Irish Bellefire hits Indonesian airwaves
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta
In the early eighties, four high school boys from Dublin, Ireland, broke through on the English music charts with the three-note guitar riffs of their debut album Boy.
The group, named U2 and consisting of Bono, Larry Mullen, Adam Clayton and the Edge, went on to release hit album after hit album that set the music world on fire.
Prior to U2 Irish musical acts had a difficult time breaking worldwide, but U2 opened the door for numerous other Irish acts, including Sinead O' Connor, The Corrs, Ash and teen idols Westlife.
Now, 25 years later, with U2 having sold over 100 million albums, along comes an Irish female trio who say they draw their inspiration from the rock gods themselves.
The three young women of Bellefire -- sisters Cathy, 21, Ciara, 20, and Kelly, 24, from Galway on the west coast of Ireland -- are trying hard to distinguish themselves from other bands. They reject the portrayal of themselves as, in their own words, "flop star wannabes and never-will-bes clogging up the world of pop".
In a recent interview with The Jakarta Post, Bellefire said they wanted to create songs and albums that would stand the test of time. They also say they resist the temptation to use too much production techniques and other studio wizardry.
"We are a vocal-driven band and we want our music not to be overdubbed in the studio, as what other urban pop groups have done in the United Kingdom. We went to the studio without having any plans in our heads about the productions and how we would sing the tune," Kelly said.
Apart from U2 -- whose song All I Want Is You Bellefire covered in 2000 -- the trio also says it draws inspiration from glam rock originator David Bowie and the late sensitive rocker Jeff Buckley.
However, the typical Bellefire record does not always show these inspirations. On its latest album, Spin The Wheel, the songs are caught in between the Corrs without the violin and ABBA without the sing-along chorus.
The productions are also meticulously rendered, with a helping hand from Swedish producer Jorgen Elofssen, who in the past has produced artists like Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys and Westlife.
It is true that some of the material on the album was written by Bellefire themselves, but the better songs are in fact recycled hits such as the William Brother's song Can't Cry Hard Enough, Jewel's You Were Meant For Me and a couple of Dianne Warren songs, which Bellefire did little rearranging to, pretty much leaving the songs the way they found them.
The drum machine, lush orchestration and vocal arrangements are neatly conceived and executed with a ringing precision.
Irish boyband Westlife earlier come up with the same formula of covering classic hits, which helped them to sell million of albums. Small wonder for a group who shared the bill with the teen pop sensation.
Hoping to ride the coattails of other successful pop idols, Warner Music Indonesia has begun marketing Bellefire here. The trio's songs are being played on local radio stations and their videos are getting heavy rotation on MTV Indonesia.
After listening to their records and watching them perform live, it is easy to see that for those who don't take their music seriously, Bellefire is the perfect choice. Or as the late eighties British rockers Stone Roses used to say: "This is the one I've waited for."