Their first album was almost scuppered by US sanctions and a lack of money for instruments, but Myanmar rockers Side Effect have played the gig of their dreams in America helped by fans from around the world.
Facing everything from censored lyrics to tight restrictions on live gigs under the former junta, the band became the first from Myanmar to play the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas since their isolated country opened up following decades of military dictatorship.
“There’s so much love in the air. I think because of the music, you know - all the people are here because they love music,” said lead singer and guitarist Darko C, just before playing to a packed Austin bar.
The indie rock-band sings in both English and Burmese. Darko is joined by Eaid Dhi on guitar, Hein Lwin on bass and Tser Htoo on drums.
After building a modest but energetic international fanbase helped by social media and their popularity on the Yangon expat scene, the four-piece band launched a crowdfunding drive on the PledgeMusic website.
“Money is the major problem because we don’t have any money,” said Darko, who runs a small tailoring shop to make a living and cites the late Kurt Cobain as his musical hero.
The rockers have raised Dh30,118 online - 67 per cent of their target - with another Dh7,346 from a Yangon fundraising concert, although they are still short of the total needed for the ambitious trip and have borrowed the extra money.
Their fundraising achievement is a huge win after a major disappointment two years ago that saw their efforts to produce their debut album thwarted.
At the time, they had raised nearly Dh11,000 through US-based fundraising website IndieGoGo.
But when it came to paying out the funds, the crowdfunding site feared that transferring the money from the United States to the band in Myanmar would breach US sanctions, and so the whole thing was cancelled.
Myanmar has since shrugged off most of its international embargoes, a reward for a slew of reforms under a new quasi-civilian regime that replaced outright military rule in 2011.
Side Effect’s SXSW gig, showcasing its music among some of the most dynamic new bands around, was attended by a small group of Myanmar expats who had helped in the drive to get them to Austin.
They are “really good and they have originality and they have their sound. I am almost crying,” said Eindray Aye, who runs a community website for the several hundred people from Myanmar living in the city.
Side Effect said that the visit to Austin was worth it because of the exposure it gave them to other bands and ideas.
The musicians were given a place to stay and looked after by a local woman who contacted them through Twitter and offered to help. Her family has even given drummer Tser Htoo his first drum kit - after 20 years of practicing at home on piles of books. “It’s amazing. At the time I saw it, my heart was shaking,” he said.
