KUALA LUMPUR, September 22 — Have you noticed a revival of interest in retro pop culture?

When it comes to fashion — think oversized t-shirts and baggy pants that are making a comeback apart from retro print t-shirts of famous rock bands or superhero characters.

Films? At least in the West, studios appear fixated on reboots and remakes or introducing sequels of movies or series from the Eighties or Nineties — like Beetlejuice Beetlejuice or the Marvel’s X-Men 97 animated series.

For music, the 90s and 2000s are seemingly back in trend (think Oasis and Linkin Park), at least when it comes to genres or visuals.

And maybe...just maybe — it all comes down to the theory of the 20-year rule.

The 20-year rule

The simple definition behind the 20-year rule theory is that pop culture experiences a revival every two decades or so.

According to Malaysian music and pop culture buff Adly Syairi Ramly, the theory is the most sensible explanation as to why acts are going retro nowadays.

"To me that theory came about based on observation. Yes, it's not scientifically proven — but if you look at the trends now, it does go back 20 years ago.

"Take punk music for example, if you trace back, (it began) around in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s but the explosion came in late 1976 during the time of Sex Pistols and all,” he said.

The Korek Fizikal host described it as a cycle with many factors and variables including elements of nostalgia and social influences.

"Maybe 20 years ago, the people involved (with that trend or music), were about 19 or 20 years old.

"Then 20 years later, in their 40s — they are now in a position where they can be an influence to others, and of course they will look back at the things that meant the most to them.”

"Nostalgic elements will always connect with people.”

Adly as a music lover has no problem with the comeback of genres past such as city pop or dream pop which are currently in with the younger crowd — on the provisory that it must be a progression to keep things fresh.

Finding one's identity in the oldies

It comes as no surprise that Malaysian psychedelic rock band Margasatwa might be confused with a pop yeh yeh band from the Seventies due to their look.

Think vibrant floral shirts complete finished with bell bottom jeans and topped with an afro or slightly styles — and accompanied by facial like the mutton chop style.

And not forgetting to accessorise with a fancy walking stick while you're at it.

According to frontman Kimal, the band’s image from their first live show is a nod to the vibrancy of Seventies pop culture.

"The 1970s was a very colourful era not just in Malaysia but worldwide, people who made music at that time usually came with a package.

"They weren’t just making music that is pleasing to the ears, but visually appealing as well, and that whole concept is what attracted me the most.”

Having debuted in 2016, Margasatwa is made up of vocalist Kimal, lead guitarist Fadhil, drummer Syahir, bassist Shadiq and rhythm guitarist Shahir.

Kimal said that they didn’t plan to come out as how they did in terms of their vintage vibes, but arrived at it as a result of the contribution of each member.

"Each of us have different influences in music. For example our drummer Syahir is really into bands from the 1970s such as Carefree, Kembara and Alleycats.

"Sam (Shahir) guitar sounds are very modern and Fadhil brings this element of blues, and as for my singing, I like the vocals of classic Malay male singers such as Datuk Sudirman, Datuk M.Nasir, Ismail Haron and Datuk Jamal Abdillah.

"So everything kind of gels together with that Seventies vibe,” he said.

Kimal proudly shares that the band have a habit of visiting local bundle stores to buy some stuff to mix and match later with their existing wardrobe.

He added that he also opts to find apparel from the women's section as designs are more vibrant and artistic compared to the men’s department.

The band who are now moving independently after cutting ties with M.Nasir’s label Luncai Emas, is currently in the midst of putting out their second full length album while also planning their first solo concert this November.

The Dreamers

Dream pop is among the genres making a comeback in this new trend cyclem especially amongst Gen Z who have found a soft spot for the late Eighties genre.

Dream pop bands such as Cigarettes After Sex are enjoying popularity especially on social media platform TikTok, where they have racked up almost 10 billion streams around the world according to The New York Times.

The trend revival has in fact, contributed to a wave of new artists indulging in dreamy electronic bedroom sounds — such as Singaporean singer, songwriter and producer Shye.

Heavily influenced by Eighties British rock and pop punk bands of the 2000s, Shye has a very distinctive retro musical outlook from her sounds to her raw Nineties-influenced music videos.

Speaking with Malay Mail, the 21-year-old listed in 2023’s Forbes Asia 30 under 30 list said that although she was born in the 2000s, she felt a genuine sense of belonging to the Nineties.

"I love the hairstyles, the fashion, I love the sense that they just don’t care, like they don’t care who’s going to listen to their music. They were just really in the moment and they did it for themselves and the people around them.”

Shye pointed out that apart from being inspired by the Nineties, another reason for her analog outlook was because she couldn’t afford professional cameras and equipment at that time and she decided to make the best with what she had.

"Thankfully people could identify more with me (because of that) because there’s a rawness and a personal touch to it.”

Shye, who is also in the midst of releasing her second full-length album, is a self-taught artist who learnt most of her producing and mixing skills online, mainly on Youtube.

"It’s just very funny that everything is coming back and it’s good in some sense, I think it made my mom feel young again because that was the trend during her time and I kind of envy her when she was growing up, the music she was listening to, the styles and everything.

"Although the era is making a comeback, I don’t think it will be the same as how it was, but it’s just very sweet to see that the older generation can also relive it through us,” she said.

Malaysian duo Fuad comprising of siblings Lisa Fuad and Arief Fuad from Bukit Jelutong are among those currently dishing out their take of dream pop.

The duo who are also heavily influenced by Eighties and Nineties bands such as Lush and My Bloody Valentine, said that their parents were also among the reasons they got into music.

"Our parents are Gen Xers, so they were teenagers during the 1980s and they grew up with a lot of music from that time of course.

"Our parents always play all old songs such as Abba, Bee Gees, Bruce Springsteen and Simon & Garfunkel,” said Lisa.

They also got into making music was also thanks to early 2000s rhythm console games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band which featured hit songs of the past.

She pointed out her love for American singer-songwriter Fiona Apple.

"Because for me I think music used to be more substantial like Fiona Apple, she’s one of my inspirations and she debuted back in the 90s.

"And I love how she has this perception of the real world and she has her own perspective on how things work through her lyrics and I felt that you could not write songs like that now I guess.”

For Arief, some of his inspiration came from bands such as Muse, Camera Obscura and Alvvays and he shares how he discovered the American indie rock band Devics from watching famous Nineties’s series Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

Similarly to Shye, Fuad also have that raw Nineties aesthetic to their music videos — they also inject a touch of emo and the early 2000 appeal, especially in their latest music video Wait and See.