One of the top bands in Malaysia is undeniably pop punk trio Bunkface, who has been in the scene for more than 10 years. One of their earliest known singles was actually an English song called “Silly Lilly”, which was the #1 hit song on Hitz.fm’s Malaysian Top Ten for 8 weeks in a row and also #1 for Fly.fm’s Campur Chart for 10 consecutive weeks.
Apart from “Silly Lilly”, Bunkface also has other top English hits including “Bunk Anthem”, “Prom Queen”, “Soldier”, “Through My Window” and more. Though the band’s debut EP was fully in English, they began to break into the Malay-speaking market with their 1st album in 2010, which featured both English and Malay tracks. Some of their iconic Malay tracks include “Situasi”, “Revolusi” and “Dunia”.
Their last mixed language album was in 2012 which means that it has been at least 6 years since Bunkface release an English tune. Fast forward to today, the trio of friends have finally decided to introduce their 1st ever English single since 2012 titled “Shiver” which will be included in their latest upcoming album, “Pop”.
After having a friendly sesh with Bunkface earlier this week, we have gotten all the details you need to know about the band’s latest single, album and also upcoming activities!
Why after 6 years?
According to Sam, lead singer of Bunkface, “Shiver” has been around for 4 years but they never found the right opportunity to release it to the market. Because their last album “Malam Ini Kita Punya” had been doing so well, the band was focusing on promoting the songs in that album as well as celebrating their 10 years anniversary. Bunkface also aims to break into the international markets with their upcoming album.
What “Shiver” means to Bunkface
The song is a big step for Bunkface as it has a different style compared to their usual genre which is either pop punk or punk rock. But with “Shiver”, Bunkface wish to show a different side of them and prove that they’re capable of handling different genres.
“It’s not as if we’re changing our style, but more like experimenting. It’s not fair for us to just stick to one type of music. We believe that music genre doesn’t exist anymore because everything has been mixed up already. That’s why we think that we need to mix up our music as well because that’s what the world is becoming now,” Sam said.
Going back to their roots
Bunkface’s debut album “Phobia Phoney” was released in 2010, and the album is what catapulted the band into the mainstream media and also international market. Made up of 6 English songs and 4 Malay songs, the album features some of Bunkface best hits like “Situasi”, “Revolusi”, “Prom Queen”,”Ekstravaganza”, and more.
“We want to go back to when we first started since our first single is an English song and our first album was a mixed of English and Malay songs, so we want to return to our roots and reintroduce ourselves to the audience. We never thought that our album would sell back then. We just did what we want and surprise people. So we want to do that again with this album,” Youk commented.
“Pop” will feature a mixture of genre
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD75sZxE2wc
Staying true to the album’s title, the songs in the album will be a mixture of pop and a different genre. “From before we have always identify ourselves as a pop punk band, so we are mixing the pop music with a different genre to bring in something new and fresh, and we hope that Malaysia is ready for it,” said Sam.
For example, the band’s latest hit “Shiver” is a mixture of pop and EDM, their previous single “Apa Pun Tak Boleh” featuring Datuk Jeffrydin and Caprice is a blend of pop and 80s tune, while “Kembali” has a modern pop rock style.
Why the change?
Youk: “We want to stay relevant in today’s society and be up to date to today’s trend. We don’t want to stay in our comfort zone and maintain the style we have from our glory days. We want the youngsters today to be able to relate to us so we want to know what is their taste and interest so that we can blend it with what we have.”
Sam: “We don’t want to be seen as a legend. We want to compete with the musicians and artists from today’s generation such as Ismail Izzani and every other new artists. We want to stay active in the music industry.”
Having a producer for the first time
As noted by Sam, all of the band’s previous songs and albums were self-produced, except for “Pop”. For this album, the band hired Izzy Musa, who has previously worked with music giants like Yuna, Nastia, Estranged, Bil Musa, and Pastel Lite, to name a few.
“Izzy Musa is a great music producer who brings in something fresh and different to our music. Since we’re experimenting with this album, there’s no rule. So whatever idea that me and the boys have, we will share it out. We just do whatever that we want,” Sam added.
More about “Pop”
“Pop” will be Bunkface’s 4th album which is set to be released early next year. Similar to their 1st album, “Pop” will feature 4 Malay and 4 English tracks. The songs that have been released so far include “Kembali”, “Apa Pun Tak Boleh”, and “Shiver”. Sam revealed that the album will also have another English song titled “A Dance With Me” featuring Shila Amzah.
“This is a changing phase for Bunkface,” Paan said. Youk added, “No one force us to change our music style. We do it because we want to. We want to be relevant.” Sam also added, “People will either love it or hate it. But we’re hoping for the best.”
