FIGHTING FOR RECOGNITION

KAPILLA sounds distinctly fresh when they infuse Thai music and dikir barat into their rock songs. The flavour created is simply outstanding.

This untested music made waves when Kapilla (the name of a famous fighting fish in Thailand) recorded Rak Ter and Dikir Rambong a few years ago. The music caught on like wild fire and rockers have begun to appreciate dikir barat, dispelling all notions that this ethnic music is only ``good enough for the kampung folk''.

Instead of getting the credit for promoting and pioneering dikir barat, Kapilla has been given the cold shoulder by certain quarters. After three albums, Kapilla finds that it is not getting the support it needs.

The band members have been told that their songs, especially Rak Ter and Dikir Rambong, are not up to AIM Award's standards. A panel of jury felt these songs lack originality and so disqualified Kapilla from entering the competition.

The same thing happened again this year when Kapilla submitted a pop-ethnic number, Che Awe Donde, from its latest album of the same title to TV3's Muzik, Muzik. The popular song was deemed unsuitable for the Irama Malaysia/Ethnic category.

Even Radio 5, which is supposed to air ONLY ethnic-traditional songs, imposed an unofficial ban on Kapilla.

The dikir barat issue prompted a veteran composer to come to the defence of Kapilla. He feels the whole issue has been politicised.

``I was told Cek Awe Donde was not eligible because it's a lagu rakyat (folk song). But that's the whole idea. Isn't a folk song ethnic enough? Why do they reject this song but accept Dikir Puteri, Awallah Dondang and a few other ethnic songs. Isn't it contradictory and puzzling?'' he says, on condition of anonymity.

Speaking of originality, this senior musician feels it is not right to say dikir barat is not original. ``What about dangdut? How authentic is this genre of music when it is heavy on Hindi music?'' he asks.

But the Kapilla boys Roy (vocalist), Arif (bassist), Kamarul (guitarist) and Didi (drummer), are not fazed by all this.

``We respect their stand. It's not for us to say whether we are qualified to enter these competitions. If we don't fulfil the criteria that they set, what can we do? We'd be lying if we said we are not effected but that's how it is these days,'' says Roy who also wrote the Bahasa and Thai lyrics of Dikir Rambong.

Like everyone else in the group, Roy agrees their music has been politicised and Kapilla has been made a convenient scapegoat.

``We really appreciate what the media and (radio station) ERA are doing for us. They have been very supportive of our music despite the so-called `ban' on dikir barat music,'' says Roy.

The ban aside, Kapilla is getting more popular by the day. Rock Records (M) Sdn Bhd presented a gold disc award to Kapilla recently for their second album Dikir Rambong which charted an impressive sale of 25,000 units. The even,t which was held at the Seri Melayu restaurant, also saw the official launching of Cek Awe Donde, their third album which was released last December.

Roy showed off his unique vocals after the gold-disc award presentation. His unplugged version of Cek Awe Donde and Rak Ter received rave reviews from the audience.

It's difficult to dismiss Roy as just another voice. His amazing voice trills through a few octaves. The versatile singer is equally comfortable doing pop and rock songs too.

Kapilla's debut album Rak Ter has surpassed 15,000 units while Cek Awe Donde would prove to be its best-selling album to date because it has sold 30,000 copies just after four months in the market.

Soon, the group will be recording their fourth album which will take on a pop-commercial concept. This album will be produced by popular composer Awang BPR, the same producer who has worked on all their previous albums.

Awang feels Kapilla has not been given the right exposure.

``This is one promising group. It should be encouraged and not let the talent go to waste. But what really saddens Kapilla is when it gets feedback saying it plays B-grade music that makes the guys feel inferior to other groups,'' says Awang.

Kapilla should not feel ashamed of its brand of music. It should just keep up the fighting spirit - like a true kapilla. .

BY ZIEMAN - PUBLISHED 17/5/2000