Side Effect and Duelling Banjos in Myanmar Times

Finally the Side Effect album “Rainy Night Dreams” is in store.  Duelling Banjos made the album design and got a small piece of the pie in the media. I will soon publish all the design material for the album. Follow article was published in Myanmar Times:

At long last, Side Effect release their debut album

Volume 32, No. 628

May 28 – June 3, 2012

LOCAL alternative rockers Side Effect finally released their debut album on May 5, just months after the group’s efforts to raise funds on the internet fell prey to international sanctions.

At the beginning of the year the band raised nearly US$3000 from supporters through US website IndieGoGo, with plans to use the money to release their first album and buy new equipment.

However, IndieGoGo informed Side Effect on January 13 that it had cancelled the band’s campaign over fears that transferring donations to the designated offshore bank account might contravene US sanctions, which prohibit Myanmar citizens from accessing the US banking system.

Despite this setback, the band managed to scrounge up enough cash to release the 10-song album, titled Mo Nya Eain Met Mya (Rainy Night Dreams), in early May.

“This is our first album, so we would like to introduce our style to music fans and let them know that this is our music,” said Darko, the band’s vocalist and guitarist.

The other band members are bassist and guitarist Jozeff K and drummer Tser Htoo, with Hein Lwin playing bass for live performances.

Since its founding in 2004, the band has cultivated an alt-rock sound that combines punk, power pop and other genres in a manner similar to bands like The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand and The Pixies.

“We don’t focus on one music genre. Instead we focus on our own style,” Darko said, adding that primary influences include Nirvana, Placebo and The Strokes.

He admitted, however, that fans who prefer the sort of melodic, sing-along pop tunes that dominate Myanmar’s music scene might not enjoy listening to Side Effect’s songs.

“In our country most people enjoy listening to pop vocals and melodic music, so they might not like our songs. We’re not a melodic band, and we don’t write many ‘sweet’ songs aimed at attracting a lot of fans,” he said.

“I think it’s much better that we’re doing what we want to do with honesty. We’ve created the songs that we wanted to create, rather than catering to what fans might want. So fans are free to decide whether they like us or not,” he said.

Tser Htoo said the fact that the band has had the same members since the beginning has helped them develop their distinct sound.

“I knew Darko even before we were band mates. Our personalities and our ideas about music were the same so we became close friends, and after a while we often knew what each other was thinking without even talking,” Tser Htoo said.

He said the band members also agreed that they did not want to take the same path to fame followed by other musicians in Myanmar.

“Even underground bands strive to release albums and play a lot of live concerts. But we never really tried to do that because we all had the same idea that we didn’t want to be influenced by producers. That’s why we took so long to release an album, even though we’ve been playing together for a long time,” he said.

Side Effect marked the release of the album with a free concert in Kandawgyi Park on May 12, along with guest performers Big Bag, No U Turn and Nov 24.

Darko said he considered the show, which was attended by about 200 people, to be the band’s best-ever performance.

“We were happy because some of the fans were singing along with songs while we were playing. This had never happened at any of our previous concerts,” he said.

Darko said that the cover of Rainy Night Dreams, designed by Yangon-based Swedish artist Cap, was intended to convey the excitement of a live performance by Side Effect.

“This photo was taken when we performed in Bali, Indonesia, last November as part of ASEAN Fair 2011. It shows concert staff hanging a banner behind the stage before we started playing, so it gives the sense that Side Effect is coming to perform now. We are starting now,” he said.

The Bali concert, along with wide press coverage of the IndieGoGo debacle, has helped Side Effect gain international attention. The next logical step, once the album was completed, was to arrange for the songs to be available for download on sites such as iTunes, Amazon and Spotify.

“There are many people from overseas who know about our band from the news about the freezing of our funds by IndieGoGo. So they are interested in our band even though they haven’t heard our music. That’s why we’ve put our songs on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify, so they can be downloaded and heard,” Darko said.

The price on Amazon is US$0.89 per song, or $5.99 for the entire album.

By Nuam Bawi

Find the article here and buy the Side Effect’s debut album “Rainy Night Dreams” on Itunes among other places