Cats in Love releases debut single a 17-year-long wait

It all started in 2004 when guitarist NR Lohan demonstrated a little tune to his housemate and future bandmate Rizal Johan. They were in the early days of planning a band.

Lohan sang the words: “Can’t see love, coming at me,” to which his housemate gave him a quizzical look. He misheard the guitarist’s lyrics.

“What did you say? Cats in love?” Rizal asked.

Right at that moment, the light bulbs above their heads lit up. They finally figured out a great name for the band: Cats in Love.

Speaking to Malaysiakini, Lohan told the tales of their journey to debut, from cover performances, festival gigs and lineup changes.

With a penchant for rock, he became the band’s frontperson, bringing the assemble through loops of the 1960s and 1970s rock with touches of funk, pop, country and jazz.

Now, they’re finally ready to take the stage with their debut single, “Black Monday” - reminiscent of a classic rock song from the 1960s about the Monday blues.

The early days

Cats in Love was originally a backing band for singer-songwriter Zack Yusof - but the collaboration was brief as both parties struggled with musical differences.

Zack went on to form Free Deserters while Cats decided to go to the frontlines themselves.

The first lineup consisted of Lohan as the guitarist and vocalist, his then-housemate Rizal on bass, Joseph Loh on keyboards and Rudolf Frank on drums.

However, personal commitments stood in the way of the band’s beginnings which caused them to go through several lineup changes throughout the years.

Now, Lohan is accompanied by bassist Eu Gene and drummer Ashwin Gobinath, who are occasionally backed on keyboards by LK Wong.

The constant lineup changes were the group’s biggest hindrance to their ability to release any original music.

Lohan, who was an entertainment journalist at The Star during the band’s early days, was the designated songwriter for Cats in Love.

He expressed that the changes happened too fast and too often, which left him with no choice but to leave his song demos on the back burner.

“When we started Cats in Love, of course, we thought of making it big and making our own music.

“By 2009, I wrote up to 14 songs, but our members kept coming and going. We were already occupied with our jobs and lives - and so we just decided to stick to playing covers at small gigs,” said Lohan.

Lohan brought up an interesting bit about how the band was first called to perform at a jazz festival.

“I told the recruiters, ‘Wait, we are a rock band though, how would your audience find us interesting?’”

“But when we performed, the crowd was cheering for us and singing along to the songs. It was nice to see how music can bring different people from different genres together,” Lohan added.

Since then, the band has performed at many jazz events over the years, including the Penang Island Jazz Festival, the KL International Jazz Festival, and the World Youth Jazz Festival, as well as in independent gigs and the customary pub appearances.

And it seems like the band just could not catch a break. Just as they were nearly completed with their album in 2020, the pandemic happened.

“So, we had to put the album back on the shelf again. That fuelled our passion to push our music out, we must get it done.”

17 years in the making

Their album’s title couldn’t be more fitting – “No Paws For Regret”. According to Lohan, it’s a play on the phrase “No cause for regret” that was tuned to play with their unique name.

“I can’t give an exact date on when the album will come out, but I hope for it to be done by March of next year,” he added.

Lohan described the songs’ musings of what they love, adding that they tried to keep up with the music trends of today but realised it was best to stick to their grassroots.

Garnering inspiration from classic hitmakers such as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and even Jamiroquai, the band wants to bring back the sounds of electric blues, rock and jazz in their new pieces.

Lohan also wants to pass on some advice to aspiring musicians who are in the same shoes as his:

“Starting the band was not easy. I mean, we’ve been at it for 17 years, without our own music.

“For my career, my life and my family, I had to push my biggest passion aside to survive, as we all do.

“But for the people who were in the same position as I was, where I wanted to be a singer but I had too much on my plate, never ever lose passion for the thing you love the most. It is never too late to start something new.”

So, put on your leather jackets and ripped jeans to catch Cats in Love performing their debut single at Merderkarya, Bukit Gasing, tonight at 10pm.

Get your tickets here or follow their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/catsinloveband/ to find out about their other gig dates.

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