For the past five years, the band members of Deja Voodoo Spells have been casting magic over their fans, spinning songs like "Wanting You" as they entrance followers to a frenzied need for more of their music.

With Rithan on guitars and vocals, Ainol on drums and Rozaimi on bass, the band that took shape in November 2002 and went on to produce their first album 'I am what I am' in November 2005 - is a growing force to be reckoned with.

With a concoction of hypnotic rock grooves, they are now ready to take the band to greater heights with 'Bite', a second effort after a five year hiatus. We caught up with the boys amidst their busy schedule for an update of what's new with them.

Malaysian Today: What is Deja Voodoo Spells? How did you come up with that as a band name?
Deja Voodoo Spells: The name is derived from the word Deja Vu, 'a feeling of having already experienced the present situation'. Contemporary music has been around for decades, it revolves around 12 notes, the only thing that changes is the way an artiste expresses them. This expression is influenced by an era, surroundings, issues, story and technology (music production) at any given time. I changed it to Voodoo because I am influenced by Jimi Hendrix and from a Kenny Wayne Shepard song that I like titled 'Deja Voodoo'. 

Q: Can you give us a brief introduction about your band and your ties with the industry?
A: Well, Ainol and I met through a World Music Festival in Kyrgyzstan. We were representing Malaysia to play traditional Malaysian music like joget and zapin. Through this gig, we hooked up and joined a band competition back in Malaysia. This led to the birth of Deja Voodoo Spells. We have since released two albums, playing at various gigs around Southeast Asia and was endorsed by international companies like Ibanez Guitars, Tama Drums, Wegen Picks and Macbeth shoes.

Q: How would you classify your music?
A: We revel in rock music. We love all the genres it is represented in; straight rock n roll, blues, metal, thrash, punk, hardcore, progressive rock, instrumental or ballads.

Q: What sets you guys apart from other bands?
A: I think every band is unique in its own way. When people get together and play music they create energy that defines the personalities of each member. When you think Deja Voodoo Spells, think loud guitars, pounding drum beats, rocking bass lines with screaming vocals.

Q: Why the indie scene and not the mainstream market?
A: Hmmm, I think with this being the internet era coupled with a flood of social network sites like MySpace, Facebook, Youtube and Reverbnation, I believe mainstream music and indie are really not far apart anymore. For instance back in the day, if I wanted to listen to a guitar player like Wayne Krantz, I would need to be introduced to it by someone who has a CD of the artist. These days, I can stream the music online and learn everything I want to know about a specific artist. The only difference is that, mainstream is still very much formula-oriented as a lot of people in the industry are out to entertain the masses with calculated risk that promises monetary returns. 

Indie (independent artistes) to a certain extent are musicians wanting to do what they want to do purely for the love of music without worrying if the songs do not cater to the current trend:  Look at Metallica, a band that kept on doing what they wanted to do, while receiving commercial success. Deja Voodoo Spells will keep on doing what we do, regardless of trends. If we get commercially successful, that will be the bonus we have been waiting for.

Q: What inspired your latest album 'Bite'? How is this different compared to the previous one?
A: Bite is an album where you put on to just rock out, not so much focusing on arrangements and intricate solos. It's a fun album. Bite is commercially successful with songs like Rock N' Roll, which was number one on hitz.fm MET 10. The track got into the TOP 30 chart as well and landed us a nomination for AIM (Anugerah Industri Muzik) for 'Best Male Vocals in a Song'. 

Tracks like 'Wanting You' and the 'Enemy in Me' won awards at VIMA (Voice Independent Music Awards) and AVIMA (Asia Voice Independent Music Awards). The icing on the cake for this album is that we did a tribute cover to the late Michael Jackson's track Billie Jean. Comparing it with our first album 'I am what I am', our first album was arrangement-orientated and encompassed different sub genres.

Q: What would you say is your big break or are you guys still waiting for it?
A: We have had so many good moments, being able to do clinics with Herman Li from DragonForce, play with legendary players like Steve Vai, Marty Friedman, Jennifer Batten, Sting, Gary Hoey, Dewa and tour Southeast Asia. I don't think we will ever say that we are satisfied or waiting for a big break as long as we are doing this. I personally think once you are satisfied, you lose the drive to be a better band and person.

I would love the band to be internationally successful; we would want to show the world that Malaysians can rock too! That would be an achievement - to carry the Malaysian flag worldwide with our music.

Q: Describe each of yourselves in one word?
Rithan- Patience
Rozaimie- Balance
Ainol- Force

Q: Finish this sentence for us. Indie is........
A: Indie is an incarnation of a movement which was once underground, consisting of creative minds that strive to create what they want to do independently.