M1LDL1FE: a Fresh Start for The Band You Knew as Take Two
PUBLISHED August 4th, 2017 06:00 am | UPDATED July 24th, 2024 11:27 am
Indie rock band M1LDL1FE is not entirely unfamiliar to followers of the Singapore music scene. Formed in a university hall as then-cover band Take Two, the quintet had been going strong for two years with a both local and regional listenership.
After the departure of guitarist Johnathan Lim, the now-four piece group, consisting of drummer Jeryl Yeo, guitarist Tan Peng Sing, bassist David Siow and frontman Paddy Ong, took a step back to recalibrate and reflect. After the brief hiatus, they returned with a new look, name and tunes through their first self-titled EP on 28 July 2017.
“We’re still dealing with the grief and mourning the loss (of John),” joked David when we caught up with Paddy and David a few days before the launch on 5 August, “but really, we used the break to understand our place in the markets around here, and at the same time, internally, try to rework our processes.”
“We were in the midst of writing new stuff, so it was a matter of either continuing what we had before or starting from square one,” lead singer Paddy chimed in. They attributed rejigging the entire song composing process to how long it took for them to come back.
After sorting out the kinks, however, the band took to the newly rebranded M1LDL1FE like a second skin. “We were trying all kinds of names, some were really, really weird,” Paddy mused, “When we threw out this name, though, we immediately thought ‘eh, not bad ah.’ It kind of suits us.” The name was also a play on the word “wildlife” with the first letter inverted, with David equating playing music to “coming out of a shell,” as if unleashing a different, wilder side.
While fans were clearly surprised by the change as seen through social media comments, the new music also served as an anchor for them – at its core, the sound of M1LDL1FE is inherently similar to what it was when they were Take Two. “We could go, ‘hey, this is our new stuff… by the way, we also changed names,'” Paddy said with a laugh.
Apart from new jams, the band was also involved with The Great Singapore Replay, a ten-week programme where local artists collaborated to reimagine local classics. Paired with local crooner JAWN, M1LDL1FE worked on Dick Lee’s The Mad Chinaman in sessions where 20 artists came together to work their creative juices. “It was like band camp, with spontaneous karaoke sessions, and we finally got the chance to work with JAWN – he’s very talented and we have good chemistry,” Paddy told us.
Will this pave the way for future collaborations? “I would like to have a female touch,” David said, “(Indonesian imaginary pop duo) Stars and Rabbit has a vibe very different from ours, like (Canadian indie rock band) Arcade Fire. It would totally add a fresh energy to our music.”
As their debut (or redebut, with a new name) EP launch draws near, M1LDL1FE is already setting their sights beyond the sunny island they call home. “We have to figure out who is listening and go there. Besides Singapore, there’s Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia,” Paddy said. New songs are also likely to be on the horizon, as aptly put by the frontman, “We’re reenergised – we are excited to play again, but also itching to write new songs.”
And if there is one takeaway for fans from their upcoming gig, it’s that the band isn’t going anywhere. “You can’t get rid of us, unfortunately,” David finished, “We will grow old together.”
Listen: Distraction by M1LDL1FE
Find M1LDL1FE on their website, Facebook and Instagram. Their debut eponymous EP is available here, and you can catch them live at their launch through Peatix.
Cover image: M1LDL1FE, photo courtesy of Jasper Tan of Vadbibes
