GOASIAPLUS January 2017

This musical duo got their big break after
doing a cover of P. Ramlee’s classic ballad
‘Getaran Jiwa’ which went viral and was
subsequently featured as the song for a
Nescafe advertisement in conjunction with
World Coffee Day. The video garnered more
than 5 million views on YouTube, catapulting
this duo into the public eye. We spoke to
singer Eve Hong and guitarist/composer
Billy Ho of EB Duet on their rise to success
and their new album ‘At The Beginning’.
INTERVIEWED BY AISHAH AZALI · PHOTOS BY EB DUET
Now Boarding
How did you guys meet and decided
to start a duo?
Eve: We met because we were both
performing in functions. When we do
functions, we don’t usually get to choose
(the songs) that we 100% love to perform.
We have to compromise between our
songs and what the client prefers. After
performing for quite some time, we found
out that we share similar interests and
vision in music.
Why become a jazz duo? Is that the
only genre you like to sing?
Eve: We are both Chinese educated and
our upbringing was exposed to Chinese
music. Jazz was not in our roots but we
are so moved by jazz music. Our album
titled ‘At The Beginning’ represents the
beginning of our music together. Jazz is
our beginning but we do sing other genres
like evergreen, pop and classic oldies.
Do you do a lot of performances
in Malaysia or have you travelled
elsewhere for shows?
Eve: We perform anywhere we get invited.
The furthest we went was to China but
mostly performances in Malaysia.
Would you guys be open to
performing more shows overseas?
Eve: Of course. We love to travel around
while working. We are both explorative
people.
What kind of music influences you?
Billy: I play many types of music. I’ve
played heavy metal like Metallica and
British rock when I was young. But after
some time, my taste started to change.
Eve: Generally jazz but I still listen to
pop and different kinds of music. As a
performer, I don’t think we should limit
ourselves to just one song or genre.
Can you tell me about your first
overseas travel experience?
Eve: My first time was when I was 16. I
went with my mum to Korea. That time
Korea was not as popular as it is now but
it was still a great experience.
Billy: I went to Hong Kong with my
friends. I remember when we went to the
hotel; the credit card machine was down
so we had to pay them in cash. After that,
all of us were short on money. It was a
small problem we faced but overall it was
a good experience.
Any travel trips that stood out?
Eve: My solo trip to Bali 2 years ago.
Two months later, I got addicted and did
another solo trip to Boracay.
You guys travel a lot for work. Is it
easy travelling together?
Eve: The way we travel is quite similar.
First, we both do not like to go to the
touristy places. We’ll just find a place to
relax which is not a tourist spot and like to
observe the people.
Billy: We like to experience their culture.
What are your goals in music?
Eve: One of our goals is to perform in major
music concerts or renowned theatres and
music halls with an audience of people that
truly love music. We want to share what
we love, which is music to people that
appreciate it as much as we do.
How did the cover of ‘Getaran Jiwa’
came about?
Eve: We were doing a cover of a song by
Michael Jackson called Black or White.
We set up everything and did it in 2 takes.
We didn’t want to waste the lighting and
the audio set up, so we just sang another
few songs for fun. Then we randomly
sang Getaran Jiwa which we have never
practised before.
Billy: I played the first couple of chords and
we liked the style and went with it. We did
that video in one take and just uploaded it
for fun.
“We want
to share
what we
love, which
is music to
people that
appreciate
it as much
as we do.”
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