artist feature -
interview with timemachine
Tell us about you. Everything from the must-knows to the by-the-ways.
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Char: Simply put, we're an all-girl Alternative Rock band from the Malaysian indie music scene. We've all grown up with music being a huge part of our lives, and the 5 of us that you see now came together a couple of years ago in uni. We want our music and performances to be about feeling good and having fun. We play what we love- which is pretty much anything under the Rock and Roll umbrella. From 80's music to nostalgic 2000's, and sometimes throw in our very own version of current pop music. We're also lucky enough to have a handful of originals on our belt! We also love to play with colors, hence our rainbow hair and often brightly-colored outfits!
Cassandra: Before TimeMachine, it was just me Gladys Krychell and Kassie playing for uni events and having different vocalists for each show. During an 80s event, the 4 of us and Charlotte performed, but separately, and we asked Charlotte to join in as backup vocals cause we already had another vocalist for that show, and after that Charlotte joined us permanently and we became TimeMachine.
Gladys: We are five friends who formed a band together, for fun at first but 2 years later we’re still here and we enjoy playing music together very much.
Kassie: A group of passionate, coloured hair girls who enjoy playing music together. Specifically rock music, even though our genre tends to mix and match from our different influences.
Krychell: We are a group of friends who love playing music together! We would like to say that our music is a combination of all our influences meshed into one. We have been playing for 3 years together now and started playing together in our uni.
Tell us about Irrelevant.
Char: Irrelevant is our 2nd official single to be released on all platforms. It’s actually the 4th song we wrote together. It actually started from a comic strip that I saw on social media of someone carrying a bag labeled 'Past' on their back, and the other person asking "isn't that heavy?". The idea grew from the message that who you were and what you’ve done does not define who you are.
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Cassandra: Irrelevant to me is a very empowering, get back on your feet, know your worth kinda song. It’s actually my personal favourite original song to perform.
Gladys: Irrelevant is our happy song! Because it holds a lot of meaning to each of us and also because it’s the funnest to play live.
Kassie: Irrelevant is by far our favourite child from all the songs we wrote. One of our fav to play live too! We have this one part in the song where when we play live, everyone bends down and goes crazy AAA we miss :( We want people to hear this song and feel empowered and positive. Just wholesome vibes all around!
Krychell: The song as a whole just talks about knowing your own worth and believing in yourself without carrying your past behind your back and also not caring about bad things people would say to you. The song in general gives us really good memories and wholesomeness because we wrote it at a time where our band was really growing.
What does art mean to you? What does your art mean to you?
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Char: Art is all about Expression. Your thoughts, emotions, values. Our music at its core is about empowerment through expression. We let out what's inside to make sense of it before it kills us. Or we use it to bring ourselves out of ruts and keep our head up. We try really hard to push the message that you can do what makes you Happy, even if it's not everyone's cup of tea. Most of our songs are about empowerment, and feeling and accepting your emotions.
Cassandra: Art to me is all about your own expression, what you love doing/creating. To me I feel like art is the embodiment of who a person is.
Gladys: Art means everything to me. I see making art as taking a piece of your soul and turning it into something that can be experienced by other people. Timemachine is an art that the five of us share and it means a lot to me. It’s something that honestly brings joy to my life and I’m grateful that we still get to do this together.
Kassie: Art to me is a form of expression in any medium in any shape and form. I feel like everyone is capable of making art as long as they truly create what they really feel like expressing. That is what’s good about art to be honest, it’s constantly around you and you can basically create and express yourself based on that. I believe a person’s art is a collage of their inspiration (if that makes any sense). The way we make art isn't just about our music but also the whole visual, in how we dress and how we present ourselves. I’m very glad we get to make art as a band that could possibly speak to other people as if it’s a language of its own. Making art is very exciting!
Krychell: Without art, I think the world would be dull and there wouldn't be anything inspiring. Art does not have to be just about drawing it could be from how we express the way we dress, how we perform and how we create. We as a band are very expressive in the way we perform and dress up as well and we hope people will be inspired to express themselves in a way that makes them happy too.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
What themes do you find yourself revisiting?​
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Char: Countless bands and artists have influenced us along the way. From the very beginning it was the likes of Paramore, Panic! At the Disco, Muse, The Regrettes, Imagine Dragons and well, the list goes on. We definitely keep going back to sounds like classic rock or indie rock, and the themes somehow always revolve around empowerment. It's so easy to feel small. We want our music to change that for people, and change that for ourselves too.
Cassandra: We definitely do try to venture out to try and make our songs sound different but we always find ourselves coming back to rock, whether it's indie rock or alt-rock hahaha.
Gladys: I feel like we might either answer this question very similarly or the opposite because we have a common interest which is rock music but we’re also drawn to very different genres. I guess the answer is rock and roll or anything that has dark undertones to it if that makes sense.
Kassie: Anything under the rock and alternative umbrella inspires us to be honest. As for visuals and how we express ourselves, we’re inspired by the 80s glam rock era and the 90s punk riotgrrl era. Everything from their aesthetics, outfits, style, makeup and of course, stage presence. For me, individually, I’m inspired by modern female rockstars nowadays such as Mitski (I won’t shut up about her), Phoebe Bridgers, Haim and Rina Sawayama. They remind me how women are badass and are made to make rock music. I hope one day we can inspire others like how they inspired me.
Krychell: We get inspired a lot as a band! From playlists to music videos to live performances, we always find a way to improve ourselves and get ideas from our inspirations. The main theme or genre we always go for is definitely Rock and the 90s riotgrrl era. Everything we create and do has a piece of our inspirations. Seeing women playing rock music inspires us so much! To name a few artists like St Vincent, Haim, Mitski and Phoebe Bridgers gives me so much motivation. We hope we could one day be like the bands we look up to and continue to inspire people.
What do you hope for your art to spark in others who experience it?​
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Char: Our goal for every show and almost every song is to make people feel good. To have fun and forget about the stresses and insecurities even if only for a minute. To feel like they can take on anything. Especially for our women and girls out there - we want them to feel like they can do things that 'girls don’t usually do'. Like play rock music in a band. Like start their own production team. They can do that scary thing and they can be damn good at it!
Cassandra: I hope people feel inspired by us to want to start playing/making their own music, or want to pick up an instrument and start learning it.
Gladys: Ooooh... I want people to get GOOSEBUMPS when they listen to the next thing we release but we don’t know what that thing is yet cus we haven’t properly started on something new haha.
Kassie: I hope our music/shows make people feel included. Hopefully also in the way we dress, like, IT’S OKAY TO DRESS EXTRA AND IN BRIGHT COLOURS! DYE YOUR HAIR SWEETIE!
Krychell: I say this alot but Inspired! We hope people come to our shows and listen to our music and feel inspired! Representation really matters in our generation. To see a group of girls playing rock music and expressing themselves the way they want to is rare to see in our local scene and it should be more common.
Is there a target audience for your art? Do you have a message for them?​
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Char: Realistically, our target audience would be young adults, particularly the ones who don’t feel like they fit in. The ones who feel alone are the ones we are playing for the most. We know what its like to be part of marginalized communities, or to feel like you're not good enough to be accepted. As much as we can, we try to be the ones to say that you are badass as hell and you deserve to feel good and seen!
Cassandra: Personally, I dont think we have a target audience for what we play. Whoever likes our music just comes to our shows and listens to our music. Our music could really be for anyone to interpret it as their own with their own meaning to it.
Gladys: I guess just people who are looking to feel included/represented.
Kassie: We’re all five very different people, so we are bound to attract different types of people. Hopefully, people feel a sense of belonging to at least one of us.
Krychell: I think our target audience would be people around our age but more importantly our music is for people who want to feel like they belong somewhere and feel accepted. We hope to make people feel comfortable at our shows and feel empowered after leaving the show. Same goes for listening to our music as well!
What kind of art do you personally enjoy?
What is a work of art by someone else that you wish you had created?​
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Char: I love rock and roll is a good way to put it. I like music that gets you moving. And messaging is a big thing for me. I pay attention to lines and lyrics a lot. It amazes me how someone can express something so cleverly. Movie soundtracks are a big thing for me as well. The scores that accompany certain scenes - they can really just bring me back to that exact moment so effortlessly. I wish I had written songs like 'Believer' by Imagine Dragons. I listen to it and interpret it to be a battle between oneself and one's faith and I can't help but think 'Damn I wish I could word something I relate to so cleverly'.
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Cassandra: Honestly Rina Sawayama’s latest album. That album is so GOOD bruh, I really feel like that album sort of represents our sound.
Gladys: I’m thinking of so many right now.. but if I had to pick one I’d say Mannequin Pussy’s Patience album. It’s just fucking wild I’m still so in love with it. Oh and this is a whole different genre but anything by Vulfpeck because that band is just pure GENIUS. OH okay last one, Seahaven is my favorite band ever. It’s been that way for years and what I love the most about their music, other than their mellow sounds, is their LYRICS. The way they write about despair is just beautiful…
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Kassie: Uh oh, where do I even begin... ha ha. I feel like I’m constantly inspired by art every single day. Even just scrolling on instagram sometimes I get sooooo many inspirations from style to editing to drawing to music and etc. Anyways, in music, as I mentioned earlier, MITSKI. She has been my number 1 artist for a pretty long time now and she will always be. I don’t think words can express how much she’s inspired me AAAA. It could also be the fact that she shares the same birthday and MBTI as me HA. To any of you who don’t know her please please listen to her. Her lyrics, her songwriting, her melodies and her aesthetics are so unique and oddly nostalgic. I could go on and on about her but that would take forever but yes. Mitski. Wish I could write songs as unique as that.
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Krychell: Personally i have been inspired by a lot of female fronted bands especially Haim. Seeing other women having the courage to be themselves and make their own music from writing to producing to performing gives me so much life! Everytime I feel down or disappointed in myself, I would always go back to listening to these female artists that have so much impact on me and I would feel so much better. Listening to their music really makes me feel like there is someone I could relate to. Lyrics wise, there is just something about women writing that connects to me on a deeper level.
What has been the most surreal thing to happen
to you since becoming an artist?​
Char: Having Irrelevant added to 3 of Spotify's editorial playlists, and 160 other playlists to boot.
Cassandra: When people come up to me and say “Hey you’re from TimeMachine” or “I love the new song” or when people say they can relate to our music a lot, it's just such a heartwarming feeling cause I feel appreciated and I feel like I’m seen and I feel like us as a band can represent other people through our music.
Gladys: I wouldn’t call ourselves artists honestly haha but I think the craziest thing ever is this MCR tribute gig that we got to be a part of. It was the biggest and funnest show we’ve ever played and I fantasize about it like once a month.
Kassie: Getting invited to play for so many shows like Urbanscapes, Riuh and a My Chemical Romance tribute show! Besides that also recently, being included in Spotify’s editorial playlists! Especially New Music Friday Malaysia! That has been our goal for a long time. Just the whole support for our latest release, Irrelevant. Another thing to be proud of is also our feature in Star newspaper! We get to say look mom we made it!
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Krychell: Performing in front of jam packed venues especially big festivals like Riuh and Urbanscapes. Also, getting our song to feature on Spotify’s editorial playlist. Being recognized and people coming up to us and posting about our song makes my heart really warm too!
Do you have a message for future you?
And do you have a message for every young artist who wants to be in your shoes right now?
Char: Listen to the things you write about. Don’t be afraid to express or ask for help or be yourself. And for the others, you are not alone in this. You will find your place. You can pick up that instrument or mic and put yourself out there. Work hard and believe in yourself, it won't be easy but that’s the best part.
Cassandra: I think what I would say to future me and other artists who are starting out is that failure isn’t something you should be ashamed of. I’m sure every artist who has been in the scene for a long time now has failed at least ONCE in their career and that’s okay and that’s where you learn from your own mistakes and be better from it. Your art is what represents you, and you should do what makes you feel happy, believe in yourself and never let others tell you to do things differently (unless it's constructive criticism haha) just because it would suit the mainstream media.
Gladys: Hm, what I would say to future me (also what I say to myself a lot in general) is to not be afraid of judgement. I believe strongly in self-expression and I think nobody should ever dull themselves just to fit into societal standards. Everyone is authentic and should be allowed to express themselves freely. So yea, always follow your gut and do what feels right as long as you know it’s what's best for you and doesn’t bring harm to anyone.
Kassie: Hello future Kassie, past Kassie speaking here... I just want to say keep growing and be the best you! Your fears don’t define you, you’ve been through a lot even when you didn’t think you were brave enough to. Stop feeling like you don’t deserve your achievements! Be proud of it! And to everyone else reading this, keep making art! The world needs more of it, so express it genuinely and be true to yourself. Who knows, maybe your art will inspire others too and theirs to someone else.
Krychell: Hi… future Krychell… you should really believe in yourself more and care less about what people think about you! Just be you! And live fearlessly and be unafraid to be yourself and express yourself the way you want to not how other people want to. Make sure to continue spreading positivity through your art and through your actions!
@timemachinewho