A Day Before Tomorrow #1 on Hitz.Fm MET 10 Charts!
A Day Before Tomorrow #1 on Hitz.TV MET 10 Charts!
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By Izuan Shah - The Star
Ash Nair, better known as Ash from Malaysian Idol’s second season, tells IZUAN SHAH of his eagerness to shed his Idol image, share his new music and how life’s been since the show.
Despite the anticipation and knowledge that he could soon have fan expectations, recognition and the freedom to record his own songs after the Idol hullabaloo, Ash struggled to convey that he wanted more than to merely play the part of the pseudo-rocker for the masses.
Ash defied expectations by finishing in the last five of last season’s Malaysian Idol contest, charming audiences and renewing the faith of his fans during peak moments like Rock Week. However, he also wasn’t short of critics, having been known as the most opinionated Idol.
In the months that followed Daniel’s win, finalists went about regularly performing at public concerts, save for Ash, who opted to start work on a personal debut album and only singing at Idol events occasionally.
“I would have loved to play my own stuff on the show,†Ash says.
“The perception of artists that come through reality shows is that they are manufactured and they are not ‘real’. If there is any statement to my album, it would only be me saying, ‘Here I am, and I’m writing songs’.â€
Selling the drama
Right now, his Idol exploits are the farthest thing from his mind. As it is, he’s got loads of good stuff planned.
First off, a surreal Salvador Dali-inspired music video is being shot for the moody single A Day Before Tomorrow, with the clip undergoing conception and initial filming stages with the talented designers at Hue Visualab (the company responsible for the groundbreaking AIM 2006-nominated videos for Ahli Fiqir and Love Me Butch).
Meanwhile steady progress is being made in the studio for the big album, with renowned producer Greg Henderson at the helm and Pop Shuvit’s JD and Rudy covering co-production/guitar and drum duties respectively.
A Day Before Tomorrow, already a standout on hip-hop/R&B-geared playlists with its brooding histrionics, driving rock and epic melodies.
“I wrote the song thinking about that one single moment that could change your life,†he says of Tomorrow’s lyrics.
Raised on rock
“I picked up a lot about rock bands, and the passion of being in one during my early years,†reflects Ash. “The first album that really hit home for me was Throwing Copper (the seminal 1994 album by Live). It was the sincerity with the message – they were very honest with their songs.
“I’m very happy that those bands were the bands that actually got me into music because I could have just as easily gotten into boy bands in my early teens, when you’re the most impressionable,†he adds.
At the Bukit Bintang Boys’ School in Petaling Jaya, a school revered for producing the best bands around (namely the Butterfingers, who would go on to become this generation’s highest-selling Malaysian English rock act ever), Ash often kept to himself, preferring to daydream during math class of what lay ahead for aspiring young rock singers with no connections in the local music industry.
“If it wasn’t for the music club (at school) and Gasoline(his first band), I would not be doing music right now. I discovered a totally different side of myself then and started wanting to write, more than just be happy singing cover songs,†notes Ash in retrospect.
“I felt like it was all a game (on Idol), but I hope this album is where my true voice can be explored and heard,†says Ash, expressing that his “voice†could also mean more than just his singing – such as the effort, imagination and craft put into the lyrical imagery, cover art and videos.
“I had to go back to my roots,†adds the singer.
The rock star versus the pop-rocker, the Idol vs the artiste ... these are the doppelgangers Ash must contend with until the album (Chameleon) is released and his work revealed, so that the music can finally speak for itself.