By Brian Kwan

So how did a poet and a classically trained pianist form a band?
The: From running out of movies to watch during sleepovers! I had my keyboard out, and Dizzy was reading out some of her poetry, and we both had the simultaneous idea of seeing if it would work together, and it did.
Dizzy: Of course, being friends for years and years helps as well!

Any reason for calling the duo setup, Dizzy & The?
Dizzy: It was The's idea actually, it was funny enough to immediately roll with it.
The: Dizzy was part of Liyana's general alias, and The came from The Alia aka, well, Alia.

How would you describe your performance?
The: Schizoprenic hypermadness and pensive emotional pauses.
Dizzy: It's stuff you should definitely not be driving to. I would even go so far as to say it's the soundtrack of staying still.

Take us through your process of creating a song.
Dizzy: I don't do much else except show her something I wrote, then constantly demand to know if she sees or hears anything.
The: I'll see whether I can "hear" a song when she reads it, or if she wants me to figure out if music can work for a certain poem. Then we bounce around ideas for the feel of the song, mess around with the different sounds on the keyboard and see what fits.

What inspires your music?
The: In the context of Dizzy & The? For me, honestly, it's just her poetry. If you're talking about inspiration in general, then it's movies, scenery, visual images that conjure a soundtrack in my head.
Dizzy: I'm guessing she asked about the context presumably because she's also in Furniture, one of my favourite bands. And she also sessions for half of KL in between!

How's the EP going?
Dizzy: The EP got made! Oh man, the feedback for it is my favourite part. We've been collecting amusing and strange EP stories from people who own it, I can't begin to describe how different they are. We pull those stories out on rainy days. For me, it's the most exciting part of this little adventure. I'm so glad we made it happen, considering how we never planned on making one to begin with.
The: And sales are doing great :) Come to dizzyandthe.blogspot.com to find out how to order it!

Any plans for the remainder of 2009?
Dizzy: Well, our schoolwork might get a little crazy...
The: Mayhaps another EP? But we'll see how crazy schoolwork gets first, hehe.

What are the top three tracks on your playlist currently?
Dizzy:
i/am/Rain - ‘Years At A Glance’ (www.myspace.com/simonistherain)
Silverchair - ‘Tuna in the Brine’ (never gets old)
No Opera - ‘(A Ballad For) Kim Peek’
Law - ‘Coriander Y’ (my stubborn #4, free download of his albums at www.myspace.com/lawsofmusic)
The:
The Guillemots - ‘Falling Out Of Reach’
Stateless - ‘Bloodstream’
The Cinematic Orchestra - ‘Time & Space’

How is KL treating a poetry based act?
The: They're being extremely generous and supportive, and it's great that there's such love for something seemingly obscure.
Dizzy: We went into this accepting from the beginning that poetry isn't for everyone, and adding music to that may or may not change that. We're not out to collect poetry/music converts, but where there isn't hesitation, there's a lot of warm and open feelings. It's been awesome.

Where can KL-ites catch you two in action?
Dizzy: Easy, right in KL with all the other KL-ites in action! And when one of them feels that we'd fit into their next gig, bless their hearts, we will trumpet it like crazy on our blog and to anyone who'll listen. (applies to Singapore also).

Catch Dizzy & The performing for Time Out: On The Up at No Black Tie, Sept 19.