Azim Zain And His Lovely Bones debut album ‘Be Good’ will be released on Friday, November 13; it’s a thoroughly Australian project in heart, in sound, in every aspect except that creative lead Azim Zain is not Australian, yet.
Recorded between Sydney and Canberra over the last months of his visa, ‘Be Good’ is Zain at his most vulnerable as he grapples with leaving the country that he’s called home for the last decade, says goodbye to the surrogate family he’s found in the local music scene and comes to a final understanding of the best version of himself; failures, successes and all.
“I feel like I wrote this album with Australia. At Least, I feel like I wrote it with the Australian music community in mind. And now that, because of some visa stuff ups, I’m not with that community to release this music with them, it’s given everything on the album this new perspective,” Said Zain.
“Given how life has panned out, I didn’t want this album to just be another exercise in trying to overcome my own insecurities but rather a love letter to a community that has shaped, not only my music, but also the way I live my life and view the world.”
Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Zain moved to Adelaide at seventeen years old to finish highschool then moved to Canberra at nineteen to study a double degree in Law and Arts at the Australian National University.
During his time in Canberra, Azim Zain And His Lovely Bones became synonymous with the Canberra punk scene famous for their raucous live shows, life-affirming sing-a-longs and community-focus DIY ethos.
Be Good’ is set to be the most honest representation of the music that glows inside of Azim Zain And His Lovely Bones not just in his lyric content but in his own flaws and limitations as a musician. It’s loud, earnest and passionately desperate.
The lead single from ‘Be Good’ is Punk Don’t Pay The Bills (ft. Vic Austin), released on Friday, October 23, it’s a reflection on Zain’s revolt against his life plan; reluctantly gritting his teeth and accepting that he may still end up drawn into a more conventional profession eventually despite all his fighting for a career in music.
“I grew up in a pretty straight-laced white-collar family with very little interest in the creative industries, beyond playing an instrument to look well-rounded in university and job interviews. The plan for a long time was to keep my nose clean, get through school and tolerate some vaguely corporate job until I retire. But that changed when I moved to Canberra,” Said Zain.
Despite accepting his likely professional fate, Punk Don’t Pay The Bills (ft. Vic Austin) is a moment where Zain sheds his imposter syndrome and takes his place among the best in Aussie DIY punk.
“If I hadn’t come to Australia and found people who were willing to let me have a go, I never would’ve become a musician or gone down this path and in retrospect, that is wild given how important it became to my life.”
Listen to ‘Punk Don’t Pay The Bills (ft. Vic Austin) here.
Official single artwork below
“There are hints of complexity, but mostly what you will get from Azim Zain and His Lovely Bones is a sigh of relief. Their sound is so brilliant, bold and bright.”
Freya McGahey – Happy
“It didn’t take long for Azim to be quickly celebrated amongst the Canberra live music world, which from the outside, seems to really thrive with lifting one another up and emphasising the talent captured within the city’s live music spaces”
Hayden Davies – Pilerats
