Out at Ziro Festival of Music in Arunachal Pradesh in September, Singapore act Amateur Takes Control brought their frenetic, metal-edged instrumental music to reverberate through the valley. The band – comprising guitarists Adel Rashid, Ahmad Ariff and Field Teo, bassist Isa Ong and drummer Hydhir Ramli – continued in the footsteps of post-rock masters like Japanese act Mono to bring emotive, powerful music to the festival, presented by Signature Packaged Drinking Water.
Amateur Takes Control was formed in 2006 by Rashid, going on to release their debut album You, Me and the Things Unsaid in 2008. Performing in the South East Asia region and opening for the likes of post-rock favorites Envy and LITE over the years, the band released ATCEP2 in 2017, which showcased everything from playful math-rock to surging instrumental rock, reminiscent of instrumental acts like Pelican, Battles, If These Trees Could Talk and more.
In an interview with Rolling Stone India, the band members talk about how their India debut came about, the setlist they’d prepared and the direction of their new material, including “Arak” from their upcoming album A Pale Decrepit Dot. Excerpts from an interview conducted prior to the festival:
Rolling Stone India: What is it like making your way to India for the first time? How did this offer to perform at Ziro Festival come about?
Isa Ong: It’s really surreal to think about. We’ve read everything we can about Ziro Festival online, but we have a feeling that we’re in for a lovely surprise as for the beautiful stage, scenery, atmosphere and people. It’s a 17-hour long journey up from Singapore to the festival.
We’re super thankful to Anup Kutty and David Siow from Singapore, all friends of the AXEAN Festival for roping us in and taking the chance on us.
Post-rock and instrumental rock have had a platform at Ziro Festival over the years, including Mono coming down here. What have you heard about the audience for your style of music in India, if anything?
Ong: Being our first time in India, I can’t say that we’re not a little worried about audience reception. We’re not in any way on the same realm as them, but somehow, knowing that MONO was part of the festival was heartening, as we knew there was love for instrumental music at Ziro. We’ve also heard of India-based instrumental rock bands like Aswekeepsearching that have a huge following, so that helps too!
For those not in the know, how would you describe an Amateur Takes Control gig to anyone catching you for the first time?
Ong: We like to think that our live shows are raw, visceral and emotive, with a mixture of hard-hitting moments and longer, flowing passages. We’ve come to enjoy playing really loud, and I’m not entirely sure how that happened. That may or may not have been inspired by Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine) [laughs].
That said, what’s in store for your India debut performance this month? What kind of set are you planning?
Ong: We’ve put together a mixed set for Ziro, a taster of sorts, with post-rock and some of more post-metal-influenced, heavier-hitting songs. Actually, some songs we have on the setlist were written back when we were boys in 2007, which is a wild thought.
Rashid: Since it’s our first time in India and knowing the local audience has only listened to our previously released tracks on Spotify, we had to play some classics that they’re probably more familiar with.
You have a new album in the works, the first studio release since ATCEP2, is that right? What’s it been like working on that and when can we expect it to be out?
Ong: Yes that’s absolutely right. Our upcoming album will be titled A Pale Decrepit Dot, and it’s about interfacing with ourselves amidst all the violence and suffering we see, feel and hear living in our world today. It all sounds rather macabre and bleak, yes…
It’s been great, we’ve worked closely with long-time collaborator Leonard Soosay from Snakeweed Studios, and the album takes a heavier, darker tone. It has more in-your-face moments and headier riffs, which has been really fun to play out loud live.
There’s an eco-conscious theme to Ziro Festival, do you feel like Amateur Takes Control’s music or ethos also carries any kind of eco-conscious message, just in the themes that inspire you to write?
Rashid: Our upcoming album A Pale Decrepit Dot’ takes inspiration from how the world is slowly turning into a state of disrepair. As people who are cognizant of the fact that if we keep destroying the environment and infrastructures through various means, we might be leaving behind a world that is not inhabitable for future generations.
Do you have any other plans while you’re in India or even specifically at Ziro? Any other acts that have caught your attention that you’ll be keen to check out?
Ong: We kept seeing beautiful photos of the landscape at Ziro, especially those rice fields. We’d love to go on a hike or take a really long walk while we’re there to soak it in.
Rashid: Try out as much local food as possible.
What else is coming up in 2024 and 2025?
Ong: We’re gearing up for a string of shows in late October in Singapore and Jakarta. Pretty excited about that one, cause it’s our first time in Indonesia too, and we’ll be traveling with our friends and Kitty Wu label-mates Caracal. We’d love to perform more overseas once the new album’s out.
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