Blasting onto the local indie music scene in 2002 with their madcap antics, Y2k started off as a punk-rock cover band, converting 80’s and 90’s pop songs from the likes of Wham, Atomic Kittens and Cindy Lauper into punk rock.

As the band evolved, more and more original songs entered their repertoire, each member bringing their unique influences and origins into the mix, fusing genres and languages whilst still retaining the pop-punk ethos.

After a year of struggling, Y2k have finally finished their debut album, PIZZA SALSA: a blistering barrage of pop, punk rock, hip-hop, metal and ska in English, Malay, French and Japanese.

Y2k have been a staple of the music scene since the band formed, busily playing show after show throughout Kuala Lumpur, Terrenganu, Penang, Melaka, Johor Bahru and Singapore, building up their reputation as excellent showmen. They performed at the Fat Festival in Thailand, Duduluran Rock Fest in Bandung, Indonesia and Rock the World 7 (One of Malaysia biggest annual Rock concert).

Y2k also won the regional finals of the Global Battle of the Bands in 2007, becoming the Malaysian Champions for the Global Battle of the Bands. They were also in the top 10 bands in the World Finals at the Global Battle of the Bands and played in the legendary Electric Ballroom in London, England.
Not only are they known for their catchy, energetic songs, but also for their hilarious stage repertoire which some have likened to stand-up comedy.

The Album - Pizza Salsa recorded over a period of one year through hard work and perseverance, Y2k’s debut album was a tough job from the get-go.

“When we decided to record the album we still hadn’t got a permanent drummer,” says Hermano Grande, “but the label was pressuring us to release something. We didn’t realize that there was a clause in the contract that stated that if we didn’t finish the album on time, we had to remove a pound of flesh from our body.”

During this period, Hermano Grande and Monsieur Poubelle recorded guide tracks with a drum machine on rhythm duties, with the idea to replace the synthetic sounding samples with more realistic ones once they were happy with the songs.

“We hadn’t even finalized our tracks yet,” says Monsieur Poubelle, “so the guide track recording process also gave us time to write new songs for the album. This was when we started experimenting with different styles a bit more. Since we were using computers, I’d bring in some old-school hip-hop samples and before you knew it, we’d have a hip-hop song.”

When the Naq finally joined, the band set to work turning those guide tracks into something they could perform live, if anything to test out the songs to a live audience. Satisfied, they asked the label for a producer to record the album.

FYI Entertainment sent over unknown producer Justin Guber and managed to wrangle unlimited recording time at Balleria studios to record basic tracks and drums and The Enemy’s Playground of the Nth Dimension for overdubs and vocals.

“Those studios were… rustic,” says the Naq, “to say the least. Damn place wasn’t sound-proofed. If it was raining outside we’d have to stop recording ‘cos the mics would pick it up. But Justin knew what to do. He’s mad. A mad, mad sock-puppet.”

When it came to packaging, with so much time spent on the album and anticipation in the underground scene high, FYI Entertainment turned to the band’s clothing sponsors, ‘Radioactive’, for help in coming up with a packaging design that best suited the band.
After much brain storming, the band decided on a pizza box. A salsa pizza box“The band loves salsa,” said label representative Saiful Freezailah, “and they love pizza. Our catering bills for the band are huge because of this. We never thought their insane appetites would be an inspiration for the album cover.”