When motherwit had a launch party for their EP, backed by several guests ranging from well-established names, like Viona, to newcomers such as Laisa, Ilmare and Sabda Alam, they captured the attention of a few writers to document the show. The reviews were filled with melodious compliments for their efforts, acknowledging the showcase as a success, and in spite of its crazy low fee of RM20, or its flaws, everybody still managed to have a damn good time.

The reviews also propelled me into a deep FOMO, if anything, they showcased the power of music documentation, leaving readers like me wishing they were in the same room, watching motherwit presenting a realm of new songs, a new chapter for the trio, to an audience who didn’t know what to expect from this relatively new band.

Towards the end of our hour-long interview over a Zoom call – frontman Sahaq in his car’s dimmed light, guitarist Noh and bassist Pak Lah in their respective home — I told them that I couldn’t attend the launch party, and I wished I had. They jokingly responded with “Ye ke niiii,” which was expected but true. Not only did I wish I was among the crowd, but I was also intrigued enough to spend hours on Spotify listening to their music.

Sahaq Ibrahim first started motherwit as a solo project in 2018. Previously, he played shows as a solo artist and was formerly a guitarist for a folk-pop band, Jetcetera, before parting ways and forming motherwit. Then, Sahaq met Noh and Pak Lah, who were already friends and studied music in UiTM. Their friendship formed during the pandemic, while they were cocooned at home, waiting for the restrictions to be lifted. Like many people on Twitter, they found solace in Clubhouse, a social audio app that understandably died down after the world was no longer restricted from meeting in person. But as Clubhouse stopped being the talk of the town, motherwit instead was born. Both Noh and Pak Lah attribute their renewed love for music to their friendship with Sahaq, joking that he forced them to pick up guitars again.

After a few years finding their ground as a band, motherwit released an EP in 2023 titled anteseden, later introducing their name into the scene. From the first few listens, the EP seemingly suggested that the band is still finding its way to a definitive sound. Tracks like “cke” (“Trying to let loose to let go / But you dismissed me so long ago,”) and “sunyi” (“Nantikan satu cinta / Tambak rasa sakitnya / Dalam dunia,”) put Sahaq forward into a stronger songwriting game. anteseden is a splash of melancholia backed by the joyous alternative pop sounds that isn’t necessarily making them the next big deal but still worth your time to pay attention to.

While Sahaq and Noh are comfortable enough with their roles as a vocalist and a guitarist respectively, things were different for Pak Lah, whose musical journey had always involved a guitar. When he joined motherwit, he had to start learning to groove on the bass, though it was never an easy feat. He found awkwardness not just in toying around with a new instrument, but he also had to find his rhythm to be more comfortable on stage. Pak Lah even made fun of his stage presence at the Panggung Pop Malaya concert in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), saying that he looked like he suffered from ‘main character syndrome’. Things have changed now, and Pak Lah could only endorse his experience in motherwit that made him love the bass more than his guitar.

I spoke to motherwit to know more about their musicianship, their latest single “Tatal,” and where they’re heading next. This interview has been edited for clarity.

How has your experience in motherwit helped you grow as a musician?

Sahaq: It’s quite interesting actually. I started motherwit as a solo project, but I’ve always wanted it to be a band. So when Noh and Pak Lah joined the band, it took some time for me to adjust. The songwriting experience as a solo singer versus when you’re in a band is obviously different. I seek a lot of second opinions from them now instead of just being satisfied with what I have. So, there is no “syok sendiri,” and I’m more confident with songwriting now, thanks to Noh and Pak Lah. In fact, I feel less insecure about it. It’s good to have second opinions in what you do.

Pak Lah: For me, what made me grow is the transition from a bassist to a guitarist. When Sahaq gave me a song to create a bassline, it took me a while to adjust and figure out the rhythms as a bassist instead of as a guitarist. I also learned a lot about musicianship with motherwit, improving my stage presence and musicianship. It’s a lot different than what I used to do when we first started.

Noh: I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with motherwit *laughs* Maybe because I struggle with songwriting; it’s simply not my comfort zone. Sometimes it feels like I was made to play a different genre, but with motherwit, it’s an entirely different language. So, after “Sunyi” was released, I could see that I was improving. And with motherwit, I learned a lot about the music business.

You recently released “Tatal.” Can you tell us more about the song?

S: As of now, motherwit doesn’t have any plans for a full-length album. What we want to do is release a series of singles, starting with “Tatal.” These singles serve as our method to experiment with different sounds. I would say that it’s a waste for us to release singles with the same sound every time. For singles, I treat it as a fun experiment, showcasing my ability as a musician—an opportunity that rarely arises when creating an album. “Tatal” was written towards the end of anteseden. It began as a practice for the launch, where we were experimenting with the sound, aiming for something different than the EP. We played around with the drum machine and decided to focus on the beats in its verse. The song takes two different directions, and I believe we achieved what we were looking for.

You mentioned that the theme of “Tatal” revolves around social media users trapped in the hate cycle.

S: Yes. I found inspiration for the lyrics while scrolling on Twitter and realizing that everyone is arguing about the same issue repeatedly. It feels like a never-ending cycle, you know? I don’t think we are truly trapped in the hate cycle; it’s within our choice to participate or not.

N: It’s a social critique, especially directed at ourselves.

S: That’s why we repeated the first and second verse—to replicate what social media has been doing for so long. I’m still very new to songwriting, continually improving, so I wanted to convey exactly how I felt when reading those online arguments.

“Tatal” feels heavier in comparison to the tracks in anteseden. Does this mean that moving forward, we’ll hear more sound directions similar to “Tatal” instead?

P: We’re working on a new song with an entirely different sound from “Tatal.” It’s more fun and light, so we’re not necessarily following a heavy sound. With “Tatal,” we experimented with a different vibe, even taking suggestions from Mohd Jayzuan to include repetitive pop elements. But we still want to stay true to motherwit’s sound.

What did Mohd Jayzuan say about anteseden?

P: We mentioned to him that we play pop songs, though he said that our songs don’t necessarily possess the structure of pop songs. I’d say we owe it to him for helping us learn more about pop song structures and drawing inspiration from bands like Couple with their signature repetitive pop lyricism.

Do you agree?

S: It’s his personal opinion lah. He did mention that our instrumentations are fine, though we need improvements on our melodies if we were to go in a full pop direction. However, we had a different concept for “Tatal.” I considered his input but didn’t apply it entirely to “Tatal.” I wanted it to be distinct from the other tracks in anteseden and he told us he liked “Tatal” better.

motherwit is still relatively new to the scene, and yet people are paying attention to what you have to offer. What do you look forward to achieving with motherwit next?

N: Perhaps I’m being too optimistic about this, but we definitely want to break through the Singapore market. We already have listeners from Singapore, and that’s already an achievement in itself. We also want to attract more university students as listeners, as we did with our performance at UKM. Releasing an EP was also a significant achievement for me.

P: Yeah, I also want to break through the university market; that’s one of our goals here. We want young people to become our fans so that when they grow old, they’ll recognize motherwit as one of their favorite bands from their youth.

S: I wish to see a bigger crowd for motherwit shows, but one thing I always remind myself of when it comes to writing music is that the crowd will find their way to us when we offer something different and valuable to them. That’s what we want to focus on.

Watch the lyric video for “Tatal” below: