VIMA is back –Bigger, ‘Badder’ (if there’s such a word but you get what we’re trying to say) and of course, Better! What is there to expect from this music awards in 2010? Well, none of us from Voize are going to divulge anything, and the co-founders don’t plan to give away too much either. Tevan, one of the co-founders of VIMA mentioned ‘girls’ but that’s pretty much it.
However, the theme for the Voice Independent Music Awards 2010 will be “Indiecent” so let your minds begin to wonder…how far would VIMA 2010 go when it comes to being “Indiecent”?
(L-R) Premo, Siva Chandran & Tevan.
1. Briefly tell us about VIMA:
Premo: VIMA, where shall I start with this one. Siva, Tevan and myself were having one of our many many late evening meetings(back in good ol’ sept 09′) talking about the local music industry and it suddenly hit us that there were so many talented local musician but they weren’t getting enough attention. It was a mind set among Malaysians that local music means bad music. We, at that point decided that we had to do something, even if it doesn’t make a huge difference, at least we know we can walk the talk. There was where concept and idea for VIMA came about. It’s all about recognizing local talent. I guess live what Tevan said, it was all about the passion of music.
Tevan: He he, this is a very tricky question actually. I think the best answer to this is PASSION, yup that’s right; VIMA is all about passion for music and live performance. We realised that there was a lack of recognition for talented musicians here in Malaysia (regionally as well), so we to come up with VIMA which is an awards show, by the people of the people for the people. We didn’t really re-invent the wheel for VIMA and it was created purely to achieve one thing….. .RECOGNITION!
2. What motivated you to go ahead and start the VIMAs?
Premo: I guess the motivations were Music and Music alone. At the end of the day, Music was what brought Siva, Tevan and me together.
Tevan: The fact that I had a furry panda (Siva) and Tanah Timba a.k.a Timbaland (Premo) going goo goo gaa gaa over the idea was more than a good motivation for us to start VIMA! But really, it was the music scene; it was in a state that somebody had to do something. And the fact that we did it unconditionally kind of helped all of us to move forward as well.
3. How did you manage to motivate others to champion the VIMAs?
Premo: Convincing and motivating others was no simple task. As Tevan mentioned, we spent many long hours with so many different people from different parts of the Music Industry including many Musicians. Some were supportive while others shot us down. We knew right from the start with or without help, we were going ahead with our plan and the rest I would say was history.
Tevan: He he, we literally dragged them into the equation come to think of it. Hours of talking, Teh Tarik session and also thousands of emails and messages. It was not easy to convince others but the minute they knew that we were actually doing it unconditionally, everyone kinda stepped in. The cool thing that we realised is there are a lot more people out there who are as passionate as us, so we kind of roped them in as well to get VIMA moving.
4. Describe a time when you were faced with a challenging situation while organizing the VIMAs and how you handled it.
Premo: WOW. So many, how to name one. I guess one of our main challenges was in terms of the event night itself. Almost everything that could go wrong went wrong I guess. We were seriously under staffed (more like under volunteered) but I’m thankful that we had help from so many people who gave it all they got for nothing at all.
Tevan: As I said it was all about passion and we faced several challenges throughout VIMA. Some were asking, what the heck is this? And who decides who gets what? Well, the list goes on actually, it will probably take hours if I have to go through one by one. But the fact remains that some people talk about every single damn thing in the world and do nothing and there are people who not only act upon it, but also make a difference in the process. I am glad to say that our passion to music kind of helped us to achieve the latter.
5. Briefly, describe your personal philosophy of music.
Premo: What kind of question is this??? My philosophy of music??? Really?? Well if I have to answer this question, I would say Music is Music. It doesn’t matter what genre one follows or likes, Music by itself is a philosophy.
Tevan: Alamak, I am the worse person to talk about music. I really don’t have any preference when it comes to music, although rock has always fascinated my throughout my life simply because, ROCK NEVER DIED! Music is in all of us; some of us will take note of it, but will not. But as for me, I am a music junkie and it’s the only passion which keeps me sane!
6. How do you get the news out there for the VIMAs when it came to print or broadcast media exposure –particularly when it first started?
Premo: I guess, we had a lot of friends in the industry who were willing to lend a helping hand (even if we didn’t, we made friends).We were thankful a lot of these media’s shared some(if not all) of our vision on what we wanted to achieve with VIMA. We had lots of help from our friends at hitz.fm, XFM, NST, The Sun, 8TV, New Man Magazine and many others who help us spread the word across to the public. I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank all those who had helped us.
Tevan: It was all about creating a buzz actually, and the new media platform helped us a lot in achieving that. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter played a major role in creating the hype about VIMA. The media soon picked up it and then it was just out of control. We had friends who helped us to magnify the buzz into some bigger, which is why the news was not only carried out in Malaysia but also overseas.
7. How has VIMA grown since then?
Premo: Of course. More and more people are recognizing VIMA as a platform for them to promote themselves. The list o nominees this year is proof to that fact. Even in the sense of sponsorship, we have more people coming on board as they see VIMA as a credible platform that represents the True Malaysian Music Industry.
Tevan: It’s bigger, he he not literally but branding wise. We have more friends and partners now, so that’s a good sign. We have loads of sponsors who are willing to support us. So it all good I guess. Our mission for 2009 was to make the year as the year of indie and I think we kind achieved it, because we had loads of entries for VIMA 2010. That is indeed a good sign for us.
8. What do you think is brilliantly unique about the VIMAs when compared to the other music awards here in Malaysia?
Premo: I guess we are different in so many ways from other award shows in Malaysia. For one, we are NOT a formal award show (we try our best to do away with all formalities). Secondly, we created a new format of award show that has not been previously seen in Malaysia. The existing thing is that we are willing to take risk and try out new things. That at the end of the day brings out the fun and laid back element for the Awards.
Tevan: He he, well to start if off, it’s definitely not your typical awards show, and you will immediately notice some unknown names. Well, you see the Malaysian music scene is not all about the Mawis’ and Sitis’, there is actually a broader landscape, an unknown territory which is always known as indie or underground. The perception on indie and underground acts has been and always will be wrong, but the fact is they are actually very talented musicians. It’s just crazy just how much talent we have in Malaysia, and most often they are not recognised. So we took a bold move to give them a chance to be known and to be appreciated. In a nutshell, VIMA is all about talents and not glamour, so if you are not talented but you have the name, chances are you might not get nominated for VIMA.
9. What has been your fondest memory during the VIMA 2009?
Premo: I was too busy running the event to have a memory….Heheh…well I guess that would have to be it. Organizing and running the event. To see the joy on the faces of the people who attended the event and the shock on the faces of the winners when the announcements were made. Even the horror on the faces of people (esp. Richard from New Men Magazine and Remy J) when one of the skits went horribly wrong. I have to say, there were a lot of priceless moments that we managed to capture on the VIMA night.
Tevan: I will never forget the day I saw Déjà Voodoo Spells and Pop Shuvit rocked the stage together. I don’t know whether it will happen again, but I was glad that I was there to witness it man! It was one heck of a show! And not to forget the impromptu show by Melissa Indot and Kraft, it was one of those things that happened so quickly and the outcome was super amazing.
10. What can we aspect at the VIMA 2010?
Premo: Well, you’ll have to wait and see. I don’t want to spoil any surprises.
Tevan: More GIRLS! Yup, mark my words people; you will definitely see more girls! This year VIMA is all about appreciating the ladies, he he. You will just have to wait and see the surprises that we have installed this time around man! So make sure you get your invitation as soon as possible.
11. I’m sure you get loads of submissions, so what are the key elements to look out for when involving in short listing the nominees?
Premo & Tevan: As I said earlier, it’s all about talent. We normally look into the originality, the quality and also the entertainment value when it comes to short listing. It has always been talent first and the rest later. However the overall package plays an important role too.
12. What would you be doing differently in terms of event arrangements when in comparison to the VIMA 2008 to the VIMA 2010?
Premo: Most of what is going to happen is still in the planning stages but it looks to be one hell of an event. It would be hard to beat last year’s event but if everything goes as planned, this is one for the history books.
Tevan: We are currently strategizing in terms of getting more people involved. We have been planning for the last few months to get the ball rolling, so far everything seems to be going smoothly. We have learned a lot from the first VIMA, so our mission this time around is to make it bigger and better!
13. What was the respond like when the VIMA was launched in 2008 from the indie scene here in Malaysia?
Premo: “What the F**’K is VIMA and how do I join.” A lot of people felt we were crazy at first but on the event night itself, they went “WOW, this is F**king amazing. When’s the next one??” I guess not many people believed we could pull this off but, we sure did prove them wrong.
Tevan: He he, we had almost everyone going “ARE YOU NUTS”, but that didn’t stop us lah. In fact we were more motivated than ever. We knew we were very unconventional and unconditional as well, which kind of raised a few eyebrows. We even received hate mails and messages. Some musicians and bands were not happy with the way we did things, but it was not a stumbling block for us. We are just a group of mad people who wants to make a difference, but I guess sometimes you will be stepping on tails unknowingly. Having said that, I do think that acts in Malaysia should buck up rather than complaining and whining. It’s not easy to come up in the music scene here in Malaysia as it requires hard work and an open mind as well.
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Charlene Joseph.
“Thinking back to the VIMAs in 2008, it was quite a challenge, but personally, when it came to approaching the winners at the VIMA 2009, their genuine expressions left me in awe –and I am glad that the VIMA 2010 is back for another year so I could relive that moment to watch the winners who are ever so thankful for their awards, industries and sponsors get together under one roof to support and champion the indie scene.” -
Charlene Joseph, Voize.my
