(Interview by Ivan Thomasz)

Raw Earth may be a relatively new band on the local “live” music scene, but its line-up boasts some of the best musicians who are veterans of Singapore’s blues and rock scene like Danny Loong and Francis Chan from Ublues, Victor Chen (winner of Strip Acoustic at Wala Wala), and Surath Godfrey and Hanrong from Reverie.

Steeped deep in the blues, the band is fast gaining a reputation for their raw and rocking renditions of classic songs from the 50’s to the 70’s encompassing a broad range of styles from the blues, rock ‘n’ roll, funk, soul and even classic blues rock as exemplified by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), Albert Collins, T-Bone Walker, Otis Redding, amongst others. In between their faithful covers of these favourites, the guys roll out some of their own original songs influenced by the roots music of America and the classic pop/rock of British bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Deep Purple.

In the run-up to Raw Earth’s gig on Friday, 15 April at the Timbre Rock & Roots Festival 2011 at Marina Promenade, 8floMusic spoke on the phone with band leader and Chief Creative Director of Timbre, Danny Loong, about the origins of the band and its mission to “preach the blues” to a younger audience.

How did you guys first get together and how did you come up with the name, Raw Earth?

Basically, I got to meet our lead singer Surath, when he was auditioning at Timbre and from then on I had the feeling that he would be able to do a repertoire of blues, rock ‘n’ roll and classic songs by people like The Beatles and CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival). And we talked about it when he started playing regularly at Timbre, about a year ago and this was something that we developed together as time went by and the band was started about three months ago. But before that, the bass player, Francis Chan and I used to play together in Ublues, and we played together for close to five years. As for Victor Chen, the guitar player, he’s someone I’ve known for a while also, and we’ve played together before, also. But as a band, playing as a five-piece in this line-up, we’re three months old.

As for the second part of your question, we called the band “Raw Earth”, because it really describes the “soulfulness” of our music. We try to go back to the basics of vocal harmonies and to the basics of blues. And you know, the blues is a very ‘earthy,” very eclectic, very “real” kind of music. So, we felt that “Raw Earth” best describes our music.

Your band seems to favour electric blues and blues rock from the likes of Muddy Waters, B.B. King and Grand Funk Railroad. What is it about the blues that attracted you guys to it and made you want to play it?

I’d like to add another style of music that our band also plays and that is classic rock. Classic rock, meaning, I’m talking about early rock ‘n’ roll. I’m talking about people like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and CCR which is one of our favourite bands. Because that’s the third music style that we actually play quite a bit. Why do we play the blues? Well, the blues is something that’s been around for a long time. I’ve been playing the blues for a while, and as a form of music, it is the root of a lot of pop and rock music that we have currently. And in a way, every time we play the blues, we pay tribute to the past legends and stars of the blues like B.B. King and Muddy Waters.

And to a certain extent, we don’t want the music to die. In Singapore, there are not that many blues bands, and a lot of people don’t realise that the blues is a very important foundation for popular music. And it’s partly our passion and also to get the audience to explore this style of music, to learn more about it. And to expose it more to the younger crowd. These are the various reasons that we play the blues.

Personally, for me, the blues is one of the most inspirational forms of music. It came from poor (black) people, it came from people who were mistreated. And out of their collective experience, they sang songs of hope and of unity which is amazing! And therefore, when we play, we try to bring to give respect to that.

Do you guys play any original songs besides the covers that you usually play in your sets?

Yes, we do actually. Raw Earth is a very collaborative process. I bring some of my original songs to the group and Victor brings some of his own to the group, and we take these songs and make them better, by making them more “Raw Earth.” Some of these songs are more acoustic or more jazzy, so together we give them the Raw Earth treatment. We kind of make them more eclectic, more rock, little bit more bluesy.

What are some of your original songs?

I have a few. “Marnie Lee” is one of them, which is kind of a jump blues that I wrote a few years ago. Another one is “I Can’t Cook” which is also a jump blues, very Louis Jordan-style . It’s very fun because there’s some comedy in the song. The blues can be very funny, because it’s all about life stories and sometimes you make fun of it, and “I Can’t Cook” is an example of that.

Do you guys have any plans to release an album?

We hope so! We are working on our songs and that’s one of our priorities, actually. At Timbre, although we have some cover bands, at times we do feature some singer-songwriters. We feel it’s important for local bands to write their own songs to express what they want to say to their audience. So, that’s one of the priorities for Raw Earth.

What do you think of the rock bands in today’s international music scene? What are your favourite bands of today?

I do listen to some current pop music and I like all kinds of music. Some of the musicians I like are more of the musician-producer/singer-songwriter type. Just to give you some examples, like John Mayer, Jason Mraz, and Bruno Mars, who even though is very “pop,” is known in the industry as a very good musician-producer. People will say that Mars is very mainstream, very commercial, but actually the guy has a lot of soul influences and he is one musician that I have a lot of respect for. Dave Matthews is another one of my favourites.

But if you ask me what I think about today’s pop music, like I said, I like those by musician-songwriters, you know, people who compose their own music, and music with a funky, soulful backbeat to it. I don’t really appreciate the over-produced “artificial” pop stars of today. I tend to go for the musician-types.

You mean the ones who have real songcraft?

That’s right! Songcraft and really good performance. Like you know, when you go to a concert, you know you are going to get the real thing? (Laughs) But when it is overly-produced, you’re not very sure? But with the real thing, musicianship is very important.

So, if you were to compare the music of today with the rock music of the 60s and the 70s, what do you think is so great about the music of the past that really distinguishes it from the music of today?

I think the really distinctive thing about it is that the experience is different. I can’t say which is better or not, but I guess that the music of the past, like the blues, came out from poverty, came out from a lot of suffering, it came out from the civil rights movement (of the US in the 1960s) , it came out from a lot of political situations. And also it came through a few wars like WWI and WWII. You know, at that time, when people sang songs, they really sang from the deepest (part) of their souls. People like Bob Dylan, for example, who lived through those years, they have something to say, there’s a substance in the songs. That’s why I really respect the music of the past, from someone like Robert Johnson all the way to a band like the Beatles. So, when they sang, they had something to say and we can feel it in the music.

Of all the artists and bands that will be playing at the Rock & Roots Festival this year, which are the ones that you are most excited about?

I’m actually excited about all of them! I have to say that having Bob Dylan in Singapore really tops the excitement. I’m also very excited to see Michael Franti , in fact, all of them, like John Legend. But if you’re going to see just one artist, than it’s Bob Dylan. He is the consummate singer-songwriter. Not only that, his songs have changed minds, his songs have created movements.

And he has been very prolific, as well.

Exactly! He has his message in his songs and people are moved by his songs. It’s very clear and evident that he is very involved in society.

What can the audience expect from Raw Earth at your gig on April 15th?

We will be playing our originals. But I guess for a blues performance, it’s best to be captured “live”. When we play on stage, when we groove together, we communicate the blues together, it’s like we’re playing to our friends. So, what the audience can expect is a strong groove, but when it comes to the blues, we try to be as “real” as we can. We are very excited to be part of Rock & Roots and we’re very proud to be one of the bands representing Singapore.

Going forward, how do you see the Rock & Roots Festival growing and developing in the future? Will we see more local bands being represented?

For us, we do keep a percentage of the platform not just for Singapore bands but also for regional bands. Last year, we had a band from Indonesia called Gugun & Blues Shelter. So, for next year, in our festival, we would like to have two or three Singapore and/or regional or Asian acts.

What are your hopes for the “live” music scene in Singapore?

To be brutally honest, I hope and wish that the audience, as well as the musicians, will not forget the beautiful music of the past. Instead of being fascinated by what is coming out “last week,” (they should also be getting in to) so much good music from the 60s, 70s and 80s, not just internationally, but also from Singapore. And as part of the journey, if you don’t know your roots, how are you going to make it to “the next mile”? And for us, I think that’s what we try and do. As for Raw Earth, we will also be covering songs by Singapore blues bands from the 60s and 70s …

Alright! Like The Straydogs?

Yes, that’s right! And the Pests Infested. We intend to take their songs and perform them. Because, you know, it is important to remember and appreciate the past, and have some grounding and foundation.

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Raw Earth will be opening for Rock & Roots this Friday at 6.30pm.

Catch them LIVE every Wednesday from 9.15pm at Timbre (Substation).