On the 14th of December, I got a chance to meet Tilu at The Bee, Publika for their Come Back Show. The show was a hit with the restaurant completely full, even I had to share a chair with my mum. (Yes, she’s a fan.) There were people from all walks of life, both old and young, all of them enjoying the jazzy pop funk music from this band that has finally come out of hiding for a year.
Mira – Vocalist
Zaim – Bassist
Bob – Drummer
Indra – Keyboardist
Jeff - Saxophonist
Deo – Guitarist
For those of you unfamiliar with Tilu, they are a band consisting of Malaysians and Indonesians who came together to cultivate their mutual love for music. With catchy tunes and fun chemistry on stage, you can’t help but want to know more about them. So here’s a peek into what’s up with the band, Tilu…
BB: How did you all find each other? How did you meet?
Mira: The band started with 3 people before they discovered me. Well, band mates come and go.. We all used to perform together in places like No Black Tie and discovered each of us throughout the years performing with different gigs and mutual friends.. It was an interesting journey of finding one after another.
BB: Mira, after one year of being away from the band, how do you feel now?
Mira: Of course I feel very excited to be back! When I was in Belgium, I was very… not really depressed, but more stressed out since I had to focus on studies instead. Seeing the band’s updates on social media really inspired me and built up my enthusiasm to perform. I couldn’t wait to come back to join them.
BB: How did you guys keep in touch with Mira while she was away?
Deo: We Skyped with her a lot… Actually, I’m the one who Skyped with her mostly..
BB: Awh…Why didn’t the rest of you Skype with her as well?!
Indra: Betul! Betul!
Band: *laughs*
Deo: Ye lah.. We Skype and Instagram each other mostly.
BB: So what have you guys been up to during Mira’s absence?
Deo: We each carried on playing sessions for other musicians and found that the experiences helped us to improve ourselves musically. It really affected the way we played and performed on stage together.
Mira of Tilu |
BB: Did you guys miss your vocalist?
Deo: I tak miss Mira pun.. Bob, did you miss her?
Bob: *silence*
Band: *laughs*
Mira: Nope they don’t miss me at all! Haha!
Bob: Of course, we miss performing with her.
Deo: Her tone of voice. Sometimes when we performed with other vocalists, we find ourselves thinking “If Mira was here, she would sing this differently”.
Zaim: Yea, we miss her cuteness and the way she controls her sweetness on stage.
Mira: Alamak! (has both palms on her face at this point)
BB: Now that Tilu is reunited, what are your plans?
Mira: We are coming up with a new song but I think we will be releasing Deo’s song first.
Deo: Yes, it’s called “Bawalah Diriku”. It’s a fast number. After being gone for a year, we think it would be best to come out with a bang.
BB: When will you be releasing it?
Deo: Probably next year. We are still saving up for it.
BB: Now that Tilu is back, what would you like to say to your fans?
Jeff: We want people to know we are back in business, in full force with our full line-up to attack Indonesia and Malaysia… and the whole world.
Zaim: Expect a lot from us because we have a lot to give. We have a lot of ideas. It’s a new chapter for Tilu now that everyone is back. We have all “levelled up” from the past year, each and every one of us.
BB: If your band were a dessert what would it be?
Mira: Paddle pop!
Indra: Cornetto. Strawberry.. with a bit of marshmallows.
Mira: No, I think Tilu would be the green lime ice-cream with vanilla filling in the middle.. What’s it called?
Jeff: Solero or something like that.
Deo: Actually, we would be a Rainbow cake because we are so colourful. OMG I’m hungry now.
BB: If you were all stuck on an island with nothing to survive, which band member will most likely go crazy first?
Jeff: Indra lah!
Deo: Mira.
Mira: I have a strong feeling it’s gonna be Bob.
Bob: I actually was stuck on an island.. and that’s how I became Bob! Haha!
BB: Since we are dawning on the end of 2014, what are your New Year’s resolutions?
Deo: Girlfriend! Hahaha
Mira: I want to be a better person, a better singer, a better daughter, and a better Muslimah, Insyaallah. I want my band to be known and appreciated by others because they are a bunch of very good musicians.
Deo: I actually stopped having resolutions since three years ago cos they never happen…Haha... But for Tilu, I think we have found the right people and will work our asses off to achieve what we want.
Jeff: To be more entertaining besides performing and we want to touch the heart of our listeners… and make money.
Indra was too shy to answer this question but I think he just doesn’t want to admit his plans of world domination to us. Smart boy, Indra.
Bob: For Tilu to improve, get more shows and release new albums or singles. As for me, I hope to get better in drumming and life, basically.
Zaim: For myself, just make more money cos I’m already old..
Mira: No, you’re not!
Zaim: Haha! Yea but I still need to make a living. Hopefully be better musically and creatively. I hope people will start noticing us and paying more attention to us. I hope for Tilu to be successful.
BB: Any last words before I kill off this interview?
Deo: I love my mom and dad!
Mira: Thank you to all who came to our shows. Please follow us on Instagram and Twitter, tiluband and also on Facebook, Tilu for updates and band bookings.
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