Ever heard of Estranged? They're currently one of the leading local bands in Malaysia. With only one album produced, they shot all the way up to fame in the country, especially with their song 'Itu Kamu'.
ESTRANGED
Their hit music! Watch it!!! ITU KAMU!!!
So, we decided to interview one of the members, and it was the lead guitarist Hanafi.
Hanafi with his Kurt Cobain guitar
We were even invited to interview the whole band of Estranged, but we are not those Hitz.fm or MTV or TV3, we are just some bunch of crack fellas hanging around. We knew we couldn't manage to handle such a BIG thing. So, we decided just to interview with lead guitarist, Hanafi. Here's a short story on how Estranged was formed;
Estranged started out in the year 2001 when Rich and Din were students in the International College of Music (ICOM) wanting to play rock music, therefore, they gathered a bunch of guys who had similar interests, thus, Estranged is formed. The band is named after one the songs in Guns n' Roses! 'Estranged'. The band started off with their first ever gig in year 2001 at TwelveSI and since then, the gigs kept on coming. The band has also gone through many changes in the line up, even to this day, original lead guitarist Adzrai had just departed with the band due to furthering his studies. New grunge-influenced guitarist Hanafi replaces him. Estranged participated in the “Yamaha Asian Beat Competition” for year 2001 and managed to finish 2nd runners-up for the competition.
In 2005, they released the In Hating Memory album, their very 1st Album which includes 10 English Tracks and 1 Malay language track.
In Sept 2006, the band got nominated for an Anugerah Era under the category “Favourite Local English Act” going against big acts such as Too Phat, Pop Shuvit, and Jaclyn Victor (Malaysian Idol winner) and to surprise, the band managed to win the award. This is followed by a double nomination on the Hitz.fm Malaysian English Top 10 Awards under the categories of Best Rock and Best Video. The band also managed to take home both awards for the respective categories.
Recently, they released the repackaged album of 'In Hating Memory' by adding the Malay language track 'Itu Kamu' which turned out to be a nationwide major hit.
Band: Rich - Vocals Hanafi - Lead guitarist Din - Rhythm guitarist Ken - Bassist Andy - Drums
Andy
Rich
Ken
Din
Hanafi
Awards so far;
-Nominated for the “Favourite Local English Artiste” at the Anugerah Era 2006
-Won the “Favourite Local English Artiste” at the Anugerah Era 2006
-Nominated for two categories (Best Rock & Best Video) at the Hitz.fm Malaysian English Top 10 Awards 2006
- Won the “Best Rock” category at the Hitz.fm’s Malaysian English Top 10 Awards 2006
- Won the “Best Video” category at the Hitz.fm’s Malaysian English Top 10 Awards 2006
In Hating Memory
Hanafi with award
Congrats ESTRANGED!!!
Some of the band’s recognized shows.
8TV's WET & WILD PARTY 2007 in Sunway Lagoon (21st July 2007)
Rock the World 4 – 2003
MTV’s Search for Linkin Park – 2003
Asian X-Games – 2004
AXN – 2003 & 2005
8TV’s late night talk show Latte@8 – 2004
Konsert Gemilang Anugerah Era – 2006
Rock the World 7 – 2006
Konsert Akademi Fantasia Season 5 Episode 5 – 2007
MTV LIVE with Good Charlotte in National Stadium Bukit Jalil – 2007
Estranged with Good Charlotte in Bukit Jalil with J.Lo and local bands
Estranged performing during GC Concert 2007 in Bukit Jalil
They also have been nominated for the Favourite Band Category 2007 and Favourite Rock Hit 2007 from Anugerah Era tihs year. Do vote them!!! Click here to do so!
I've only been to one of their gigs. It was the Incubus Tribute Gig in KL Jam Asia (20th April 2007).
Incubus Tribute Gig
The interview was suppose to take place in Amir's house but Hanafi wanted to have it in Pelita(Mamak Stall) because he wanted to pass something to his friend there too. Too bad no chance to take pictures of his Kurt Cobain guitar. =(
His friend, Izuan turns out to be the lead singer of Auburn, I think. So, he joined us too to yum-cha there.
So, Amir, Eugene and I agreed and we walked to Pelita to carry on with the 'project'. Hanafi is a real friendly and nice guy. And he was asking;
Hanafi : So, you guys doing this for magazines/newspapers?
Amir : *giggles* It's for their blog.
jY & Eugene : Haha! Yeah. It's just for fun. =p
Hanafi : Okay, give me your sites once we're done. So, how are we going to start this?
And so we started; below are kinda like the summarized version of it.
The interviewing process
jY: We'll be asking questions first about yourself, then we'll move on to the band.
Hanafi : Okay. Sure.
INDIVIDUAL QUESTIONS
Listen to the audio Part 1!
jY : How old were you when you first took up guitar-ing?
Hanafi : I started playing the guitar when I was Form 3, that was like 1997.
Eugene : Did you take it up yourself or did your parents like encouraged you?
Hanafi : Well, I did take it up myself after I saw one of my seniors performing with the guitar. During that time, I was in a boarding school in Raub, Pahang. That was the only entertainment in the hostel laa.
jY : To 'Pikat' Girls ar?
Hanafi : Err, not really......not really...
Us : Hahahaha!
jY : It's just for personal interest and hobby laa?
Hanafi : Yeah, because that time during my high school time, Sad to say la, I wasn't that famous and I wanted to prove myself in a way.
Us : You've proven it now already!!!
Hanafi : But mostly it's to release stress in our boarding school.
jY : What was the first guitar that you received or that you bought?
Hanafi : My first guitar was a Yamaha Nylon Strings.
jY : Acoustic? Oh oh sorry! Classical?
Hanafi : Yeap.
jY : How did you change to electric from classical?
Hanafi : Well, the thing is my friend borrowed my guitar. He borrowed and broke it, so I had to buy a new one. That's how it is la.
jY : So your playing style also change la?
Hanafi : I didn't really start of with classical at first. I started straight away with Nirvana.
Eugene : So Nirvana inspired you. Kurt Cobain...
Hanafi : Yeah I was inspired by his song la basically. The first song I learnt was 'About a Girl'.
jY : What other bands do you look up to? Your favourites.
Hanafi : Butterfingers, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, errrr....
Eugene : Incubus?
Hanafi : Yeah!
jY : What about guitarist idol?
Hanafi : Are you talking about guitar heroes, like more to solos that kind?
jY : Yeah.
Hanafi : Well, to be honest, I'm not too much of a solo-ist kind of guitarist. I'm more of like- composing the structure of the song, so I like erm, Daniel John.
jY : You have a real nice guitar of Kurt Cobain. Where do you get it and is it very limited?
Hanafi : Oh that time is 1997, it was a reissue model in 1997 and I bought it in Bentley and that time I was madly insane over Kurt Cobain, so I bought the guitar. Sometimes, I do regret buying it.
Us : Why?
Hanafi : Well, it's not a real magnificent guitar if you all wanna know la.
jY : So whats your dream guitar then?
Hanafi : My dream guitar ar? It's hard to say la coz therez a lot I haven't tried out. But I am looking at Jaguars, Gibson Les Paul, Strat.
jY : What's your proudest and biggest acheivement so far?
Hanafi : I guess, erm showing everyone that music can make a living la.
BAND QUESTIONS
jY : Okay, now we'll talk more about the band. How and when was Estranged formed?
Hanafi : They were formed in 2001, the original members were Rich and Din. I wasn't the original members. I joined in only in 2005. The thing is, I grew up listening to them from the first time they started up as the band, as a fan la.
Eugene : But how do you get in touch in them?
Hanafi : Oh, they were my college-mates.
Us : Oh!
jY : Were they looking for any new guitarist that time? So, you decided to join them?
Hanafi : That was in 2005 la. But during back then, I was hanging out a lot that time. That time they were looking for another guitarist. I was kinding hoping I could join them.
Eugene : Then, how do you end up in Estranged?
Hanafi : Well, the previous guitarist had to study abroad and he left the band. So, one day I got a call inviting me to join in the band.
jY : What is the biggest achievement of Estranged so far?
Hanafi: I guess, to get our 'stuffs' to be acknowledged by the public.
jY : What about awards?
Hanafi : Erm, the latest one we got was during the Hitz.fm award ceremony. We won the Best Video and Best Rock.
Eugene : For Itu Kamu is it?
Hanafi : Not really. Erm..The video was Itu Kamu and Best Rock was Chocolate Syrup.
Listen to the audio! Part 2!
jY : Tell us more about the band members.
Hanafi : Well, Rich is the vocalist. He's from Sabah. You want really detail or what?
Eugene : Just the 'surface'. Probably tell us about their personalities. Coz we don't get to see it at home.
Hanafi : He's a LAZY BUM!
Rich: I'll HENTAM you HANAFI!!!
Us : Haha!
Hanafi : But when it comes to practice, he does take things seriously la. Ermmm, Din is our rhythm guitarist. He's a great guy to hang out with. He comes out with amazing riffs that I can't. About Andy, he's a heart-beating drummer. He's a rocker la. His idol is, I think Dave Grohl (From Nirvana, currently in Foo Fighters). Something in resemblance la. Currently right now we don't have a bassist.
jY : Ken??
Hanafi : Ken left the band basically because of work commitment.
jY : When is your next gig or major performance?
Hanafi : During Merdeka in Sabah. Padang Merdeka, Sabah. Kota Kinabalu.
jY : We did went for your incubus tribute gig. Hmmm..How many albums do you have so far?
Hanafi : So far, we have 1 album. The first one is like a underground album. Now we have a repackaged album which includes 'Itu Kamu'.
Amir : Erm, how do you guys get inspired to compose the 'Itu Kamu' song.
Short Video Clip of Hanafi and Amir.
Hanafi : Well the song started of with Rich. The song is too far from our material. (Estranged is a metal band, Itu Kamu is more to pop rock) I admit it's a nice song. After Rich came out with the chords and all, then we put in our stuffs la, one by one.
Amir : So, Rich composed the song and lyrics is it?
Hanafi : Yeah, but the overall music is by Estranged la.
Amir : So what's the song about?
Hanafi : Ladies. =p . It's more about the good side of girls, females.
Izuan : How come you didn't have any fat girls in the video?
Hanafi : We did want to put them but..
Eugene : She was cut out?
Us : Hahaha!
Hanafi : We even tried to get a black lady. But they wanted payment and we didn't have the budget.
Amir : How much was the whole budget for the video?
Hanafi : For the whole production, it was like RM6-7 k.
Amir : Where do you record your songs?
Hanafi : We record in Shah Alam, it's a independent studio. We were lucky enough to record there for free la. But 'Itu Kamu' was in a different studio.
jY : Have you guys performed international? Like outside Malaysia?
Hanafi : Well, so far in Singapore la. That was during the Anugerah Planet Muzik.
jY : Do you guys plan to go further?
Hanafi : Oh! We would love to actually. If there's a chance, we would like to spread our songs la.
jY : What is your vision for Estranged?
Eugene : Like 5-10 years time, where do you see Estranged?
Hanafi : Erm, probably, we would love to change the whole perception in the music industry. We would love to play aside with other underground bands. I guess we would want to make our music worldwide as well.
jY : This is the last question. Erm, do you have any tips for young bands to be as successful as yours? How do you guys go through challenges?
Hanafi : Erm, the thing is, if you have problems with your band-mates, you better speak up! Haha! Seriously. We,Estranged fight a lot.
Eugene : Physical or?
Us : Haha!
Hanafi : No la! More mature la. Don't be afraid to spread out your thoughts and all la. You've got to overcome confusion and trust your band members.
Eugene : What about your parents? Were they supportive?
Hanafi : At first, they have doubts and all, but after I convinced them, they supported me.
jY : Do your siblings play any music?
Hanafi : Nope. My other brothers, one is still studying medic, one is a engineer and one is a IT crook.
Us : Haha!
jY : Your parents should be very proud of you.
Hanafi : Yeap.
jY : Alright, that ends the interview. Thank you very much and sorry for taking your time. Let's makan now!
THAT ISN'T SUMMARIZED! ITZ FREAKING LONG!!!
That wasn't the end of our interview. Infact we talked even more while we were having our dinner there. Like the guitars and equipments he was using, where they jam, and when is their next album coming out. It's early next year! Stay tuned! Don't buy pirated! Bad for health.
So, Eugene ciao-ed early. And we left soon after that. We did take some pictures after that.
Tagged??? I was tagged by no thanks toSteph and I was supposed to:
Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
People who are tagged need to write in their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
At the end of your blog, you need to choose people to get tagged and list their names.
Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
Oh Great...THANKS Steph..
Let's get started.
1. I love sleeping late at night and waking up 12 - 1p.m in the afternoon. 2. I blog for no reason. 3. I don't understand why am I writing this in this first place. 4. Okay, let's end this.
Many girls dream of being as thin as possible. And many girls who have been surveyed, 70% think that they're fat and want to work out, diet, etc etc.
Do you think FAT is ugly???
Oh well, check this out
Cover what?!! No boobs also!!!
Looks like some wild cats on the road
HOLY!!!
So still thinking of being thin?
Well, Think Again.
DISCLAIMER : jieyao89.blogspot.com do not endorse reducing or increasing weights to any extreme, but rather promote moderation with food intake and regular exercise, and is merely criticizing models who set an unrealistic standard to a society of young impressionable girls that are prone to social "trends".
Congratulations to Serbian Novak “Nole” Djokovic for capturing the Rogers Cup in Montreal.
Novak Djokovic
He successfully prevented Roger Federer from capturing his 50th career title by topping the No.1 player in the world, 7-6(2), 2-6, 7-6(2) in the two hour and 12 minute final of the Rogers Cup. I must say it was a real nice match to watch as it was full of tension!
And he's only freaking 20 years old!
Throughout the tournament, Djokovic knocked off the third, second and first players in the world – Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
World No.1(Federer)
It was also the first time in five meetings that the Serb defeated Federer, but it’s safe to say that Djokovic, who will jump to No.3 in the world on Monday, is a different player today than he was before. As Nadal says: “This is the future No.1 player in the world.”
World No.2(Nadal)
The 20-year-old right-hander from Serbia has jumped from 280th to third in the world in less than two years.
Well, this guy must really be watched...Hopefully he remains consistent like this.
Congrats again to him for winning the Rogers Cup!!!
After waiting for 3 months, the Barclays English Premier League is finally back again! This year, we have many major signings in the league and this spices up the game with different flavours from all over the world. =p
This includes Florent Malouda, Alex, Claudio Pizarro to Chelsea, Carlos Tevez, Nani, Anderson, Owen Hargreaves to Manchester United, Fernando Torres to Liverpool, Craig Gordon to Sunderland, Michael Chopra should also be watched!
Carlos Tevez
Of course I'll be looking forward to Man Utd defending their title. But Chelsea and Liverpool will be a threat to them.
Didn't mention Arsenal as I highly doubt they will be a competitor as Henry has left to Barcelona.
I pity him so much. I think he is gonna die of heart attack one day. Look at his pressured face.
Another team to be watched is Sunderland F.C. They're turning into a second Man Utd after Roy Keane became their manager. They would most probably end up in the top half of the table. Can't wait to see Man Utd against them.
Roy Keane (Future Man Utd manager)
VS
Sir Alex Ferguson( Current Man Utd manager) Sob sob
Not only will it be exciting in the EPL, but also in Spain and Germany!!!
Eric Abidal, Superstar Thierry Henry will team-up with Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto'o and Eidur Gudjohnsen.
Barca GOD-LIKE team
Bayern Munich also recruited Luca Toni, Miroslav Klose, Frank Ribery. Arjen Robben is probably on his way to Real Madrid. Too bad Bayern won't be in the Champions League this season. Hmmmmm....Will it be a dream to start for Manchester United tomorrow against Reading. We'll see. =)
Nazmi decided to throw a BBQ party in his house. I was like kinda looking forward to it because I wanted to sleep with some of his college chicks! meet Naz and friends.
But apparently, "Somehow", all that turned up were guys. Aiyo, another 'GAY' gathering. But we did have fun screwing around talking about life and all. After all, I wanted to take a short break from studying Marketing. The BBQ turned up quite a disaster. Instead of preparing the fire, Ruben and Amir were more like making love with the fire.
Then it was Chef Aaron BBQ-ing the chicken. We ended up eating Bakar-ed Chickens and Sausages. But it turned up tasting pretty good.
BBQ-ing Chicken
Chef Aaron Teh
How often do you see 'Kaka' BBQ-ing at Jalan Telawi?
Love making moments
Jana and I even discussed about doing another short film on Pirates of The Caribbean. Hopefully it will all work out. =)
HAHAHAHAHA!!! Credits to Loong Jin for helping me.
I ended up going back early at 11p.m. as I had stupid ARGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! Good luck jY!!! THANK YOU RIZUAN for Marketing Tips!!!
Desmond says I lack 'Leng Lui' in my blogs. Oh well, this post is dedicated specially to him. Here are some leng luis for you.
SUPERWOMAN!!!
SEXY YUNA from FFX-2
Leng Lui Desmond
DISCLAIMER: 1. This post is not intended to critize any real leng lui out there. It is just merely for fun. 2. Desmond, chill laaaaaaaaa....Hahaha! Simply kacau you only.
Exams real soon. Will stop blogging in the meantime. Sigh...
Tickets are priced at RM 15 Limited tickets!!! Please contact me to get them now!
jY's Top 10 Playlist
Paradise City - Guns n' Roses Wherever I May Roam - Metallica I Want To Hold Your Hand - The Beatles One - Metallica Mamma Mia - Abba Don't Cry - Guns n' Roses Across The Universe -
The Beatles Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen November Rain - Guns n' Roses Let It Be - The Beatles
Matt Damon
Chris Tucker
Jackie Chan
Shah Rukh Khan
Rich
