Most of their social media accounts have a simple description of being a 5-piece post-hardcore or alternative band from Singapore, but it is the dedication to their craft behind-the-scenes as well as on stage that truly makes Tell Lie Vision who they are. The band is made up of Hasif Jasman (vocalist), Irfan Samsuri (bass), Hairul Azman (guitar), Vikkash Suruchand (guitar) and Lester Chua (drummer).
Never one to compromise on the quality of their sound, the band will keep working on individual tracks until they sound right before putting them out there for listeners. With eight tracks still in the works, their process has always been a collaborative one – each member contributes their own genre and style. This explains why every track of theirs has a unique sound.
From their Republic Polytechnic days until now, the band has had members come and go but they are determined to keep working on their music. Since forming back in September 2012, the band has performed for festivals and won awards such as second place for Thunder Band Slam 2012, first place for Pop-Up Noise 2013 and RP Band Competition 2013. Now, the band is one of the eight Baybeats Budding Bands of 2016.
Besides performing on big stages and the wish of touring with their music, what is the one thing they would love to achieve?
“I think for plenty of local musicians, the dream is to make a living out of doing what we love. And we love doing this,” shares Lester and for Tell Lie Vision, they are no exception.
We catch up with the band over coffee to find out more about their musical journey so far – the memories, the music and the future.
Popspoken: Seems like you guys have played for plenty of festivals, such as IGNITE! and 100+50 bands. Share with us one of your favourite experiences so far.
Lester: It has got to be Jammerz Arena’s own Uprising VII at Republic Polytechnic. It’s not only my first show with TLV but playing on home ground, the energy and support we got was insane. This one definitely meant a lot to me.
Hasif: My personal favourite would be the one we played at Aliwal Arts Centre. Where we opened for two awesome bands, Vessel and Aquila Vasica. It was memorable mostly because of our personal achievements. We delivered what we expected for our fans and they reacted accordingly. Singing along and got immersed with the performance itself. I will never forget that.
Ayul (Hairul): IGNITE! Music Festival was great. The sound is massive and the crew were professional in executing their job. Not forgetting that they took care of us really well.
PS: Tell us which dream music festival you would love to perform for.
L: Reading Festival.
H: My dream festival would be the one that has tens of thousands of people all enjoying and singing along to our songs. E.G. Reading, Rock Am Ring, etc.
A: Rock Am Ring.
Irfan: Reading and Leeds Festival, Fuji Rock Festival.
Vik: Reading Festival or Vans Warped Tour.
PS: Now that Baybeats is around the corner, how are you guys preparing for it?
L: Writing new stuff, making our set more interesting than ever and we definitely try to include as much rehearsals as we can because most of us are serving the nation. Besides, we are prepping our others side such as marketing too! Hopefully some of our merchandise will be out when Baybeats come!
H: At the very least, deliberate and meticulously. We regard it as the biggest show we are going to do so far therefore, we would want it to be different from what we have done so far. Expect deeper and more matured performances from us.
I: We’re really putting extra thought into our set and seeing it as one big picture this time. It’s not going to be just a set of songs. We’re making sure that the energy flows from one song to the next, from start to finish. It’s something we’ve never done before.
PS: Which musicians have helped shape your brand of sound today?
L: I’d say majorly Underoath and Thrice.
H: There are so many of them. Well, to name a few: I the Mighty, Hands Like Houses, The Color Morale, etc.
A: I think bands like Underoath, Thrice and Sent By Ravens has helped shape the sound.
V: Dallas green, Teppei Teranishi.
PS: Which is your favourite track off the debut EP? Why?
L: Hmmmmm… Surrender?!? C’mon the song has a preaching/spoken words part! Hahaha. Apart from that, no doubt this song has a deeper meaning to it if you… THINK ABOUT IT!
H: Personally, it would be torn between these two: Surrender?!?, and Fireman. But I’m more interested in what are the listeners’ favourite ones.
A: Surrender?!? would be my favourite song off the EP. It is very dynamic in its own way and the content of the lyrics speaks to me the most out of all the tracks.
I: Mine would be Fireman. I can imagine a whole dramatic scene of burning buildings playing out in my head when I listen to this song.
V: Surrender?!? has got to be my favourite.
PS: You get to invite one international artiste to join the band full-time. Who would it be and why?
L: Hayley Williams. Because she’s the only exception…
H: Hmm, maybe Megan Fox or Courtney Eaton. Why? Because they are gorgeous. Haha. Well, no one in particular actually. Probably producers or band managers who have good contacts.
A: Having Christopher Dudley from Underoath to help us fill in keys and synths would be great. It’s gonna open up the sound of TLV. Probably gonna make it sound super wide and more massive.
I: Jordan Fish from Bring Me The Horizon. His instrumentation work in BMTH’s Sempiternal album allowed the band to transcend their genre into something more. It would be really cool to work with him.
V: Would invite Thrice.They have been my influences since young and love the progress since the post-hardcore days.
Check them out at this year’s Baybeats Festival that is happening from 24 to 26 June 2016!
Photography credits: Darren ‘Merovign’ Tan
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