinion of. I had an interesting experience last weekend though. We played at a benefit for the Down Syndrome Association of Singapore. They had a short video clip at the start, about the parents of such kids, and the emotional duress that can come with it. I have no kids but I've asked myself, what would happen, how would I be able to support them if my children weren't exactly regular. I can relate to that.

MTV Asia: You've been around for a while, but how do you make your music appeal to the youngsters these days?
Jon: I'd say that this is an album that you can make, if you had listened to music that came from more than five or six years ago. If all you're listening to now is produced in the wave of current trends, then you are short-changing yourself very drastically. This album is, hopefully, the sound of guys paying tribute to the past, but with an eye for the future.

MTV Asia: Being 33, does your age and experience help or hinder you?
Jon: I think, both. Kids can sometimes be unwilling to listen to older musicians. After all, kids know EVERYTHING right? [Laughs] It's useful for me to have enough 'flight time' to relate, but also I'm seeing very self-absorbed kids nowadays. Having said that, I am glad to see that there are kids who are willing to think outside of themselves too. I hope we don't turn into a culture that knows little outside of its own borders, or even social circle.

MTV Asia: Plainsunset has always been credited for their rousing performances. Where does all that energy come from?
Jon: Well, we're actually quite juvenile. We've got some stories, I'll tell you. But we are quite caught up with basic everyday life, after all. Most people have kids at this age. So after work and all, the call of the stage becomes fun and we treat it as cathartic. I'm using that word a lot, aren't I? [Laughs] It's all meant to be fun anyway…

MTV Asia: So then what are you guys like behind all the glitz and glamour of the stage?
Jon: That roar you hear behind me now is the sound of my private personal helicopter warming up while I do this interview! I'm sending the champagne back because it's not cold enough and the caviar is not Beluga! [Laughs] Actually, I thought about it. No glitz nor glamour, really. We're still public-transport types. Still planning practical things in life - marriage, children etc. We get lots of compliments though, and because we're very normal, it could all go to our heads. The trick is to remember that it's all gas…

MTV Asia: Why do musicians still have to do a day job to survive here?
Jon The biggest marketing demographic is the heartland, but I believe a lot of (not all) media only promote acts that they're investing in. As a result, the only local artists respected by the heartlanders are the same old buggers again and again. It's a mindset that's been around since the 60s: we're an industrial nation and the arts are only a hobby or phase we'll grow out of. It's changed a lot and hopefully, arts grants will go to the ones who really deserve and need it. A very respected US indie band that came to play a few years ago, watched a performance by a certain local band. Not us. They watched the full half-hour, openmouthed. Later, they told me that the local band was THE best band they had ever seen! True story! I believe that the powers-that-be in the media, all upper-level, need to be convinced that a local market can eventually be viable. Then, it's possible that local music can finally be played more frequently, and in the next few years, between five and ten, we'll see bands with original material going pro. It's already happening everywhere else, just not in the Lion City.