SOUNDING remarkably different from their previous singles, Honeybadgers’ latest single Angel is both the by-product of a band being broken down by the pandemic, and also lead singer Zohar Aslan Omar’s display of love for his family and friends.
“We wanted Angel to be a bit different. The song is about me personally, dedicated to my loved ones. When I told Sam about it, I wanted it slower and Sam put his genius to work,” said Zohar.
Sam, or Mohamad Syahmi Abu Bakar, forms the other half of Honeybadgers.
“The previous six tracks were recorded during a live session,” Sam explained, pointing out the difference in sound between the previous six singles and latest single was due to how Honeybadgers went from having five members to just two.
“The band splitting up was a reason our sound changed. Also, now with the lockdown, we’re doing everything from our homes. Angel is the first song that we recorded from home, just me and Sam doing all the work,” Zohar said.
Founded in late 2019, the then five-man Honeybadgers were set to ride their increasing wave of popularity for the rest of the year.
“We met at a college, Aswara. It was me and Sam at first, we formed the band. I met him and we connected right away. In our dorm, that’s where we met our other bandmates. About last year, we split up,” said Zohar.
He added that in early 2020, the band had been booked to bring their brand of unique Alt Rock to shows, with them playing what quickly became their first and last show of 2020 as a full band.
About two weeks after the show in Kajang, the country went into lockdown.
On how the band was reduced to its original two members, Sam said it was due to each member returning to their home states due to the lockdown.
“Like Zo is in Kelantan, I’m in Kedah, someone else was in Negri Sembilan. We were also busy with our studies and work. We eventually broke up,” he said.
“(After the final three singles of 2020), we were kind of on a break. We weren’t producing or making songs for like six to seven months,” Zohar said, adding that a part of him was done with music during that period.
Despite the circumstances surrounding his career as a musician and the then-bleak future of the band, Zohar’s friendship with Sam was the life-buoy that brought Honeybadgers back from the brink.
“Sam and I never lost contact. After Hari Raya a few months ago, we decided to release a few more tracks. I felt that our songs needed to be heard by people” he said.
“We could not wait any longer,” Sam continued, and also explained that despite being in several bands for the past seven years, none has progressed as much as Honeybadgers.
Currently, Zohar and Sam are planning to release another single this month.
“This will be followed by another single, and after that, we need to work on new songs I have written,” said Zohar.
