You can’t kill your calculator, but Killeur Calculateur can

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You might wanna bring this band to your party.
You might wanna bring this band back to your place.
You might not want to try to spell their name in the middle of their party, you won’t be able to do that.

Yeah, that is our homegrown boys Killeur Calculateur featuring of Zamir, Alijo, Smek and Rafique.
This is one all-star band. Most of them were in a few bands before KC, most of it are gone now. Elisabelle Tears (ET), Utarid, and long gone Sgt. Weener’s Arm.

“A full throttle emotive hardcore blast with a hard-hitting yet groovy screamo post-punk sound” – taken from The Jakarta Post, tell us that these boy are serious when it comes to their music. Inspired by post-punk bands such as Melbourne’s My Disco, New York’s Off Minor, Washington D.C’s one and only Fugazi, and the great Don Caballero, their music is something new we can hear back here in Malaysia. Don’t try to count their beats with your head, use calculator instead. For anyone not familiar with post punk sound, you will definitely love these boys’ sound. Well KC is truly punk.

Since their establishment in 2006, KC has put out 5 releases and their latest, Valley of the Dead EP through Quiet Still Dead Records.
They’re probably one of the most hardworking band here. They toured Indonesia last year to Solo, Yogyakarta and Bandung. They performed endlessly locally, they even got themselves into local radio station XFM x-gig all over Malaysia. Got themselves Topman endorsement, what’s more can we expect?

We managed to see them performed at Cloth and Clef along with They Will Kill Us All and new-frontman-but-not-new-band Bittersweet. It was a killer set by KC and a great evening with the other bands.

For our Featured artist this time, we have Smek answered few questions for Pizzza Magazine.

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Hello KC, how are you guys doing? Great show last Saturday at Cloth and 
Clef. I enjoyed you guys.

Hello Fahmy, thanks for coming. We’re doing OK, just suffering from the heat these days. Glad you enjoyed the show.

I noticed you guys played at Gudang Noisy the day before. How was it?

It was a good show. We played with Over Dose, a punk rock band from Nanjing, China. They play straight up street punk with a charismatic female vocalist. That band ripped massive. They’re on tour with Always Last. You have to check Always Last out. Even Maximum Rock n Roll gave them raved reviews.

Tell us more about your bandmates.

Rafique is the frontman for I/Am/Rain and plays bass in Orbit Cinta Benjamin, and he used to play guitar in Elisebelle Tears. Zamir played bass in Elisebelle Tears as well, but previously was fronting in The Accused and played bass for Quest of Quasar.
Alijo played drums for Lucy in the Loo and a post-hardcore band called Vultures.
That answer was pretty factual.
Try to define KC’s music in 10 words.
Awesome (times 10)

How is the local scene nowadays from your eyes?

I think the scene has come to a point where all the terms used ( underground, urban music, alternative,independent,pink metal, and the list goes on) before this have evolved into a simple term like “indie”, And last year’s was indie’s all-year parade.   Major parts of the scene have made breakthroughs to mainstream media and has been given tremendous exposure. Corporations pay big bucks to indie bands to put on a show, the endorsements are doing alrite, heck the last Anugerah Juara Lagu was like a semi indie-fest. And the best thing is, the kids from the scene CAN play, unlike signed artistes. But now the problem is exploitation.
The scene is still expanding, good progress, no doubt. But honestly, I’m just waiting for the backlash.

You love post punk sound so much. Any particular reason for that?

It just happens that most bands that we like are post punk bands. Be it on any era or style, that sound just hits you. Although not all post punk bands sound appealing, but the main thing about post punk bands are the ideas. If punk challenges the structure of music and songwriting, then that says a lot about post punk.

KC has been around for 4 years, few releases, an EP. is there any big plan
 coming up?

We’re making new tunes for a full length, if all goes well. 2009 has been a very bad year, and we just want forget the past and move on with new music. Maybe we’ll take a break from playing shows frequently and lock ourselves up in our studio. The new songs might turn up a bit different, but it’s cool as long as we don’t sound the same.

You were in a band with Shafiq, Lopong, and Fumble back then when
you were in uni, how was working with them different working with your 
current bandmates?

In Uni, we were carefree, so the music direction, songwriting process, even the way the band was handled was on the nonchalant side. We played great shows together, and I gained a lot of knowledge and experience while I was with Sapik, Lopong and Fumble.
In KC, I had the chance to apply what I have learned and experienced, in a band of kindred spirits. With Zamir, Rafique and Alijo, it’s more on the serious side but we still find time to have fun. Which is 80% of the time.
But whatever problems we face in a band, at the end of the day, never forget, it’s all about being great friends.

Does fashion influence music?

It certainly does. A band should look like a band on stage, not a group of guys who just came back from dating in Midvalley.
It’s symbiotic; the relationship between fashion and music. Some people doubt this. At least when your music is bad, you still look good.

What does the yellow armband on KC’s outfit means? Where did it come from?

I can tell you a thousand answers, but the fact that you asked is good enough.
It’s to trigger your curiosity. When you wonder, it means that you’re curious. And when you ask, it starts a conversation. Now that is communication.  Besides, we think it looks kinda nice.

Where is the strangest place that you’ve ever fallen asleep/woken up?

On a staircase in a cheap hotel in Haadyai. Don’t ask what happened cause I can’t remember.

From all the places you’ve been playing with KC, which gig/venue you love
the most?

The show I loved the most was in Bandung. We played alongside Orbit Cinta Benjamin and Kontrasosial in a basement studio, where there was an arcade and huge rabbit in cages outside as a cover up. The studio was filled with steam from floor to ceiling, wall to wall. But failure to rock was not an option. That was purely dope.
Tell us more about your record label, Quiet Still Dead records.
QSD is run by Arwith of Utarid Bookings and Utarid Tapes. He’s a dear friend of ours and has helped us a lot from day one. This guy makes it happens, from introducing bands like Lukestar to booking La Quiete their Malaysian tour.
QSD is independent, and keeps close ties with labels such as React With Protest, Ape Must Not Kill Ape, and most of your favorite screamo/post punk labels. Dude got the connections.

How many shows have KC played so far?

Honestly, I do not have a clue.

Somebody posted a comment in Junk’s website

“I lost my virginity after going for KC’s gig at Cloth and Clef. Made out
with a model who likes KC as well at Loft for TAG’s last night. THANK YOU
KC FOR SENDING MY DICK INTO ACTION!“

any comment on this?

That comment was really startling, and we are very happy to send a virgin to be deflowered by beautiful models. But next time, we hope we are the ones that’ll be sent into action. Lucky bastard.

How’s your work in XFM ?

It’s doing OK. I’m hosting a weekend show with my partner, Mat;  on Saturdays, 8PM to 10PM. The show is called Indie X. I do my part to help out.

When is your next show?

We’re playing JB on the 27th for a Studio C showcase with Dragon Red and Tizzy Bac from Taiwan. Come check us out if your in JB this weekend.

Any last word for us and KC’s fans out there?

Thank you everyone who came to our shows, bought our stuff, surfed our myspace page, left comments on youtube, checked out our videos, made artwork for us. We are in debt!
And thank you for the interview Pizzza Magazine. Looks neat, keep it up!

Visit them at http://www.myspace.com/killeurcalculateur

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