Sound of unity
THERE’S always a slight look of confusion among audiences when the Malaysian band Nadir starts to set up on stage. For starters, the band is made up of seven core members. Then, it’s what they bring with them. Apart from the usual suspects — drums, lead guitars, bass guitars and keyboards, the band also sets up an entire ensemble of instruments including saxophones, tablas, sitars, boning, gambus, yangqins and occasionally, bagpipes among the many.
When Nadir starts playing, the shrugs of confusion very quickly evolve into tapping feet and smiles peppered with looks of wonder and bewilderment. And for the next six to seven minutes, the audience would remain completely enthralled by what they hear: the home-grown band weaves different musical genres seamlessly into a tapestry of Malaysian sounds.
Two years since its inception, the band is finally releasing its first offering.
isn’t just a culmination of their unique sound; it’s also an album which echoes the spirit of the nation. our differences yet we revere our roots? I’d say Nadir embodies that idea,” remarks Ashwin Gobinath, Nadir’s band leader and drummer.
Celebrating diversity is one thing this band knows a lot about. Seeing a classicallytrained carnatic singer perform alongside a pop pianist and a metal guitarist or a neosoul saxophonist grooving to the beat of a rock drummer is a combination you’d never expect to see on stage.
Deeming it “an unlikely fusion of musicians”, Ashwin explains that collectively, the band strongly believes in the principle of joining forces and brewing ideas together. “We specifically decided to work together with this very diverse group of guys and girls because of their individual style preferences. The magic happens when we all come together and combine our skills. It’s like cooking without knowing exactly what you want to make,” he adds, chuckling.
Cooking seems to be a fitting anecdote for Nadir considering they’ve been hailed as a melting-pot of culture by fans and critics alike. As Ashwin notes, the band was first formed based on musical diversity. The seven, which include Ashwin, Zaim Zaidee (bass), Lor Phaik Sim (keyboards and synthesisers), Santosh Logandran (tabla and percussions), Farique Nadzir (guitar), Stephanie Tham (keyboards) and Adil Johan (saxophone), are all seasoned sessionist with other bands or artistes in their own right. Nadir, says Ashwin, was formed on the basis that each musician wanted to be in a band free of musical limitations and boundaries.
The cultural element, he recalls, only came into play when founding members Ashwin, Zaim and Rashdan wrote their very first tune based on a classic Malaysian nursery rhyme, Nadir then recruited percussionist and carnatic vocalist Santosh Logandran, who added depth to that ethnosound. “We got him in as a percussionist and then slowly, he began weaving his singing prowess into our song writing. His style and ideas constantly lit our creative