Arif Kamarudin, Adrian Danial, Firdaus Azmi, and Muaz Rabbani have been making music as Midnight Fusic since they were teenagers. In a way, you can see those hints of youth in their earlier releases with tracks like “I Don’t Wanna Dream Tonight,” their Caramel Cream EP, or their debut single, “Heart of May.”
The four-piece have been around for a while. From opening for Boys Like Girls during their Southeast Asian tour, topping local music charts in Malaysia, to making headlines for their millions of streams on Spotify, it seems that they’ve seen it all.
However, in “Residue” — their first single in three years and the lead track off their forthcoming EP Modus Operandi — the quartet make an adamant statement that they are no longer the Midnight Fusic we seem to know so well. They shed off the indie pop sound they’ve been known for and enter an era inspired by the 2000s indie rock anthems they grew up with.
“The demo was written in late 2023. We had a lot of demos before that, but with the ‘Residue’ demo, we felt like it was the right sound and tone for the upcoming EP,” reveals Kamarudin, the frontman of the band.
Midnight Fusic continues, saying that “Residue” and Modus Operandi signal a new chapter for them as a band, not just sonically but also artistically.
“With ‘Residue’ and [Modus Operandi], we approach music a bit differently compared to how we used to before,” shares lead guitarist and vocalist Danial. “We’re more honest with our writing and less critical of how we compose stuff.”
“We used to write songs that conformed to a certain formula — like verse, then chorus, then verse — and I guess that stunted our creativity in a sense.”
Now, that doesn’t seem to be the case. As independent artists, this is the first time that Midnight Fusic have creative control over all aspects of their music, from sound to aesthetic, and everything in between. The transition has been intimidating in the sense that they’ve only ever known what it’s like to be in the music industry as artists signed to a major label, but having full freedom over their artistry is exciting and new.
“It was a big step for us, taking things into our own hands and handling everything independently,” says Kamarudin. “But we love it. We feel like it also resonates with how [‘Residue’] is for us. The delivery, the single rollout, everything we posted on social media is all based on our choices. That feels very rewarding.”
“When you do something on your own, there’s a sense of ownership…It’s about being consistent and being on top of things. We’re approaching this whole step with a sense of discipline, more than we’ve ever been.”
Ultimately, that’s what they want fans and listeners to like to know: that in this era of Midnight Fusic, they’re welcoming what it means to be independent artists with open arms. Yes, it’s exciting to make music on their own terms, but they’re also excited to make mistakes, to experiment, and most importantly, to make music that they genuinely like.
The band describes Modus Operandi as an exploration into “bigger sounds” for the band. While Kamarudin says that the writing isn’t super out of their comfort zone, sonically, it’s nothing like the songs that they’ve released before.
“It’s inspired by the bands we grew up with, like The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, and Tame Impala. In a way, it’s something new to release [as Midnight Fusic], but not new to us as people. It sounds familiar but fresh for [us]. When we play it live, it just feels right…I remember playing it for the first time and it already felt familiar.”
As the quartet searches for newness in familiarity, they can’t contain their excitement for this new chapter together.
Midnight Fusic drummer Rabbani puts it succinctly: “The relationship we have with these songs, rehearsing it, performing it, that’s how we know it’s great. We’re really excited to share this fun, cooler side.”
“We’ve been playing it somewhat safe before this,” Danial continues. “At the end of the day, it’s about what we like and what we want to do.”
The boys of Midnight Fusic aren’t the same teenagers anymore. Modus Operandi seems to be a reflection of how they’ve grown and evolved over the years — not just as artists, but also as people.
As Rabbani says, “Learning to be independent at this phase of our lives…it’s feels like this is a part of growing up. But that’s what makes it fun.”
Listen to “Residue” by Midnight Fusic below.
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