Be the Change: Why Myanmar’s Subversive Band “Side Effect” Is Inspiring Freedom
ASIA--PACIFIC, 22 Jul 2013
Matt Carter, Occupy – TRANSCEND Media Service
The indie band Side Effect is a sign of the changing times in Myanmar, formerly one of the world’s most brutal dictatorships. The band’s brand of artistic expression earlier would have been monitored closely by the Ministry of Information, the censorship board pre-approving the flow of information to the country’s media and entertainment.
Side Effect
But in August 2012, restrictions on free speech were lightened due to political reforms made by the military government, which deemed censorship to be incompatible with growing democratic policies. Since then, Myanmar’s artists and musicians have been able to gently tiptoe outside the shadow of government regulation to a transitional level of freedom not seen there since the 1950s.
“Now there’s no censorship, but there’s no guarantee that we won’t go to jail, of course,” explained Side Effect’s lead singer Darko, during the band’s recent concert stopover in Berlin. “The laws are tricky, we’re not sure yet if they would protect us. It’s still dangerous to sing – not even the political but the controversial stuff – to criticize culture or conservatism.”
Since Side Effect formed in 2004, the band has had to make cautious moves in order to remain existing in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city. Gigs are scarce and most often unpaid. The band was required to submit lyrics to the government before it could even be cleared for performance or recording.
As the western world made a passionate outcry last year for the Russian band Pussy Riot to be allowed to object to its government without imprisonment, Side Effect struggled for the chance to play cover songs without repercussion. The band covers The Clash’s 1979 classic “London Calling,” appropriately titled “Yangon Calling.” This revisits a time when Myanmar’s entire music industry consisted of inoffensive cover bands, a period Side Effect has had trouble escaping from with its post-punk sound.
“When we started to form the band in 2004, from then until now we are an outside band, we are alone,” Darko said. ”They just don’t get it, they don’t know if it’s cool or not. What is it? Is it punk? Is it rock? Is it pop?”
But unlike other politically controversial music groups, Side Effect is in no rush to make a splash with their new-found lyrical freedom. Their latest E.P. “The Change” uses subtle political undertones, yet is far more uninhibited in its post-punk sound than anything that has come out of Myanmar.
“’The Change’ is sort of a reflection of the current political climate change,” explained Darko. “But the real message underneath – the message for young people – is you can do it. Small changes can inspire people to big change, right?”
For Darko and his band mates, the clear victory is that free expression has succeeded over the will of the military government to suppress it. The message in their music is a call to continue the democratic charge forward.
Yet, even as official opposition to new freedoms is lessening in Myanmar, social activism is still risky. One of Darko’s friends is facing numerous court cases after protesting for peace in the northern state of Kachin, he said.
“This is democracy, but it’s still complicated to judge. But these guys are pushing the limits,” said Darko about his friend, and others like him.
“We need these kinds of people, rather than just sitting around and bitching – ‘ah, these guys are really bad, they’re not doing it the right way…’ Our band’s message would be – do it yourself, be the change. First, you’ve got to change yourself, change your mindset to go beyond the boundaries of the state of mind that we’ve been living in.”
Side Effect has played outside of Myanmar before, but this summer marks the band’s first comprehensive European tour as it performs in Germany and Denmark. Afterward, it heads to France to record at the studios of film director Luc Besson. Darko expressed a sense of excitement mixed with some healthy humility and realism as he described the band’s experience and what it represents for the youth in Myanmar.
“If we can change the perception of the younger generation, of the way of thinking, to think freely, just be free and be yourself. Now you can do it – make your dreams true.”
For the band members, going back to Myanmar after their tour will mean returning to their day jobs. But more importantly for them, they say, are their hopes that the footholds they have gained under the transitional government remain intact.
“A lot of people are speaking out, very loud,” Darko said about the current change of attitude in Myanmar. “They are happy to give their opinions about things they would never dare to say out loud. They would lower their voices when it came to political things or sensitive things.”
Reflecting on the period abroad, in which he has felt like a stranger in a new land, Darko said the people he’s met have given him purpose and continued to motivate the band.
“That was such a great moment we found together through the music. That’s what I love about music – through music we can be friends.”
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