For Your Consumption

From the same cradle as Ben’s Bitches and Panda Head Curry? comes the tasty Cicak Kobain. A one-man-band fronted by CK (who still plays bass for Ben’s Bitches, don’t you fans worry), Cicak Kobain recently inflicted its debut album Sedap on the masses over the Internet.

Besides being the first fully Malay album to be released for free download online, Sedap also has several other firsts to its name. According to CK, it’s also the first fully Malay album that is 100% concept-oriented with clear metaphors, first Malay album with a complete lyrics guide on YouTube and also the first fully guitar-tabbed Malay album.

The band’s name is derived from the word cicak kobeng which is slang for a really skinny person. Commonly spelt as cicak Kobain, especially during Nirvana's heyday, CK plucked the term out of Gila-Gila years ago, thinking it would make a good band name. Describing Cicak Kobain’s sound as acoustic-pop-punk-nursery rhyme, CK sings about (and takes the piss out of) subjects as seemingly random as farting (“K.E.N.T.U.T”), superhero fashion (“Pakai Seluar Dalam”) and er, papayas (“Buah Betikmu,” go figure).

Clearly, the album is not for everyone and CK readily admits that. “Some people find it too childish, some people find it stupid, and some people call me a genius for being able to pull of an 'entire concept' album,” he says. But should you pride yourself with an open mind, CK says that the best way to appreciate Sedap is to capture the melody, sing along and have a bit more of an imagination. You can download the entire album at www.disarseter.com/cicakkobain/index.htm.

Text Sarah Chan

Article taken from KLue Magazine May 2009, Issue 127