Formed in 2016, Shadow Puppet Theatre are a unique proposition in rock. Hailing from Kuala Lumpur, the band sing in both English and Malay, representing the multicultural nature of Malaysia, and their music has turned heads around the world as a result. The band’s English-language debut, John Doe, attracted no small amount of critical acclaim upon release in 2018, while in 2019 the band made the Malaysia Book of Record books for the Highest Altitude Performance. Now, with a new track (Codename Summer) and a hotly anticipated album in the works, we caught up with the band to discuss their past achievements and present goals.
You first formed in 2016 and have been rather prolific ever since. First of all, tell us about how the band formed. Were you previously aware of one another as friends or musical peers, or did you come together around the project?
Initially it was more a project of friends, it was a 3-piece back then. Our first guitarist, Yob, and myself were friends since college and we played covers and performed a few gigs together while studying in New Zealand up until 2010, and we weren’t serious back then.
Fast forward to 2016, I picked up my dusty telecaster and was fiddling around with some chords, and the initial riffs for Insomnified were born. That’s when we reconnected and brought in our first drummer Chris, whom I knew a couple of years back, and that’s how it all began.
You came to the attention of Clinton Sparks, who championed you on his radio and Twitch shows – how did that come about?
I slid into his DM’s really, I was learning from his book and his masterclass (which has a lot of business and life advice by the way), and applied the technique he taught in his book in attempting to reach out to him, and just slowly building up from there.
You made the Malaysia Book of Records for Highest Altitude Live Music Performance – that’s quite a feat, how did you come up with the idea, and was it a challenging performance to put on?
We got lucky with that gig to be honest, the event organizers had a local mainstream artist to be the main face of that gig, but they were looking for an indie band to share the limelight. I would say it’s an interesting challenge due to the air pressure and lack of equipment and space constraints, but we pulled it off with a cajon and one guitar, and it was a surprise for the passengers who were waving along to our song so that was awesome.
You have recorded in both Malay and English – given that straight translation is very difficult, and especially when you are dealing with lyrics which have to flow, was there any challenge in writing the English language pieces?
As a former British colony, most people here speak English; many are bilingual like myself, some are trilingual like Uncle Roger. So it’s no challenge I would say, though I did challenge myself to write a Spanish song, so that needed feedback from native speakers truly.
Obviously, you wrote Codename Summer some time past, but it’s interesting to see how the type of events you describe – altruistic hacking – have really come to the fore with the situation in Ukraine and the voluntary cyber army who are trying to reduce the conflict. Do you find that, when writing socio-political lyrics, you have to find a balance between observing (and even advocating) social change without necessarily becoming too preachy?
I do think there’s a fine balance to that. If the message is too subjective, it may not be understood or appreciated; and if too direct it could come across as preachy and get banned in certain situations like our song John Doe. Also when we look back at our past work, there’s always room for improvement, and that’s just part of the learning process.
Most bands struggled as a result of the Pandemic, although some found that the temporary slowing of the world allowed for other creative outlets – either writing albums or producing lockdown streams and material. How did you experience the pandemic, and were you able to make use of the situation, or did you find yourselves slowed by it?
I think a bit of both, as while we could use the opportunity to work on new material, the lockdowns changed show business and hence there were opportunity losses too.
The name Shadow Puppet Theatre is very evocative of an ancient mode of story-telling – is that how you see the band, as storytellers?
Yes pretty much it was about embedding story into song, and Shadow Puppetry is also a part of Malay cultural heritage .
Given your multi-genre approach, what inspires the music – are you led by the lyrics, which dictate the genre, or does the music come first?
A bit of both, sometimes it could be just a simple conversation with a friend or a heartfelt story which is then lyricized, and at other times the music and the accompanying mood become the canvas upon which the lyrics are penned.
You released a specific pandemic song – Doctor – praising healthcare workers for their hard work and sacrifice, did you get a sense that the single (and its intent) reached the audience to whom it was dedicated?
Yes, it was actually an idea from an emergency physician, who told me that her team was burnt out and demotivated, and that a little song would bolster their spirits, so that definitely reached its intended audience.
You’re currently working on your second album – can you tell us anything about where you are in the process and how you see the band progressing from the first record?
I would say it’s about 60% done, and there’s definitely a lot more progress from the knowledge accumulated over the years, and also with our new drummer onboard he brings something else onto the table.
Any final words for your UK fans?
Thank you for the kind messages and for supporting us! Stay tuned over the next couple of months, we have more ear candy coming your way.
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