Azlan & The Typewriter

By Ben Liew  •  25 Nov 2009 in Detonate

Thirsty for JUICE content? Quench your cravings on our Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp

There comes a time when a man needs to strike out on his own, stand his ground and make the music that he wants to make. Everyone knows Azlan (or Lan) from his 8-year tenure with rising indie pop darlings Meet Uncle Hussain. When word got out earlier this year that the stirred-up vocalist was leaving the band, heads shook and forums flooded, but JUICE knew that this wouldn’t be the last time we’d be hearing Lan’s powerful, high-pitched voice.

Image Loveclicks

Striking while the buzz was electric, Lan recently held a media gig to showcase what he had been cooking up. Needless to say, questions arose surrounding his new incarnation as Azlan & The Typewriter. Not to be confused with a band, The Typewriter is made up by sessionists, namely bassist Paku, guitarist Din and drummer Bakri, who also plays for Meet Uncle Hussain.

I wanted to create nostalgic imagery and at the same time have something easy to remember,” explained the 27-year-old Lan. “A typewriter to me represents a part of the past that people don’t visit anymore. It’s very old school!”

First single ‘Kelibat Si Penyair’ is already up on Myspace. Lyrically pondering Lan’s muse it is darker than typical Meet Uncle Hussain material. There’s a bit of Arcade Fire in there and the “ah-ah-oh-oh” chorus reminds of a relaxed Manic Street Preachers. It climaxes with Lan’s unmistakable rock kapak vocals laid over indie music.

Azlan’s upcoming album Peta Minda also contains ‘Lipstick Plastic Cosmetic’, an ode to gold diggin’ biatches. According to Lan it fuses American alt rock with Brit indie and name-checks The Doves, The Editors, Keane and local band Komplot as his current favourite listening pleasures.

“With a typewriter, you don’t just type. You have to stop and think before you write because there’s no backspace key. If you make a mistake, you’ll have to change the entire sheet of paper,” says Lan of his new incarnation. If that means something completely new or something flawed but ultimately real, we’ll take it.

Refill your ink at www.myspace.com/azlanandthetypewriter and cop a listen to ‘Kelibat Si Penyair’ while you’re at it.