And as they got to know each other better, they agreed to start a band in the near future.

Fast forward to 2021 and their band, Ty:Del, is well on its way to drop its second and newest single, ‘So In Love (Tonight)’.

The single, which captures the band members’ experiences of transitioning from young adults into adulthood, also deals with the themes of self-love and body positivity.

While new to the music scene, Ty:Del has already been making quite the mark since they started off back in 2019.

After releasing their debut single in 2019, their music has been streamed hundreds of thousands of times and they have been invited to perform in college events and youth festivals.

The release of their newest single today on March 5, however, is meant to further introduce themselves to the Malaysian public.

In addition, an extended play, titled, ‘To Anyone Listening’, which contains five tracks, will be dropping early next month.

It has not been an easy journey for the quartet, doubly so for a new indie band wishing to make its way onto the local music stage.

Speaking to FMT, Retita put it succinctly that, “The life of an indie band is creatively liberating, but financially restraining.”

Given that the band largely depend on live performances as a steady income source, the Covid-19 pandemic put a strain on their finances.

“I miss everything about live performances,” said Retita. “Live shows are crucial to both the artist and the supporter; at the end of the day, we want our music to connect the people with the art.”

But there is more than just financial gain that keeps the band together, as its members are truly passionate about creating music that people can fall in love with.

“The beautiful thing about being an independent band would definitely be the autonomy of creating anything,” said Kam.

Speaking about the new single which dropped today, Kam said that the song is about how one values themselves and how it isn’t always easy to be self-confident.

The song lyrics also imply this as Long pointed out.

“The lyrics change at the end of the song, from ‘I’m so in love with the way that (you) look tonight’ to (I),” he explained.

“I feel like that’s a pivotal moment of self-realisation that nobody will ever truly appreciate the real you, so if you yourself don’t accept your most authentic self, who will?”

The band also believes that Malaysian audiences will resonate with their new single, and hopefully, learn a thing or two from it.

“We live in a world that’s so result-oriented and that you have to look a certain way in front of people both online and physically,” said Roshan.

“Sometimes you have just got to find satisfaction in being you. Don’t let unachievable standards that people have set affect the way you live your life.”

Give Ty:Del’s new single a listen now:

Check out Ty:Del and their hits on their official website, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.