KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 — Local artist Naim Daniel made a name for himself as an award-winning actor and singer — but the 27-year-old is exploring new territory with his band MUAH!.
Inspired by sounds from both local and international bands such as Green Day, Yungblud, Sheila on 7 and Bunkface, MUAH! consists of five members including Zenith (guitar), Tasneem (bass), Ayai (keyboards), Mairil (drums) and Naim himself (lead vocal and guitar).
Under the banner of Sony Music Malaysia, the band who had debuted their first single BBF (Boy Best Friend) last September 20 is now ready to take on the music industry with their sounds.
In contrast to Naim Daniel’s previous songs which often delve into poetry-laden lyricism, MUAH! is taking a more laid-back approach for instance with BBF, it uses more colloquial language and conversational lyrics in order to connect more with the audience.
How MUAH! Came To Be
MUAH!’s inception came after Naim had a burnout episode during one of his performances back in 2022. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa
Speaking with Malay Mail, Naim said that he formed MUAH! back in early 2023, after experiencing burnout the year before, while performing at a corporate event.
“I was performing at this particular corporate event during the end of 2022, and it was a Naim Daniel show and while I was performing, I suddenly had brain fog, I felt lost and I forgot my own lyrics to my own song which I cherished the most.
“I think maybe I was quite burnt out with the same old daily routines, with just singing. I was sad and I locked myself in for a week or so.
“I used to dream of this life before but then, I felt that it’s becoming more redundant and I feel like I want to do something else and maybe through this band, I’m going to find that spark again,” he said.
The Project:High Council actor then went on a personal mission to assemble his own band and luckily for Naim, two of his bandmates Mairil and Ayai are his housemates and music coursemates during his time at UITM and had agreed to join him in his endeavour.
While Tasneem and Zenith came in later after a ‘scouting’ session by Naim and Mairil, Naim approached both of them via a personal message on Instagram.
Funnily enough, both Tasneem and Zenith were already friends before joining the band and didn’t know that they were going to be in the same band until their first meet-up.
Despite having already established his name as an actor and singer in the local entertainment industry, moving with a band is new terrain for Naim and his band members. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa
Making the best out of their opportunities
Naim admitted that being an established name in the local entertainment industry does help in promoting his new band.
However, the 27-year-old pointed out that being in a band is also new terrain for him.
“We did at first think of moving independently and we had a few options in terms of the direction that we wanted to go with as a band.
“Then I thought why not use the leverage that I already have? It’s not that I’m abusing it but at least it can act as a catalyst for us.
“And I’m not bringing the Naim Daniel brand into the band, but since Naim Daniel’s perks are already at our disposal, we can use it to move more efficiently as a band and it helps with managing the burden,” he said.
Meanwhile, Zenith said that although some of the band members came from a music background, none of them were part of the entertainment industry and they are excited to go on this journey through MUAH!.
“Everything is so new for every single one of us, even like today (referencing their first press conference as a band) is a new experience for us.
“Because of this opportunity that we got, we must use that, and it motivates us to go 100 per cent on this band and yes, we’re super grateful for these opportunities and we will try to prove to the world that this band is not just a privileged band.
“We will use it to further improve and develop our band,” Zenith said.
As for Mairil, who previously had a brief stint as a drummer for a local pop punk band and understands well the struggles of being in a band in Malaysia, he said that he and the rest of the bandmates are not taking things lightly and vowed to make the best out of the presented opportunities that they have.
Apart from that, Naim who has also been actively supporting the local independent music scene added that MUAH! inception was positively received by the local community so far.
“They were positive, and this gave us more motivation in moving forward.
“Plus the line between indie and mainstream music is getting thinner nowadays — if compared to the old days, those artists had to go through a lot but right now, there are new kinds of listeners, new kinds of approaches and people are more open nowadays.
“Maybe there will be some who would not agree with our band, but we will take it positively and maybe it’s just the way the music industry works, right?” Naim said.
Naim also said that they are open to play at any festivals or gigs and their rates are also negotiable.
“We have our own rate card for MUAH! and we are setting the rate accordingly because some organisers might get confused whether to follow Naim Daniel’s rate card or MUAH! and we know that for small capacity gigs, they are unable to provide payment as big festivals do, so the rate for us is still negotiable.
“Big or small, a show is still a show, and we will still perform to the audiences as if we’re performing in front of a 10,000 crowd.
“Another thing is, it’s not about the crowd capacity but it’s more on how many listeners that we are able to grab through our music because there’s no use if you play in front of 10,000 people but nobody was impacted by your music anyway,” Naim said.
At the moment, MUAH! is working on finishing their first six-track EP which will be released soon.
The band describes their first EP as a ‘heartbreak anthem’ filled with songs talking on issues that audiences find relatable.
