Interview: Dizzyhead
The album is the first real thing for me as a musician that I can present to my family.
Hello unemployable people. You got a headache? no money? or just sad? Good. So I have the woman who would make the problem going away in your life, first call your mom, second meet Hanifa Miryami.
If you barely heard the name, that’s okay, but you would prolly know about Dizzyhead. The poppy band from Malang that know how to formulate a perfect daily dose of sweetness and sadness off the relationship. Also with its reverb and catchy melody, I think it’s a good way to treat the headache and heartache.
We talk about the band, the debut album, the family, #edgy recommendations in Malang, got fucked by an asshole who lead to late release, and anxious preparation on her schedule for LaLaLa Fest (Yea, that fest in the forest). Summary: if you expect some stupid questions answered outstandingly, we got that for you.
Hi Hanifa, how are things going? What are things that make your head spinning recently?
- Hi! Things are good and fun and got me anxious sometimes. My head is spinning out of control lately because I’m nervous it’s D-7 of Dizzyhead playing in LaLaLa Fest, my phone is broken as well as my heart haha but yeah i could deal with it everything’s going to be totes fine *fingercrossed
Sorry for my silly opening. Let’s get real, what’s your favourite emoji?
- Silly opening? I thought it was serious i’ve answered it with serious answer but ok lol. my favorite emoji will be heart with an arrow emoji.
Let’s more real this time. What’s the most related meme you ever got?
- When they ask me to describe myself:
When did you start playing music? Please tell a solid clickable background story for the good netizen here, so next on the future Dizzyhead’s wiki, they would put this blog url in the reference. I’d be so glad with that.
Back when I was 3 years old my Bunda said that i loved singing Ruth Sahanaya’s “Yang Terbaik” and All4One’s “I Swear”. And I began writing lyrics since I was in the middle school, of course the lyrics was all about my crushes and how I wanted to marrry Gerard Way in his early years of MCR.
I heard that Bagas “Beeswax” who also happened to be your producer and label president, encouraged you to start the band. Is that true?
- True that. From all of 9 tracks to the name of the band, he’s the guy behind them. Sebelum Dizzyhead terbentuk, 9 materi udah jadi dan Bagas nyeletuk “Ini bagus kalo cewe yang nyanyi.” Aku cuma melirik lalu dia bilang “Ojok ngarep kon”. But in the end he really asked me to record some vocals and he picked Dizzyhead as the name because he planned to use that name if he had another band (after a long list of his projects). Aku cuma bikin lirik dan terima beres. He also happened to be my boyfriend back then and no wonder most of the lyrics are about him. He’s still and always be my inspiration and my motivator :’ He’s the reason I am who I am now. Ok enough I’m being too sentimental. Let’s move to another question shall we?
Congrats for unleashing the album. Why it’s not named Good Old Days or better Good Old School? Any reason behind Good Ol’ Days?
-It’s just.. for me “Good Ol’ Days” is cooler and more classic to be written.
Is there any good song about coping dizziness in Good Ol’ Days? If don’t please send me the youtube url that might do it.
- “Time Of Our Life” might do a help. It’s a song about walking around the town and spending your time with your friends (because really your life don’t always revolve around your lover only). Grab your board and zip your jeans you won’t be dizzy anymore! (haven’t heard it yet? I’ll send the cassette right away)
Let’s say everyone who reads this interview is also a stupid money maker who would spend their little money on bundle CD + t-shirt + the delivery service cost from Malang on a day he has to pay the rent and other shit, how do you make them buy the album? Go! Sell me this pen, hurry up my rent is due.
-Man I also have to pay for my rent every month pls help me too. Haha no, please buy it. Ibu Kos may asked you to move out but you can always carry and play this album everywhere and you won’t feel sad anymore. Even if you’re still sad you can enjoy ur sadness and sing along with my voice in Good Ol’ Days ❤ *wink
First time I heard “You”, I compared it to Best Coast, Alpaca Sports, Heavenly, and The Sun Days. Any close one on the musical aspirations? If not, tell me bands or artist that you would love to be compared with and draw inspirations.
Best Coast, Alpaca Sports: True. Heavenly: Have just heard them after your article back then. The Sun Days: hmm, i prefer to be compared with The Sundays, it’s two different bands. I also listened to Alvvays, All Girls Summer Fun Band and Camera Obscura in the early time of Dizzyhead.
Do you consider your music to be called indie-pop, surf-punk, surf-pop, beach-pop, sunblock-pop, dizzy-pop, whyslackers-pop or what pop?
all good, I also love your term of sunkissed-pop on your previous article about Dizzyhead. But if people ask, surf-punk is my auto-answer.
How is your mom doing? You really look after her. Your dad seemed like a cool guy too back then. That’s the beautiful thing when you put the family photos for the artwork. Can I say Good Ol Days dedicated to your parents?
Thanks for asking, Bunda is in Bandung right now watching tv, sewing clothes, mukena and stuffs to sell (please buy) and she’s a loyal alumnus of her high school she goes to bunch of reunion with her friends (idk why she likes it, maybe it’s like local gig but it’s for adult?). I’m so glad that you recognised that it was my dad and not a Japanese dorama actor. He’s in Jakarta now, working. Actually it’s dedicated to my little family and my childhood and it’s not really relatable with the songs but the album is the first real thing for me as a musician that I can present to my family.
Tell me something interesting about your scene or circle or squad or community that you’re contributing in. How do they support Dizzyhead up to now? What do you like and don’t like in the recent atmosphere?
- The interesting part about the scene in Malang is we can hang out together no matter what ur interest are. You can sit and have a cup of coffee at Pasar with a writer, a gamer and musician there’s no wide gap. You can talk about almost anything, you can gossip with the bois we can hang out til up late without any wifi connection just talking ngalor ngidul and back to work after that or the next day. They also have their own community and it was pretty solid I think.
For music scene that I’m contributing, from my point of view, they do support Dizzyhead in various kind of way. We often called them as ‘arek-arek’ a group of people that we always see most of the time haha. Some of ‘arek-arek’ buy our album, some always come to our gigs, some always commenting and excited about us just thru social media. Some people here also showing their support thru criticism and I’m open about it.
The only thing I don’t like here is there’s too many coffee shop in the area, I often confused of where should I hang out and who I prefer to catch up at the place when all of my friends ngopi ngopi time are bentrok. i guess.. it’s just it.
It took about a year for you to finally release the album. I pretty don’t like that idea when you’re excited about a fresh band with their stuff and have to wait a year or more to get the album. I see that Malang band typically always goes that way. You could explain the reason behind it, issues you dealt with, or any experience during the process of making the album. I want to understand.
- I don’t know about other bands, like maybe Beeswax is the closest one to Dizzyhead right now because we stand under the same flag of Fallyears Records, they took so long cooking they latest album because they’re worked out so hard to make this album great. Recording phase is the fastest but mixing/mastering, you’ll always want to make them sounds better, greater than they last album. Maybe that’s one of many reasons.
But Dizzyhead, we finished Good Ol’ Days only in 6 months and we were ready to multiply it into CDs. It turned out we got scam by our friend that offered us his help to handle this album multiplication :( he’s gone and unreachable, we were waiting for like 3 months. It supposed to be Fallyears’ first records. Our friends from Popflesh Records help us to make the cassette tape first. So yea it was long-awaited baby for us and people who excited for our music, we’re sorry and now Good Ol’ Days is here we hope we don’t dissapoint you.
Judging from your instagram, you seem like have a lot of free time. what do you love to do aside spending time on instagram, band practice, crying, practicing again, daydreaming to be a future soccer mom and leading bunch of dudes to behave in the band?
- Hahaha actually I’m working at local concept store here. I enjoy coffee time at several warung kopi after work and planning projects for Fallyears Records and Dizzyhead. It’s so hard to not mention Bagas, but I also helping his works sometimes, spending the night browsing for traveling articles, new inspiration for musics or just watching him struming his guitar and buy him food. So it seems like I have a lot of free time but not really. But I’m looking forward to be more productive than this!
I love Malang, wish I could catch up with any hype happening there. So feel free to recommend some #cool #edgy #instagramable place to hang with cool people and enjoy relatively listenable band in Malang. Please not a vape shop.
If you’re coming to Malang, you’re weather come for the food, the coffee or the music.
- Food: Rawon Bajil is a ritual for late night culinary. Not instagramable but why capture it when you can drown yourself enjoying Nasi Rawon or Nasi Kare?
Coffee: You’ll find me at Nomaden Coffee Pasar Tawangmangu, eating pancong at Warkop Brewok or relaxing and eating fine cuisine with harga mahasiswa at Roemah Kantja.
Music: Houtenhand Kayutangan will always welcome you but Akshara Rasa is now also provides you good bands to perform.
Hey another congrats, so I heard you won the competition to play at La La La Fest, are you excited? I prolly don’t go but hopefully they don’t fuck it up this year, so you can enjoy the show both as the talent and audience. Don’t forget to bring some umbrellas, boots and raincoats. Otherwise, your parents would think you just had a good time at Obscene Extreme.
- Thank you, I’m so nervous but pretty much excited. Yea my mum would think I would go to Cikole for an outbond event with my workmates.
I think that’s all. Thanks Hanifa, it’s cool we’ve bonded together by wasting our time doing this not-so-insightful music Q & A. But you’re so cool, keep doing what you love and keep making music.
- Matursuwun, haturnuhun, terimakasih, Whyslackers! I look forward to meet you in Malang!
