Butterfingers (Malaysian band)

Butterfingers
Background information
Origin Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Genres Alternative Rock, Grunge, Post-Grunge[1]
Years active 1993–2009 (hiatus)
Labels EMI Malaysia, Butterworld
Associated acts Loque's Tail, Grunge Dayz, Monoloque
Members Emmett
Loque
Kadak
Loko
Past members Kalai, Numlock

Butterfingers is a rock band formed in 1993. They have released eight studio albums to date, their latest being KEMBALI in 2008.

Band members

Original line-up, from left – Loque, Emmett, Kadak & Kalai

Biography

History

Butterfingers 1st demo cover artwork released circa February 1995 named 12 goats, 6 oranges and 2 angels

In 1991, a group of students at Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK), Malaysia including Loque and Kadak, formed a band called Loque's Tail. They started producing their own material, which heavily influenced with Metallica and with the hopes of making a name for themselves in the Malaysian music scene. Kalai joined the band after their first drummer left. During this time, grunge hit the shores of Malaysia with substantial force and all in a sudden, Loque's Tail music direction has changed from pure metal to grunge and punk, as their Sex Pistols and Nirvana covers.

In 1993, while Loque's school break at Kuala Lumpur, he visits a jamming studio named the Black Widow Studios in Petaling Jaya. Then, he bumped into Emmett, who was there jamming (as a singer and guitarist) with his band at the time, Grunge Dayz. Impressed with what he saw (specifically during the band cover of "Under the Bridge" by Red Hot Chili Peppers), Loque approached a challenge to him for a jamming session. Loque recalled Kadak and Kalai to meet Emmett later on to jam, after which they mutually decided to join skills and creativity showdown. The session was strongly meaningful, and they later decided to form a new band with Emmett. The name Butterfingers was suggested by Loque which all of them agreed, and Butterfingers was officially born by the end of 1993. With the final line up of Loque (songwriter, guitarist), Emmett (vocals, guitar, strings and lyricist), Kadak (bass) and Kalai (drums), Butterfingers hit the underground gig scene with a vengeance that sold out most of their shows and is described today as 'the stuff of underground legends'.

With their first introduction recordings, 1994's two tracked Girl Friday and Nic O' Tynne (the song title was different back then and remains unknown to the newer fans), they made their first appearance at the Cobra Club House, Petaling Jaya (sometimes in late 1994 or early 1995, remain unknown). Impressed with the energy and the vibe from the crowds, they decided to record more songs.

12 goats, 6 oranges and 2 angles was the first full-length demo cassette published by Butterfingers into the underground circuit. Straight from a live session, it was recorded at FM Studio on 10'th January 1995, with helps from their close friends, Rudy, Mache, Fass and Latt. The demo introduced their raw energy in music, heavily influenced by grunge during that time, and Emmett's vocals which are a carbon-copy of Kurt Cobain. A lot of listeners thought that the demo was an unreleased Nirvana album, until Butterfingers made their most memorable underground show, the Moderate Rock Gig at Piccadilly Club on 1 May 1995 to promote the demo. The show has highly proven their potential to the local underground music lover. The gig and the circulation of their now-very-popular demo raised Butterfingers into becoming one of the most recognisable underground bands at that time, along with other bands such as OAG, The Splatters and Spiral Kinetic Circus. Later on that year, they release 8 tracked Butter Couldn't Melt , and Dragon to support their non-stop gigs. By the end of 1995, Butterfingers had reached out as far as they could to the underground scene, and it was time for the boys to take their music up and beyond to the wider audience across the nation.

Rise To Fame (1996–1999)

Butterfingers Transcendence cover album. Inspired from the famous Kelantan Royal House (1909) during the visit from delegation of Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir John Anderson to Kelantan

1.2 Miligrams was their first big project after signing with EMI Malaysia in early 1996 to a reasonably strong and rapidly growing fanbase, owing to the massive reputation the band had achieved during their years in the underground scene, with Nirvana-esque tunes, much like Mudhoney's early albums. The band was evidently very much influenced by the Seattle scene, which was dying away after the death of Kurt Cobain into a more melodic, raw, diverse and less angst-ridden band, among other things. They had been invited by Time Highway Radio most legendary Alternative Rock Show segment, hosted by Kamil Othman for an interview and jam session and that is one of the main factor to the Butterfingers early success. 1.2 Milligrams was distributed widely, which eared them their first Gold Award for sales of over 15,000 units. The Malaysian youth however, were far from over with grunge and received 1.2 Miligrams very well.

The following year's release of their second album Butter Worth Pushful, released in 1997, strengthened their following with more intricate, but still grungy tunes. Earning them their second consecutive Gold Award for sales of over 15,000 units (with estimated total sales of around 18000 units), Butter Worth Pushful also gave them their first AIM (Anugerah Industri Muzik) nominations for Best Engineered Album and Best English Album. Butter Worth Pushful also debuted at the No 6 spot on the Malaysian International RIM Charts, a first ever for a local band.

It was however, the Transcendence, which showcased massive songwriting potential, that brought Butterfingers to the peak of their popularity. It sold over 60 000 units, a remarkable feat for an English-singing Malaysian band at a time when such bands were still by and large almost automatically considered inferior to American and British imports. Released in March 1999, it earned Butterfingers their first Double Platinum Award, with two more AIM nominations for Best Engineered Album and Best English Album. With a little touch from their new members, Loko (drums) and Numlock (programmer), Transcendence also debuted at the No 3 spot on the RIM International Charts, another first, and earned them their first No 1 song with their hit, The Chemistry (Between Us).

2000–2009

2001, from left – Numlock, Kadak, Loque, Emmett & Loko

After the success of Transcendence and the release of Butter Late Than Never, a collection of old live tracks and outtakes with some previously unreleased songs from the earlier demo's, Butterfingers recorded Malayneum, an epic album showcasing some of the most impressive material in Malaysian music history that won rave reviews from critics. In many ways, it fulfilled the potential that was evident in Transcendence and acts as a testament of how mature the band had become at that point. The fans however, responded less favourably, evident by decreased sales of the album, hugely due the fact that they were still in desire for three-chord, angst-ridden, grungy material. This was something the band wasn't willing to continue producing for commercial success. The band once remarked how they felt that while they have grown past grunge strictly as a musical genre, the fans have not. Nonetheless Malayneum is a landmark album for the Malaysian music scene simply because of its originality. After a greatest hits album in early 2003, The Best is Yet to Come which was poorly promoted by the now defunct label, EMI Malaysia, the band started working on the Malay language album Selamat Tinggal Dunia which was released on 14 December 2004. By this time many Malaysian bands singing in Malay were selling very well, owing much to the popularity of Indonesian indie bands in the country. In fact some bands who previously sang in English, such as OAG, perhaps realising the commercial potential, switched to Malay. Rock music in Malaysia was also under significant challenge from the hiphop scene with the emergence of groups such as Too Phat and Teh Tarik Crew who attained huge commercial success and popularity amongst the youth of the country. Some sections of the Butterfingers' fan base were slightly suspicious of the band's motives for recording a Malay album but once again they were defiant and demonstrated faith in their own visions of what they intended to produce.

Any concerns of Butterfingers 'selling out' were put to rest with its release. The album brought a new dimension to Malay rock with a mixture of madness and message (with lyrics that made you think), and was never meant to sell as well as the Malay or Indonesian bands that sang easy listening ballads, which some critics have claimed to be lacking in depth. Even the words Emmett used on the album were 'alien', borrowing many terms associated with Malaysian royalty. In interviews the band have said that this was a conscious move on their part to explore new grounds within Malay music which they felt was becoming all too predictable.

In 2003, Emmett left to further his study in Canada, leaving the rest of the band to release and promote Selamat Tinggal Dunia without him. There were rumours of Butterfingers breaking up or melting away, helped by the title of the record itself which can be directly translated as Goodbye World. One week after Emmett returned to Malaysia, in 2006, it was Loque's turn to leave, this time for Berkley College in Boston, where he continued writing music for the band.

However, sometimes in the late of 2007, all of them sit back together to record a new project. 6 July 2008 saw the release of their sophomore Malay album, "KEMBALI", which means the comeback, coincidentally timed with the Loque's return during his Fall break. During those rare few weeks together, the band worked at full capacity to play and promote what would be their last album together.

During Loque's hiatus, the high demand for Butterfingers, plus the success of "KEMBALI", which was well received by fans and industry alike, insisted that Emmett, Loko and Kadak continue to play show. They added famed guitarist and music producer, Greg Henderson to their temporary line-up. This quartet played a variety of shows, including a comeback as a headline for the biggest Malaysian annual rock music festival, Rock The World.

Butterfingers full line-up farewell show at Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur

The Farewell Show

With Loque's busy schedule with his education at Boston and Emmett was about to relocate to Canada, it was finally time for the guys to admit the truth and plan the band's farewell tour de force. For this, they chose the most prestigious venue open to live performances, Istana Budaya, making Butterfingers the first independent band to play there. Held on 17 and 18 January 2009, the two shows per-day was sold out long before the performances and were a huge success. It was an emotional send off for all: the people's band that played only for their love of music, and those who loved their music. However, in 29 March 2009, they decided to do one last big farewell show, playing at their biggest international festival, Sunburst Music Festival. The festival was headlined by an American nu-metal band Korn and Butterfingers were playing with Greg Henderson (replacing Loque, who already at Boston). Emmett flew back to Canada on May 2009 and the rest is history.

What now?

HIATUS. The future of Butterfingers remains uncertain, though fans still long and hope for a reunion. No matter the outcome, they have ridden the unique challenges as artists in Malaysia and most definitely have stamped their mark as Malaysian music legends.

Loque continued to write songs, even while studying in Boston, under the moniker Monoloque. Upon his return to Malaysia, he released several tracks, which have been doing well, filling the void Butterfingers fans felt. Monoloque continues to push the Malaysian music boundaries to new heights.

Musical style

Butterfingers music is often characterised and described as Grunge. However, from time to time the music has been developed and evolve. With grunge as their root sound (Emmett angst ridden screeching vocals and Loque blaring trebled guitar sound), their music has progressed with listed of influences variation including alternative rock, post-grunge, classic rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock and traditional/folk as they usually claimed as the butter sound. Butterfingers music is mainly composed by Loque and during the English-lyric era, the prime lyricist was Emmett. When they changed the music to sing in Malay, Loque is the main songwriter. Conceptually and melodically, Loque and Emmett arranged all the songs. Often recognised for their live performances, the band generally does not perform in larger venues such as arenas and amphitheaters. Instead, Butterfingers regularly plays smaller venues, as was their intention from the start. Loque once said in an interview, "We're definitely a live band. That's what it's all about for us. We make records so we can go out and play for the people".

Discography

1994 – 2 tracks untitled recording

1995 – 12 goats, 6 oranges and 2 angels (Demo)

1996 – 1.2 Milligrams (Butterworld/EMI)

1997 – Butter Worth Pushful (Butterworld/EMI)

1999 – Transcendence (Butterworld/EMI)

2000 – Butter Late Than Never (unreleased tracks, live and rarities)(Butterworld/EMI)

2001 – Malayneum (Butterworld/EMI)

2003 – The Best is Yet to Come 1994-20XX (Butterworld/EMI)

2005 – Selamat Tinggal Dunia (Butterworld/EMI)

2008 – Kembali (Butterworld)

VCD

Special Release/Live album

Music Videos

Hit Songs

Timeline

References

  1. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/butterfingers-mn0000633142

External links