Pussy Riot<\/a>\u00a0to be allowed to object to its government without imprisonment, Side Effect struggled for the chance to play cover songs without repercussion. The band covers The Clash\u2019s 1979 classic \u201cLondon Calling,\u201d appropriately titled \u201cYangon Calling.\u201d This revisits a time when Myanmar\u2019s entire music industry consisted of inoffensive cover bands, a period Side Effect has had trouble escaping from with its post-punk sound.<\/p>\n\u201cWhen we started to form the band in 2004, from then until now we are an outside band, we are alone,\u201d Darko said. \u201dThey just don\u2019t get it, they don\u2019t know if it\u2019s cool or not. What is it? Is it punk? Is it rock? Is it pop?\u201d<\/p>\n
But unlike other politically controversial music groups, Side Effect is in no rush to make a splash with their new-found lyrical freedom. Their latest E.P. \u201cThe Change\u201d uses subtle political undertones, yet is far more uninhibited in its post-punk sound than anything that has come out of Myanmar.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2019The Change\u2019 is sort of a reflection of the current political climate change,\u201d explained Darko. \u201cBut the real message underneath \u2013 the message for young people \u2013 is you can do it. Small changes can inspire people to big change, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
For Darko and his band mates, the clear victory is that free expression has succeeded over the will of the military government to suppress it. The message in their music is a call to continue the democratic charge forward.<\/p>\n
Yet, even as official opposition to new freedoms is lessening in Myanmar, social activism is still risky. One of Darko\u2019s friends is facing numerous court cases after protesting for peace in the northern state of Kachin, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is democracy, but it\u2019s still complicated to judge. But these guys are pushing the limits,\u201d said Darko about his friend, and others like him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need these kinds of people, rather than just sitting around and bitching \u2013 ‘ah, these guys are really bad, they\u2019re not doing it the right way\u2026’ Our band\u2019s message would be \u2013 do it yourself, be the change. First, you\u2019ve got to change yourself, change your mindset to go beyond the boundaries of the state of mind that we\u2019ve been living in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Side Effect has played outside of Myanmar before, but this summer marks the band’s first comprehensive European tour as it performs in Germany and Denmark. Afterward, it heads to France to record at the studios of film director Luc Besson. Darko expressed a sense of excitement mixed with some healthy humility and realism as he described the band’s experience and what it represents for the youth in Myanmar.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can change the perception of the younger generation, of the way of thinking, to think freely, just be free and be yourself. Now you can do it \u2013 make your dreams true.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the band members, going back to Myanmar after their tour will mean returning to their day jobs. But more importantly for them, they say, are their hopes that the footholds they have gained under the transitional government remain intact.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people are speaking out, very loud,\u201d Darko said about the current change of attitude in Myanmar. \u201cThey are happy to give their opinions about things they would never dare to say out loud. They would lower their voices when it came to political things or sensitive things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the period abroad, in which he has felt like a stranger in a new land, Darko said the people he’s met have given him purpose and continued to motivate the band.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was such a great moment we found together through the music. That\u2019s what I love about music \u2013 through music we can be friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Go to Original \u2013 occupy.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cNow there\u2019s no censorship, but there\u2019s no guarantee that we won\u2019t go to jail, of course,\u201d explained Side Effect\u2019s lead singer Darko, during the band’s recent concert stopover in Berlin. \u201cThe laws are tricky, we\u2019re not sure yet if they would protect us. It\u2019s still dangerous to sing \u2013 not even the political but the controversial stuff \u2013 to criticize culture or conservatism.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asia-pacific"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31968"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31968\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Side](\"http:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/sideeffect.jpg\")
<\/a>