Instake

1. When you see a band's name, what can you understand about it … and how does that explain yours?
A band name is perhaps a subject that most people think is very crucial to a band's success. In advertising terms, it's more like a branding.

Regarding our band name, Khairil was the one who came up with the name Instake. He was actually scribbling some words and accidentally mixed them up together. The name Instake itself was actually derived from 2 words. The word 'In' and 'Stake' which means (according to Khairil) that we ourselves are always taking risk in life. We are always In Stake..


2. If the band had to reach out to a singular source for inspiration, who would it be? And why?
All of Instake songs was roughly developed by Khairil. According to him, there is no singular source of inspiration. The melody or a tune can reach you in many ways. Sometimes, you'll get your inspiration while driving your car, reading a book or even while watching movies. It has something to do with the writer's mood and feelings perhaps.


3. Is there an element of glamour surrounding the songwriter of the band … and does that allow him to dictate the band somewhat? And who is that guy in this band?
Actually, there is no element of glamour at all. The whole band is involved creatively in each song arrangements. Of course when it comes to lyrics, Khairil is the one who does the writing. He also wrote the early arrangement for each song and present to the band at each rehearsal sessions. From there, each band members will do their part with the arrangement.


4. There's the argument that music is part art and part science. Is that true, and how do you see the division?
To be honest, we never heard any argument about that. We don't think that there is any science involved in song writing and music. Music is an art of playing and composing sounds into a melody that can reach and connect with certain people. No song or is identical to the other. Unless the writer purposely copied another writer's song. That's what we think.


5. How was the band formed and what was the most important ingredient in getting you guys to share this dream together?
Instake was actually formed back in 2001 by Khairil (guitar/vocals), Syukht (bass) and Nazri (drums, but now on 2nd guitar). In 2004, Instake was put on hold due to commitments and work related issues. Syukht later joined his friends and played bass for "From Cadillac To Geisha" and Nazri later joined and played bass for his cousin's melodic death metal band "Heldrasil".

To cut the story short, in 2008, Khairil wanted to get back in the scene again with Instake and contacted Syukht and Nazri but they had already committed with their current bands. So, Khairil had to scout for new line-ups. With a few hiccups along the way, Instake was re-formed again with Khairil (Guitar/Vocals), Megat (Bass) and Razlan (Drums). Nazri joined back on 2nd guitar last November 2009.

Regarding the question of what was the most important ingredient in getting us to share this dream together, it's the passion. We don't want it big and don't expect it to be big. We just want to deliver and share our music with the everyone.INSTAKE Profile page - http://www.2crank.com/instake

Tashya's Ink

1. Lyrically, what do you guys generally write about?

At the moment we write about the common things in life and personal emotions especially on the subject of love.

We write mostly about what people in general can relate too.....But mostly about love and the feeling of being wanted by someone and craving for that special person to notice you.



2. If the band had to reach out to a singular source for inspiration, who would it be? And why?

Every one of us contributes a certain kind of inspiration to the band in the parts we play. We are inspired with each other and that’s how we get the complete sound.



3. Is there an element of glamour surrounding the songwriter of the band…and does that allow him to dictate the band somewhat? And who is that guy in this band?

Err… We don’t think it makes much difference because when we play, we play as a unit. So I don’t think the audience is only interested in the songwriter. We are quite balance as a band and everyone’s opinion is valued and there is no dictators in our band !!! We respect each other as an individual musician and to solve creative differences we open it to a vote. We're proud that we can be democratic in this way. Glamour is definitely not on our agenda as it's all about the music and hopefully through our music we can reach out positively to people that listens to it.



4. There's the argument that music is part art and part science. Is that true, and how do you see the division?

Well to be honest, to me music is an expression but u can say it’s both arts & science. Can’t tell it apart though. To describe it further, we would say that the art part would be the melody and the vibe of the song. The science bit is what we would describe the technical part of coming up with a sound that 'fits' for that particular song, what type of amp, what effects to use...that sort of thing. But its a grey area between the two. Its hard to differentiate at times.



5. How was the band formed and what was the most important ingredient in getting you guys to share this dream together?

Tashya’s Ink was formed after Tashya won Mystarz Lg and it was more of a solo thing because she never really had an actual band line up except for her then-bassist, Nakim, who had guided her somewhat on her early years. She used to play alone acoustically with the name Tashya’s Ink but after Iriz joined, all of us got together with Ike and Wan and we think this is the best combination so far. We want the same things and we see the same things and most importantly we respect each other and I think that answers the latter. With the guidance of Bari from Present Intense Recordings, we foresee an achievable and realistic path to achieve our dream together.







Tags: New Interview-September 2010