RADIN SRI GHAZALI talks to members of Pop Shuvit who are singing a different tune these days.

Pop Shuvit is going back to basics. The band that consists of Moots on vocals, Rudy (drums), AJ (bass), JD (guitars) and Uno (turntables) is set to create another benchmark by redefining their music and sound through their latest album, Freak Show: Vol 1: Tales of the Travelling Tunes.

“We wanted to do something different in comparison to our previous three albums,” said lead vocals, Moots during their album launch recently.

The album that consists of 13 tracks including All I Got, All That Glitters and their massive hit to date, Mara Bahaya hopes to break the local scene with a big bang.

“We want to go back home. We have been attaining success in foreign countries such as Japan. This time around we want to make it into the local scene,” said Moots.
“We still have a long way to go where the Malaysian market is concerned. We are at the beginning of our career when it comes to our backyard,” he said.

The band takes the initiative to accommodate the needs and the preference of the majority by creating a balance of rock, pop and hip hop in their fourth studio album.

“It is a bit more commercial compared to our previous albums but it is still the band’s music. We do understand that the local market has a different take on music and we are trying to accommodate the needs of the local listeners,” said Moots.

“When we first hit it big in Japan, we were doing a lot of heavier materials. This is because they preferred such genre of music. We fulfilled those needs and the success was massive. We were even on the same ranks with the likes of Linkin Park in 2003,” said the vocalist.

“If we want instance success here, we would have done songs in ballads,” added JD with a laugh.

Nevertheless, the boys are impressed with the overwhelming acceptance of Mara Bahaya among the Malay music listeners.

“Mara Bahaya is one of the heavier tunes in the album. The success was a pleasant surprise for us,” said Moots regarding the main soundtrack of the movie Impak Maksima.

The band that has three studio albums to date including Take it & Shuvit and Here & Now also hopes to create new sounds in all their albums.

“This is merely the beginning for us. There will be a volume two for the album and you never know, we might take another 360 degree turn by making it as an electronic album,” said Moots.

The boys from the band also took the liberty to do a lot of collaborations with their fellow artistes both locally and internationally.

They teamed up with Joe Flizzow and DJ Cheapshot; the vocalist of Butterfingers, Emmet, and with Singaporean quartet, Ahli Fiqir.

“They are our friends and we have known them for years. We thought that it would be a great idea if we are able to feature all our friends from various genres in one album,” said Moots.

On a lighter note, the boys opted for a rather fun and wacky “theme” for their album title.

“At some point we all behave like freaks. That is why we chose Freak Show as our main title. Furthermore, a carnival is relevant to us. A carnival is always on the move and we have been touring non-stop ever since we broke into the music scene,” explained Moots, regarding title and the cover of the album.