31/05/2026

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theSunday Special VI ON SUNDAY MAY 31, 2026

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in loose, sometimes just a short phrase or a progression, and are worked through together. “We used to write songs in two hours, now it takes months,” George said. The difference is in how much gets reworked. Parts are tested, dropped or rewritten until the track holds up as a full arrangement. “You start by sounding like others, but over time, you insert your own influences and it becomes yours,” Jacques told theSun . Those influences are still clear in places, from The Strokes to Arctic Monkeys , but they do not stay fixed. Songs move depending on what works. “One song started from three notes and everyone played something on top of that,” George said. That kind of starting point carries into the band’s EP The Human Condition , which stays focused on relationships and everyday situations without trying to expand beyond that. “It’s about feelings, human experiences, human encounters,” Jacques said. Everything is handled within the band. Recording and production are done on their own terms, shaped by what they have available. “It’s all DIY. We don’t really have resources to spend a lot on recording,” George said. Playing live is where things continue to change. Songs do not stay locked in and are adjusted depending on the set. “Every time we play, it can be different.” It just sounded more dream pop because I wanted to explore a lighter sound first.” “ Chemical Romance and Alvvays. That shared ground shaped what Fuad became. The Baby Cosmos shapes songs together The Baby Cosmos is made up of Timothy George, Darrel Jacques, Joseph Khoo and Isra Gomez, a four-piece that builds its sound as a group. The band formed in 2022, although the members had already been playing together in different combinations for years. “We all individually played for church, but we weren’t formed as a church band,” George told theSun . They came in with that background, but the band itself was built around original material. Early on, songs were brought in fully written, which made things straightforward but limited how much others could change. “Before, one of us would come in with a full song and we would just play it,” he said. That approach did not last. Ideas now come

Inside Klang Valley’s alternative indie scene T HE Klang Valley’s alt-indie scene is not short of bands. What it is short of is a neat definition. Fuad, The Baby Cosmos and Spooky Wet Dreams all sit somewhere inside that loose Siblings Arief (left) and Lisa approach music from different angles while keeping the project tightly connected. Local bands with diverse styles share same space By Ameen Hazizi lyfestyle@thesundaily.com “A lot of people think we’re a Covid band, but we actually started performing in 2019,” Arief said. They had already been performing before the pandemic, but wider attention came in 2020 when Mallory was featured on Tapau TV’s radio show. That exposure brought in new listeners and raised expectations for what came next.

“We didn’t want to stick to one genre,” Lisa said. Although often labelled as dream pop, Arief sees their foundation as alt rock, with earlier releases leaning lighter by choice. Lisa describes their direction as unplanned, with an agreement not to limit themselves to one sound. Most of their music is produced at home, with both working in the same space. The process involves a push and pull, with disagreements around vocals and instrumentation worked through over time. New material includes collaboration with Arief’s Spooky Wet Dreams co-member Netunoblu, marking their first time working with an external producer. The aim is to develop a more electronic sound while keeping their approach intact. Their influences overlap in a small way, from Bee Gees, Abba and Pavarotti to My

space, although each arrived there through a different route. One grew out of a sibling project that took itself seriously only after strangers started listening. Another is still learning how to turn group chemistry into a sound of its own. The third has been around long enough to treat survival as part of the work. Put together, they show how varied the space has become. Figuring it out with Fuad Fuad is made up of siblings Lisa, 21, and Arief Fuad, 31, with Lisa on vocals and guitar while Arief handles guitar and produces most of their tracks. They do not write songs together, although they share the project, and describe the process as “50-50” because of that separation. They work on songs independently before bringing them together later. The split extends beyond music, with Arief handling production, mixing and the technical side, while Lisa takes on creative direction, including visuals and merchandise. “The songwriting is 50-50 because we don’t write together,” Lisa told theSun . The project only began to feel serious when people outside their immediate circle started listening. Early shows were mostly attended by friends and family, with little reach beyond that.

“When people started responding to the singles, I felt like there was a higher standard to deliver for the album,” he said. That pressure shaped Dispositions . Arief spent more time refining production and sought outside input to improve the album’s quality. “I didn’t really understand those things at the time, so a lot of what I wrote came from other music and movies,” Lisa said. Much of the album was written when she was between 13 and 15, drawing from films, books and music she was consuming. The themes were already present, even if the understanding behind them was still forming. “Now it comes more from what we actually experience.” Her current writing draws more from personal experience. The themes remain centred on uncertainty, but extend beyond teenage perspectives into broader questions around relationships and direction. Arief also contributes to songwriting. Dispositions was split evenly between them, while newer material leans more towards Lisa’s writing, with Arief bringing in older ideas from his backlog. “It just sounded more dream pop because I wanted to explore a lighter sound first,” Arief said.

Most of them are now moving into full-time work, which limits how often they can meet. Even with that, they keep writing, recording and planning what comes next.