BAYAREAROCBLASTA- MAKING OF A SUPER SINGA
BANDThe B.A.R.B story began in September 2003 with a kopitiam talk of just winning an attractive cash prize, a short recording contract and a customized Jim Beam design Gibson guitar in a Battle of the Bands competition organized by Jams The Club. Eventually it became survival of the most creative and talented young musicians one can find in this tiny island of Singapore. BayAreaRocBlasta was a phenomenal musicasynthesis of Kaleidoscopicuriosity and Tribe -two of the most reputable bands who clinched the top three placing in JUARA 2000-a very popular band competition organized by Mediacorp. On their own, they have major accomplishments like Best Local Album in APM 2001( a Malay Hit Awards) and Best Recorded Album in AIM 2002 ( A Malaysian Music Industry Awards).Banding together and pooling their individual energy, the groups were able to gain wider promotion and play collective gigs together, increasing audience attendance by pooling their different fanbases. The collective began to make a name on the Singapore music scene by participating in other band competitions. It was a movement which gains them criticism or label like a prolific competition band. By financing themselves with day jobs and the help from recording deals that theyve won, they carry on their music journey to record their cult numbers such as "L.I.E.S" and "Ma Everlast" and sent directly to the media.
BARB Aryans
BayAreaRocBlasta consists of Moo-Z aka LOCO (on vocals/rapper), Azizul@Ajut (on 2nd vocals) Jeffrey (on guitar), Nazar (on bass) and Ronnie (on drums). But their formative music was an experiment of alternating energetic hip hop sections with waves of screaming guitar feedback, fronted by Moo-Z's snappy rap phrasing and Ajuts striking and violent-sounding vocals, Bayarearocblasta carved out a distinctive sound for themselves. But the five-strong band has now mellowed towards a more melodic rock sound. By 2004, the band had shortened their name to BARB, and recruited Ian (2nd vocal), as a new and more melodious vocal.
Red Hot Act
Renowned for their explosive live performances and thanks to their colourful costumes and Moo-Zs Royal Rumble style of communicating with audiences, Barb were rapidly forging a reputation as one of the hottest acts on the live gig circuit. Again, they topped Top Bands 2004 organized by Swee Lee Company and walked away with $20 000 worth of cash and prizes. Eventhough BARB generated an extensive buzz on the music scene, no major labels signed them yet. The members of the group readily admitted their music and their wild and noisy reputation on the live scene, which was heavily influenced by the work of bands 311 and Pleymo, sometimes can be intimidating and not easy listening. Their music is feared to burst a few eardrums in the process! Barb's popularity spread like wildfire, largely on a word-of-mouth basis.
Lost in Emotions
"L.I.E.S" the first single release received extensive airplay on Malay radio station 89.7FM.It marked a definite break from their first "nu-metal" offerings. Moving away from screeching guitar feedback and aggressive hip hop phrasing, the boys have surprised everyone by experimenting with a softer rock'n'pop sound. Apparently that means less head-banging and more emotion! It was one of their little big achievements when fans called in radio stations to make sure that they performed in Jamming In The Park, a concert organized by two Malay hit radio stations even though initially they have nothing to do with it .
SinginEnglish
Barb soon hit the live gig scenes again. It was at this point that the five some embarked on another competition organized by Red Hot Radio Station Power 98.This was a turning point in Barbs odyssey. Singing in English may open doors and frontiers for Barb in small Singapore. Their latest single Ma Everlast announced a change of musical taste. Like so many of their contemporaries who had started out on the nu metal scene, Barb decided to turn down the volume a bit and leave more place in their music for melody and vocals. Surprisingly, early followers and new fans gave positive vibes at what they saw as the ultimate pop'n'rock sell-out, but there was no denying Barb had settled on a new musical direction and appeared intent on continuing down this new road. Catchy and simple sing-a-long chorus seemed to be the icing of the cake. The band confirmed their new sound. It won them Most Original Song and a $500 cash prize in Powerjam 2005 organized by Power 98, where they also walked away with a $50 000 worth of cash and prizes and championship trophies.
BARB to the future
Barb now looks set to expand beyond language barriers. They are convinced that they will and want to penetrate into the Chinese music market. China is a very good card to play right now. Rock never dies even in China. It will be an interesting act to follow for five Malay Rockers collaborating with a LMF-style rapper. It will be an electrifying experience to immerse in their musicality and spontaneity.
Skatanicatomicpunk
Having consistently refused to be pigeon-holed in any neat categories they called their music Skatanicatomicpunk because it contained essence of all the genre mentioned with atomic kicks and burgeoning cult following. Barb music is going through a natural evolution. One is force to trust Moo-Zs clever linguistic wordplay, juggling syntax, vocabulary and slang. Ians melody and tone is a perfect vocal partnership. Ronnies metronome is Barbs heart beat. Nazars throbbing bass groove justifies his Best Bassist title that he had won. Jeff, who believes that guitar leads is redundant embraces common hard rock riffs just to keep their songs grounded. But they have one thing in common- a vibrant stage performance which is schizophrenic yet arresting.
Beware of the extent of this phenomenon! Beware of B.A.R.B. coming to you live and loud.WATCH OUT FOR THE NEW ALBUM IN JULY'2006 fantasy Layout powered by HOT FreeLayouts
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