Underground Hum with Paul Agusta

Main Stage: GHAUST

2008-11-08T23:53:00.000-08:00

Underground Hum: GHAUST: Purveyors of lush dark dreamscapes

Sunday, 11/09/2008 11:03 AM

Hello my lovelies, it's time again for your weekly scheduled musical enlightenment. Yes, I speak of Underground Hum; the weekly indie music column focused on scenes here in Indonesia and across the ASEAN region. Thanks again for the nifty emails you guys have been sending. Keep them coming.

And now, on to this week's delectable dose of MAIN STAGE:

GHAUST

Post-rock, in case you're a neophyte, is a genre of alternative rock defined by the use of common rock instruments for non-rock purposes. Guitars and drums are standard, but the rhythms, harmonies, melodies, timbre, and chord progressions used are not found in the rock tradition.

Basically, your typical post-rock song will consists of long guitar jams that explore layers of sound in order to create a certain mood. It is a genre that requires not only great technical skill, but a strong melodic imagination.

There is quite a considerable number of bands out there in our local scene that dabble in post-rock. Most of them border on only just decent, simply because they lack imagination. There are even fewer bands here that play hardcore post-rock, the darker side of this musical dream-weaving, as this subgenre requires technical mastery and a lucid imagination; which narrows the field of play tremendously.

South Jakarta-based GHAUST is one band, however, that manges to thrive beautifully in this dimly lit alley of post-rock. The nightmares constructed by this collective (comprised of Uri A. Putra (guitar) and M. Edward (drums)) are built with the utmost precision. The layering of instruments, the slow but steady progression of hard chords, the grinding distortions and the calculated drums are dispersed in careful doses that guide the listener through each space of the somber realm of their musical machinations.

After a few online releases, as well as participation in various compilations, this year saw the release of GHAUST's self-titled full length debut LP, available nationwide through Purbaharuan Recordings. This powerhouse of an album is guaranteed to take you to corners of your imagination previously untouched by other bands. This record is truly mind-blowing; as you read, I'm still picking up the pieces of my brain that were scattered across the floor upon my first listen. It immediately gets a place on my list of 2008's Top Five Local Releases.

GHAUST is an experience the listener would never want to, or be able to forget. Their music will seep into the nooks and crannies of your mind and build little grim empires in your subconscious. I am truly curious as to how their sound will evolve in the future. I will definitely keep my eyes on these guys.

Enough of the grand descriptions, you can learn more about GHAUST firsthand and give a listen to their brilliant pieces at www.myspace.com/soundofghaust. Be sure to leave them some nice comments. Their self-titled debut LP is now available. For a complete listing of record stores that sell the CD, check their myspace page. Be sure to buy it!

That's it for this week's Underground Hum. Tune in next week for Reverb. If you have any questions, suggestions, rants, raves or creative uses for vodka, please contact me at undergroundhum@yahoo.com

For all of you bands or artists out there, let us know if you have a gig coming up so we can include it in Reverb. Be sure to include the name of the event you're playing, what other acts are billed, time, place, date, and entry fee if any.

See y'all later!

--Paul F. Agusta

Main Stage: And Here We Are, The Kids

2008-10-18T23:07:00.000-07:00

originally published in The Jakarta Post, Sunday Oct.19-2008

Underground Hum
with Paul F. Agusta

Welcome back to Underground Hum. It is time to lock yourself in the closet with a flash-light and start reading up on the latest music being made out there. Thank you again for the lovely emails. Keep them coming!

And now, on to MAIN STAGE:

MAIN STAGE:

And Here We Are, The Kids: The Soundtrack of Your Lives

I don’t know what they’re feeding kids these days. Whatever it is, it’s not what I was fed as a kid. In a year of doing this column, and a few years prior to that, I’ve noticed that most of the scene’s interesting new musical acts that I’m coming across are comprised of artists who were born when I had already entered puberty. On one hand, it makes me very happy to see so many kids exploring new musical territories and expressing themselves so easily; on the other hand, it makes me feel really old.

One of the new acts that has contributed to my neurosis about aging is And Here We Are, The Kids, a 20-person collective consisting of really young people under the age of 18, playing intricately composed and emotionally provocative instrumental pieces.

Jamal Soemadipradja, spokesperson for The Kids, says “And Here We Are, The Kids was formed in the year 2007, when we were all part of a class in Sekolah Global Jaya, known as 10D. The Kids comprises several active members, all of whom contribute to the creation of our songs. We are more of an orchestra than a band. Each of the songs was made by a different set of people, but produced under the The Kids’ label.”

Despite all of them being students of the same school, The Kids is not a school-initiated project; they came together driven by their love of music and their desire to share their collective experiences as they enter adulthood. “The reason as to why our music is instrumental is because our music, like any other soundtrack, brings us back to the times that even words cannot describe. Our music is…the soundtrack to each every single moment we shared together (pain, hardship, joy),” Jamal explained further.

The readers of this column may be familiar with Jamal’s name as he was the subject of Main Stage a few months back under the musical moniker The Trees Are Alive. This persona of his writes emotional acoustic songs about the environment. Aside from The Trees Are Alive, The Kids also features members of hardcore band Another Good Day For An Airstrike. These varied influences and disparate sounds somehow seem to merge quite well in the music produced by The Kids.

The musical ingredients found in this orchestra are guitars, pianos, drums, various percussion instruments, a string section, and electronic samples. The full line-up of And Here We Are, The Kids consists of Agatha Tika Pangestuti (Guitars), Aristya Wismoyo (Drums), Alwin Daniel (Guitars/ Bass), Alrein Putrananda Wajong (Guitars), Benedicta Sherrine Budiman (Guitars), Danika Dwi Budiarti (Piano), Dylan Amirio (Guitars/ Bass), Gilang Kembara (Strings), Gema Sutan Assin (Strings), Jamal Soemadipradja (Guitars), Jessica Leofitri Mangunsong (Piano), Kamadiputra Surianegara (Drums), Hilary Vincentius Bennet (Percussions), Ivan Abednego (Guitars), Reynold Adi Putra (Percussions), Sasha Kohar (Strings), Sabrina Nissa R (Strings), Silkanzy Musrian Badjiser (Sampler), Timmy Soerianto (Percussion), Kevin William (Percussion).

Their instrumental pieces seem to be describing their own emotional growth; each song begins with simple and seemingly naïve guitar-work that gradually increases in complexity and slowly becomes decorated by well placed orchestrations, all of which results in an experience totally different from that of when the song begins.

For those in need of comparative descriptions, I would say that the compositions on offer by The Kids are highly reminiscent of instrumentalists The Severely Departed (with their tiny flourishes), James Blackshaw (the intricacy and pathos of his guitar-work), and Verbose (sans blips and beeps, but with the same energy), mixed with a little more wide-eyed innocence permeating through the chords.

“We hope that everyone can enjoy the simplicity of our music since when it comes to music without words but just rhythm, people tend to have an open mind and can interpret the song as anything they want it to be. We want our music to be the soundtrack of our listener's lives,” says Jamal.

And Here We Are, The Kids are in the midst of preparing their first album called “The Year We Called Ours”, but for now the gorgeous sounds made by these cool kids are available to be heard at http://www.myspace.com/andherewearethekids. If you like their music, tell them so by leaving comments on their page.

Thus ends this week’s Underground Hum. Do tune in next week for Reverb.

If you have any questions or suggestions for this column please contact me at undergroundhum@yahoo.com

For all of you indie bands or artists out there, let us know if you have a gig coming up so we can include it in Reverb. Be sure to include the name of the event you’re playing, what other acts are billed, time, place, date, and entry fee if any.

Be good!

Underground Hum 1st Anniversary Column: Jerome Kugan's "Songs for a Shadow"

2008-09-28T19:09:00.000-07:00

Main Stage Album Feature: Jerome Kugan's 'Songs for a Shadow'

Sun, 09/28/2008 9:59 AM | Entertainment

Hello my lovelies, it was a year ago this week (September 22nd 2007, to be precise) that Underground Hum first conspicuously popped up in this esteemed publication like a Mariah Carey fan at a Nine Inch Nails concert, and so far the reaction has been amazing and way better than I could have hoped for.

So I'd like to thank all the readers of UH for all their support and feedback on our first year, and also the wonderful editors at The Jakarta Post for their continuous support of this rambunctious little column, thanks heaps!

The first issue of UH featured Jerome Kugan, a poet with a laptop and a guitar, who was born in Kota Kinabalu on Borneo. He is a small man who is busy carving himself an ever-growing niche in the arts, not only in his homeland Malaysia, but internationally.

Poet, singer, songwriter, short-story writer, culture columnist and visual artist, Jerome is also cofounder of Trobadours KL, an organization focused on promoting Malaysian singer-songwriters worldwide. In fact, his activities in Troubadours KL have made him a sort of poster boy for the Malaysian singer/songwriter scene.

Since then, Jerome has released his debut album Songs for a Shadow to much acclaim. So I thought it would be fitting for the anniversary edition of UH to feature a track by track review of this lovely album that came out earlier this year.

The overall tone of Songs for a Shadow is contemplative, but never dark. It is a collection of stories that tell of the new emotional experiences a person goes through as they mature and brave the often jading experiences of adult romance. Musically, Jerome, with the help of Hardesh Singh and Ariff Akhir, among others, mostly mixes acoustic guitar with blips, beeps, and programmed drums/percussion, with the occasional track eschewing modern technology altogether for a strictly bare approach.

Here is the track by track review:

1. "I Like": A sweet little acoustic opener that perfectly serves its purpose as an emotional tone-setter for the album. The lyrics tell of how it feels to be reminded of all the good things falling in love can bring after growing slowly jaded and skeptical of relationships.

2. "Tomas": This lively, almost dance-able track introduces the programmed elements of this album in full force. The music and lyrics are quite powerful and JK's vocal range is exquisitely showcased. But, I must say that I felt that the thematic content of this song feels a bit out of place compared to the other pieces.

3. "This Excellent Love": One of the most memorable tracks on the album. A perfect meld of acoustic guitar and programmed beats decorated with gorgeous harmonies. Lyrically, it expands upon the emotions expressed in track one beautifully, underlining the plentiful promises of a new love.

4. "The Miracle": Another gorgeous blend of the acoustic and electronic. The dream-like lyrics seem to focus on the trepidations we feel when emotions start to engulf us. The human beatbox effects seem a bit out of place at first, but they eventually blend very well with the rest of the piece.

5. "Flowers": The trepidations felt in the previous track entirely disappear in this track. This song jumps headfirst into those emotions and allows itself to be drowned in them: Let me taste in all directions/Teach me the way/.../To give and give impulsively/To think that nothing else could exist/ To be as vague as a verse/To describe the journey to him/Flowers burn me

6. "Song for the Service Industry": Also one of the standouts on this baby. This track melodically returns to the up-tempo of Track 2. Lyrically, its very unique because it uses sociopolitical metaphors (a faceless waiter speaking to the people he serves) to describe the frustration a person can feel when a relationship starts to become a bit too one-sided.

7. "Lightfalls": Hands down the most powerful track. Accapella with nothing but recorded ambient sounds of a rainy street, this one packs the strongest emotional punch and is also the most visual song on the collection. Must be heard to be truly understood.

8. "Mother": Beautiful, as expected, but not really a standout piece. A bit too long, the music and lyrics grow repetitive around halfway through the song. Honestly, it is a track that I skipped past during my third listen of the album. Nice, but not memorable.

9. "A Shadow": This song features some of the most brilliant tension building I've ever heard. The guitar work, harmonies, clicks and beats escalate slowly but surely as the song reaches its emotional peak.

10. "The Magic Word": Lyrically powerful but musically less so. I felt more when I read the words on the CD sleeve than when I actually heard the song. Once I knew a magic word that could/Change the world into a tiny worm/But then I learned so many words, I changed/My magic word it turned into a bird and flew away.

11. "The Little Cat Song": A gorgeous track musically and lyrically. The words describe the process of gaining emotional maturity in a sweet and very playful manner.

Overall, this is an excellent debut album that I highly recommend to every fan of contemplative singer/songwriters.

You can find out how to buy Jerome Kugan's Songs for a Shadow on his Myspace page: www.myspace.com/jkugan or go to troubadourskl.blogspot.com. Be sure to give him feedback on his music by leaving comments on his Myspace page.

For all you indie bands or artists out there, let us know if you have a gig coming up so we can include it in Reverb. Be sure to include the name of the event you're playing, what other acts are billed, time, place, date and entry fee, if any. Be good!

If you have any questions or suggestions for this column, please contact me at undergroundhum@yahoo.com.

-- Paul F. Agusta

Main Stage: Nervous Breakdown

2008-08-19T03:19:00.000-07:00

Nervous Breakdown: Caustic Hardcore Meltdown

Sun, 08/10/2008 10:26 AM | Entertainment

Hello boys, girls and those who are yet to decide. It's time for another extra juicy bite of Underground Hum, your weekly indie music column focusing on scenes here in Indonesia and the ASEAN region.

Thanks again for the really nifty emails you guys have been sending. Keep them coming.

And now, on to another fresh-from-the-oven installment of MAIN STAGE:

MAIN STAGE:

Nervous Breakdown: Caustic Hardcore Meltdown

The Indonesian hardcore and punk scenes are probably the strongest in the world -- at least in number. The scenes are massive and border on full-fledged fanaticism. It sometimes feels like every youth with a societal axe to grind has formed a punk or hardcore band.

I'll be completely honest. I think that the majority of hardcore bands in Indonesia (or at least the ones I've heard, and I've heard a LOT) aren't very good. Some of them (I'm so going to get mail for this) downright suck.

Because of this, I always get really excited when I come across a good hardcore band, one that gets it right.

Nervous Breakdown is one of those bands. They've got all the necessary elements down pat: loud, fast, yet melodic guitars mixed with hard-driving baselines, exuberant and sufficiently angry vocals, and the most essential element of hardcore (one that most local bands forget), masterful drumming. Timing is essential for all music genres, but especially vital to hardcore, punk and metal because the melodies are played at super high speeds. And the speed needs to be maintained, sustained and controlled throughout each song. Sloppy drumming wrecks timing and screws everything up. No amount of loud screaming vocals or screeching distorted guitars can cover up the mess that bad drumming can make.

Nervous Breakdown came into existence on March 5, 2006 when a group of depressed and angry musicians came together to turn their collective grievances into music. These angsty boys are Oyi (Vocals), Xeno (guitar), Freddy (drums) and Tommy (bass). Although the personnel remains consistent, the roles often change. The boys often switch instruments just to get a different feel and maintain freshness in their sound. This method works.

In June of this year, Nervous Breakdown got a leg up from Yogya-based net label Yes No Wave when they released a six track EP called Never Green. They have also appeared on several compilations released in various countries.

Just to give you an idea of good these guys are, they have been signed to BITE ME Records, a label based in Seattle, and they will release their first full-length album through Bite Me early next year.

For now you can download their EP from www.yesnowave.com or go to their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/nervousbreakdown2006.

That about does it for this week's Underground Hum. Don't forget to read next week's edition of Reverb.

See y'all next Sunday!

If you have any questions or suggestions for this column please contact me at undergroundhum@yahoo.com.

For all of you indie bands or artists out there, let us know if you have a gig coming up so we can include it in Reverb. Be sure to include the name of the event you're playing, what other acts are billed, time, place, date and entry fee if any.

--Paul Agusta

Main Stage: Neowax

2008-08-19T03:16:00.000-07:00

Neowax: Loud, Manic and Irresistible

Sun, 07/20/2008 10:38 AM | Entertainment

Hello, my lovelies, it is time for yet another Underground Hum, your weekly music column on indie scenes in Indonesia and the ASEAN region. I apologize for a rather long absence, but I'm happy to announce I'm back for good. Thanks again for the peachy emails you guys have been sending. Keep them coming.

And now, on to this week's edition of Main Stage.

Main Stage:

Bandung's such a crazy little town when it comes to music. It always leaves me dumbfounded, how many cool, weird yet fun musical acts you can find by simply digging around in the town's indie scene. I swear they've got nearly every genre under the sun. Feeling like some crazy free jazz with a hint of punk? Bandung has Sungsang Lebam Telak. In the mood for some old fashioned rock 'n' roll with a hint of funk? They've got 70s Orgasm Club. Shoegaze bands, you say? They've got at least a dozen. How about a little lo-fi noise rock injected with a shot of the psychedelic, then mixed with absurdist lyrics? I bring you Neowax, the subject of this week's Main Stage.

Neowax was formed in 2001 by four guys -- Ceplo (vocals, guitar), Valcon (vocals, bass), Aril (guitar) and Ibor (drums) -- who found inspiration and boatloads of fun in the music of 90s noise-masters, such as Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Pixies, Pavement and Sebadoh, as well as psychedelic poets Flaming Lips, My Morning Jacket and Grandaddy.

A most impressive list of influences, audible in their raw, lo-fi sound. Raucous and complex guitars with distortions ranging from light to severe, along with smooth but frantic bass lines, flirtatious and playful drum work and intentionally off-key ranting vocals recorded minimally (thus making up the lo-fi part of their musical identity) seem to be their signature. You have to hand it to these guys: Not many bands here have the guts to tackle a genre as unfriendly to mainstream ears as lo-fi indie rock, but these guys do it with flair, style and a clear understanding and appreciation for there chosen genre.

On their debut album, Ghost Treat Magic, their exploratory range within the genre is quite apparent. On songs like "Deep Refine Yawned Before Them" (track 2) and "Tribute to Ironic Criticalism" (track 4), they play more on the noise side of the spectrum by pumping up the distortions and letting the guitar screech and fly off in as many directions as possible. Meanwhile, on "Wishing the Yolk" (track 7), they seem to be swimming in a psychedelic sea by minimizing the distortions and letting the bass calmly take your hand on a quiet walk guided by simple drumbeats. The same feeling is evoked on tracks 8 and 9 ("Carrier Pigeon Lost in the Sky" and "Gaposis").

If the style progression within "Ghost Treat Magic" is any indication, the band is nowhere near finished exploring its sound -- a very good thing, in this writer's humble opinion.

For all the fans out there of noise rock or lo-fi indie rock, I highly recommend listening to these guys. It'll definitely soothe your distortion-addicted eardrums.

For now, you can hear Neowax on their pages, www.myspace.com/neowax or http://amp.channelv.com/neowax. Info on how to buy their CD, Ghost Treat Magic, is also available there or by emailing them at gaposis_neowax@yahoo.co.uk

Thus ends this week's Underground Hum. Do tune in next week for Reverb.

If you have any questions or suggestions for this column, please contact me at undergroundhum@yahoo.com

For all you indie bands or artists out there, let us know if you have a gig coming up so we can include it in Reverb. Be sure to include the name of the event you're playing, what other acts are billed, time, place, date and entry fee, if any.

Be good!

-- Paul F. Agusta

If you have any questions or suggestions for this column, please contact me at undergroundhum@yahoo.com

Main Stage: Music Beyond No Borders Vol. 2

2008-08-19T03:03:00.000-07:00

Presenting Music Beyond No Borders Vol. 2

Sun, 06/01/2008 10:44 AM | Entertainment

Welcome back to Underground Hum, oh you beautiful indie geeks you. As always, thanks for the feedback. This edition of Main Stage is going to be a little different than the ones you're used to, because instead of talking about one band, we'll be talking about a newly released local netlabel compilation featuring some of the coolest net-released bands out there. Now, let's get started.

Main Stage

By now, most of you are probably familiar with the netlabel concept, which is to provide a medium of expression and distribution for artists on the internet through what is called a Creative Commons License. The Creative Commons License allows people all over the world to download music by these netlabel artists for personal use at no charge, while anyone who wants to use the music for commercial use must then pay a small fee.

A few weeks ago (in UH Reverb Sunday May 4), the good Mr. Ari Ernesto P introduced you to Yes No Wave Music, a Yogja-based netlabel that has been providing a podium for local artists to speak from for the last two years.

Recently on May 25, the supercool and peachy keen guys at YNM have released their second annual compilation called Music Beyond No Borders Vol. 2. This compilation works as a decent sampler of music YNM has, still is, and will be releasing. Vol. 2 works off one very vast platform, which is "rock music". The bands compiled in Vol.2 provide various examples, experimentations, and explorations of that genre and beyond; be it surf rock, drone metal, death metal meets 8-bit chiptuning, electro-deathrock, down to your basic old buddy: the college indie-rock song.

Here's a track-by-track breakdown and quick bites to give you hints on what to expect of the compilation:

"Gravedigger 69" by Gravedigger A powerful kick-start to this compilation featuring roaring and rolling thunderous guitars, steady drumbeats over a cloud of effects and distortions, and punk-esque lackadaisical vocals.

"Wild Seahorses" by Southern Beach Terror A too cool for school surf-rock anthem filled to the brim with all the requirements of a good surf rock tune: calm cool swaggering guitars that stroll on like a gunslinger through swinging saloon doors looking for a fight, flirtatious drum beats and cymbal play, and plenty of crowd-rousing yells."Nervous Breakdown" by Shure 5 A short and densely-packed hardcore/metal screamer that opens with manic electronic blips and beeps before unraveling in pure unadulterated mayhem.

"Hymn for a Friend in the Sky" by J. Irwin A nice little pop-rock ditty with smart bluesy guitar-work that flirts with light pentatonic touches over dreamy organs, and laid-back sing-along vocals that'll reside in your head by the 2nd verse is brought to you by this member of Brit-rock inspired dream-pop collective Bangkutaman taken from his solo EP of the same title.

"Kecuali Mengenang Betismu, Oh Sembadra" by Sungsang Lebam Telak The very first Indonesian act featured on Underground Hum: Main Stage. These certifiably insane Bandung-based Jazz-mutilators are definitely one of the most interesting and worth-catching local bands out there. The piece included in this compilation is a psychotic piano and drum dance of seduction like I've never heard before.

"I'm With You" by Risky Summerbee & The Honeythief What starts out as a nice little poppy walk in the park quickly turns into a mad psychedelic ride of screaming guitars, manic drums, and bulldozing basslines before landing back into tranquility. A rollercoaster of a tune.

"Redicovering Atlantis" by Bla Bla Blast A persistently loud and in your face sonic blast of screams, hammering guitars, and frantic chiptuning/pitchbending beeps and blips. Definitely one of the strongest and most memorable pieces in the compilation, it takes you on a high that is almost impossible to come down from.

"Astral Altar" by Serigala Jahanam An intriguing although slightly longish drone-metal tune that plays quite nice with the contrast of low-tempo guitar work over growling vocals. All served with a thick haze of distortions.

"Side of a Day" by Evely Candy Machine A pleasant ambient electronic piece with calm steady beats, a lot of phasing, and a nice dreamy coat over everything.

"When Women Congregate" by Shorthand Phonetics A nifty little instrumental piano piece by this Bandung-based multi-instrumentalist, med student, and Underground Hum: Main Stage alumn. A very playful yet lively composition that will definitely get stuck in your head for at least two days straight.

"Merah" by JimboDivine A dreamy and uplifting synth-rock piece featuring steady drum beats that roll on forward like a steel train underscoring the inspirational lyrics and the chorus-like vocal arrangements.

You can download the entire album for free at http://www.yesnowave.com/albums/yesno013.htm. Be sure to also check out the full albums by some of the bands included in the compilation that are also available on the site.

That about does it for this week's Underground Hum. Be good now, children!

-- Paul F. Agusta

If you have any questions, suggestions, praises or curses just send us a note at undergroundhum@yahoo.com

For all of you indie bands or artists out there, let us know if you have a gig coming up so we can include it in future editions of Reverb. Be sure to include the name of the event you're playing, what other acts are billed, time, place, date, and entry fee if any.

Main Stage: Killeur Calculateur

2008-08-19T02:59:00.000-07:00

Killeur Calculateur: Kuala Lumpur's best kept indie secret

Sun, 05/11/2008 12:37 PM | Entertainment

Ahoy indie-mateys, welcome back to this week's Underground Hum with me Ari Ernesto P. This will be the last time I'll be your guide to the netherworld of music but before shaking hands and shedding tears, enjoy the ride! Let's stage dive right into this week's Main Stage!

MAIN STAGE:

This week I'm going to put the spotlight on one of the coolest bands around in the Southeast Asian indie music scene. Let me introduce y'all to Malaysia's Killeur Calculateur.

During their short Indonesian tour last April, I managed to catch them live, twice even, and I also eagerly grabbed their limited edition tour CD. From then on, I have become a committed fan of theirs and I bet you'll become one too!

Hailing from downtown Kuala Lumpur, Killeur Calculateur (KC) started when Smek and his three comrades-in-amps, Piut, Rafiq and Zamir, who were in numerous bands prior to KC (Utarid and Ellisabelle Tears), decided that they wanted to jump-start another band. A full throttle emotive hardcore blast with a hard-hitting yet groovy screamo post-punk sound. As for the genealogy of the name, Smek explained that "probably the bigger questions in life are calculated. And the answers lie in numbers." They contemplated on this numerical quest, and came up with the name Killeur Calculateur. Calculated or not, believe me they do indeed kill!

Inspired by angular post-punk bands such as Melbourne's My Disco, New York's Off Minor and Washington D.C's one and only Fugazi, they have become a band that isn't dwarfed by its origin. It would be wrong to assume that they are merely Southeast Asian copycats of Fugazi, because KC does possess its own flavor.

Musically KC combine jazzy bass guitar lines and odd-time drums signatures while letting both sharp trebly guitars do the talking. Not being your basic macho brotherhood type of muscle-core, KC manages to deliver songs that have integrity and soul. The personal lyrics convey passion and emotion, whereas the overall sound doesn't lose its power. In a nutshell, KC's songs are arranged to be noisy yet dancey enough for you to shake your booty, in a style that is their own: "We can't really pinpoint a line to describe our sound. Sorta harsh, sorta fast, sorta dancey, sorta punk, sorta noisy probably?", Smek enthused.

When it comes to songwriting, they work collaboratively, allowing no room for anyone in the band to slack around. Most bands delegate the task of lyrical composition to the hands of the singers or "screamers" but not with these guys. Each member contributes verbal ammunition to conjure up well-aimed lyrics that move and make you move at the same time: "All the band members contribute lyrics and song ideas as well, so it has a stronger creative force to it. Different views just make the screen wider" Smek explains.

This combination of sonically harsh-yet-catchy tunes are documented in three releases so far. The first demo CD was done by their friend from Utarid Tapes in 2006. A split seven-inch vinyl with a Texan screamo-hardcore band, Trifle Tower, was released in 2007 by Communique Records in California, and the latest is a special edition tour CD to accompany their first Indonesian tour.

On their Indonesian tour in April, KC rocked Solo, Yogyakarta and Bandung. The overall impression was ... ultra-impressive, leaving a memorable mark on both the band as well as the crowd. The band admits "...it was a rollercoaster ride! We started off shaky, unsure. Then moved on a thrilling part, and ended it with wide, adrenaline-ridden smiles". A return to Indonesia in the future is a definite consideration, because they love the vibe, the people and the music community. And to top it off, "The food rocked hard too!" exclaimed Smek with enthusiasm.

Killeur Calculateur is the perfect remedy for eradicating mediocrity and boredom when everything in the scene starts to sound the same. You can listen to their songs at www.myspace.com/killeurcalculateur, and please leave a comment on their MySpace page. They can also be reached at killeurcalculateur@yahoo.com

That's me, Ari Ernesto Purnama signing off for Underground Hum. Next week your beloved Paul F. Agusta will be back navigating this ship. Anchors aweigh! It's been a pleasure being your host for the past couple of weeks.

If you have any questions or suggestions for this column please contact JP's in house music geek at undergroundhum@yahoo.com. For all of you indie bands or artists out there, let us know if you have a gig coming up so we can include it in Reverb. Be sure to include the name of the event you're playing, what other acts are billed, time, place, date and entry fee if any.

Main Stage : Aneka Digital Safari

2008-08-19T02:47:00.000-07:00

for the entire month of April and the first half of May 2008, Underground Hum was very capably take over by the super-cool Ari Ernesto P. while I was taking an extended leave to shoot my first feature film.

ADS and the ugly truth about noise

Sun, 04/13/2008 12:35 PM | Entertainment

Hello and welcome back to Underground Hum all you indie-grounders out there. I am Ari Ernesto P, filling in for your kinda lovable, kinda cuddly host Paul F. Agusta.

In the next few weeks I plan to take you down into the nooks and crannies of the music scenes of the region.

Main Stage

In this edition of Main Stage, I'd like to introduce you to Aneka Digital Safari. Although the name Aneka Digital Safari is inspired by 80s TVRI show Aneka Ria Safari, their music is not in the slightest bit related to the origin of their name. Harsh noise is what this Bandung-based duo calls their music, and that, my friends, is an understatement.

Starting out as a hobby project in late 2005, ADS never morphed into a larger unit. Heickel Al-Katiri and Ricky Rhavasia are the brains behind this musical mayhem, and even though there are just two of them, they make enough noise for 10!

Noise, to a lot of conventional music enthusiasts, is not music. Heickel Alkatiri confirms this conception: "We don't describe noise as music, but as a spiritual reaction to what you believe and what you hate. It's an unknown orgasm".

Instead of playing "regular" musical instruments such as guitars, bass guitars and drums, Aneka Digital Safari uses a series of stompboxes (effect pedals for guitar and bass).

Heickel and Ricky scream and shout, producing a distorted wall of sound that is unleashed onto their unsuspecting audience during their less than 30 minute sets.

The concept of "the stage" is pretty much nonexistent in an ADS live setting. They prefer to play off stage and surrounded by their audience.

One might conclude that ADS only produces gibberish and nonsensical mumbo-jumbo but read their liner notes and you'll discover an array of offbeat themes. It's noise with meaning, so to speak.

An obsession with human waste and other dirty things seems to lie at the base of their lyrical content. As Heickel explains, their lyrics are an expression and analogy of the musical soundscape they create and the extremity of their arrangements. They are not merely there for the shock value.

The creative process takes place in their in-home rehearsal/recording space, which doubles as Heickel's bedroom.

Heickel explains: "We set up our stompboxes and mixers, and we use a compressor to distort sounds. Then we record it and scrutinize it. We use sonic home recording, that's it! No cool recording software whatsoever because my computer sound card is pretty awful -- but, hey, who cares."

The spontaneity of this process is the most powerful ingredient of their in-your-face ear-damaging home brew.

In Indonesia, noise is not really even considered a genre. Heickel says: "The ugly truth about noise is that it doesn't really pay, especially in Indonesia. We don't really care about what the audience thinks about us when we're screaming and banging our heads up and down!"

It's this boldness that has catapulted them into the international noise scene with three releases on an Australian-Indonesian label, Death Tiwikrama Productions. Their latest output on CD is entitled Mohel, released in 2007, and their upcoming release will be on an international compilation curated by a Belgian label, Sphyre Records.

ADS may not be suitable background music for your first date, in fact people's initial reaction to ADS might be far from enthusiastic. Nevertheless, ADS will just continue to play, whether you like it or not, since they don't play to please in the first place. A spiritual explosion and cathartic climax, as Heickel mentioned, are the two things ADS is after.

I dare you to check ADS out, especially if you are into outside-of-the-box music -- even though ADS themselves might consider the term "music" inappropriate.

You can find out more about ADS on their Myspace page: www.myspace.com/anekadigitalsafari. Be sure to give them feedback on their stuff by leaving comments on their page or contact them at anekadigitalsafari@yahoo.com.

That's me, Ari Ernesto, signing off on this week's Underground Hum. Blame the earache on me, but be sure to come back for next week's edition of Reverb.

If you have any questions or suggestions for this column please contact JP's in house music geek at undergroundhum@yahoo.com.

Main Stage: Hark! It's a Crawling Tar-Tar

2008-08-19T02:45:00.000-07:00

Hark! It's a Crawling Tar-Tar: Socio-political hardcore redefined

Sun, 03/23/2008 3:06 PM | Entertainment

Hello boys and girls and those who have yet to decide* It's time again for another super chunky bite of Underground Hum, your weekly indie music column focusing on scenes here in Indonesia and the ASEAN region. Now with extra chewy nougat* Thanks again for the really nifty emails you guys have been sending. Keep them coming.

And now, on to another fresh and juicy installment of Main Stage (now with aloe extract):

Main Stage

Hark* It's a Crawling Tar-Tar is a rather deceptive band. At first glance, some people (lazy listeners with a ridiculous need to immediately compare anything new with whatever is out there, no matter how forced the comparison may be) will immediately lump them as just another Indonesian Hardcore band. But if you listen closely to the way their compositions and lyrics are constructed, you will realize such a quick dismissal is a grave mistake.

This collective, which consists of Ari (vocals), Dede (guitar), Kenji (drums), Uep (bass) and Billy (guitar), is an amalgamation of two now defunct hardcore bands, Tuberculosis and Domestik Doktrin, that had fairly strong followings in the hardcore scene. The melding occurred when Tuberculosis lost its front man and Domestik Doktrin essentially broke up when three of its members left to eventually form Hark* It's a Crawling Tar-Tar.

Concerning their more than slightly off-kilter name, vocalist Ari explained it stemmed from a habit he had back in college of sketching and scribbling down random thoughts and words he had into his notebook. He thought of the tartar control toothpaste he used, and wondered how freaky it would be if the tartar in your mouth came alive and began crawling around your room.

This absurdist imaginative streak is indicative of the highly inventive chord changes and song structures they produce. The songs seem to be constructed in layers, evoking the sense each composition is a house with many rooms, each containing a piece of a puzzle that when put together, culminates in the revelation of the whole picture or the core meaning of the piece.

Their lyrical content, like many hardcore bands, are heavy in social and political messages. But instead of the usual curses toward the government and religion, the music of Hark* It's a Crawling Tar-Tar contains serious observations advocating a sort of mental Cultural Revolution, forcing people to question their own mind-set about things considered commonplace and rise up against the slave mentality that infects the minds of people in third world countries.

For the above reasons alone, anyone interested in music and lyrical content that is decidedly different from anything in the local hardcore scene would be highly remiss in not doing everything they could to get their hands on this music.

You can find out more about Hark* It's a Crawling Tar-Tar and purchase their music at www.thrashsteadysyndicate.cjb.net. You can also email Ari at sniesna*inbox.com to get a copy.

That about does it for this week's Underground Hum. Don't forget to read next week's edition of Reverb.

If you have any questions or suggestions for this column please contact me at undergroundhum*yahoo.com

See y'all next Sunday*

--Paul F Agusta

For all of you indie bands or artists out there, let us know if you have a gig coming up so we can include it in Reverb. Be sure to include the name of the event you're playing, what other acts are billed, time, place, date and entry fee, if any.

Main Stage: The Trees Are Alive

2008-08-19T02:43:00.000-07:00

The trees are alive: Of love and other global catastrophes

Sun, 03/02/2008 11:45 AM | Entertainment

ADPARA>Hello, my lovelies, it is time for yet another Underground Hum, and time to sneak a peek into some of the hidden gems of our local scenes with another edition of Main Stage; where I introduce you to yet another musical act you have never heard of (but is definitely worth listening to). Thanks again for the lurvely emails you guys have been sending. Keep them coming.

And now, on to this week's edition of MAIN STAGE:

Main stage:

In the last few months, I've started noticing a trend. It might be something that's been slowly brewing for a while and I've been slow at picking up on it, or it hasn't been well-exposed.

Nevertheless, I'm very excited about it.

The trend I'm speaking of is the slow emergence of lo-fi/home-recorded/bare-bones and honest singer-songwriters. This trend pleases me very much.

What warms my heart even more is the fact that most of them are quite decent. More impressive is that these individuals all quite young; the bulk of them still in or just out of high school. Their lyrics tend to follow the usual pattern of solo singer-songwriters: either deeply introspective musings about their own emotional experiences, or observations about the world around them through the eyes of their generation. The best among them do both.

A good example of the latter is The Wispy Hummers (18-year-old Joan Lumanauw (the subject of Main Stage a couple of months back), with her musings on religion, love, and isolation. Now we also have the subject of this week's Main Stage: The Trees Are Alive.

The Trees Are Alive is the moniker chosen by Global Jaya High School student Jamal Soemadipradja, and it represents his music quite well. The songs created by Jamal, a self-described songwriter/environmentalist/vegetarian/hippo fanatic, are a combination of simple mid-tempo acoustic guitar arrangements and lyrics merging his inner (emotions running the gamut from unrequited love to fear for the future) and outer worlds (the issues of deforestation, global warming and the eventual extinction of human beings).

Anyone familiar with the current wave of folksy singer/songwriters coming up in the American indie scene who listens to The Trees Are Alive, will immediately recognize the influence of the commonly called "omaha sound" pioneered by Conor Oberst and his Saddle Creek record label; most specifically the vocal quality and technique of Joe Knapp AKA Son, Ambulance. Despite this clear influence, Jamal's work is still very much his own.

To give you an idea of how this very young man accomplishes this, here is an excerpt from the poetic lyrics he combines with gorgeous guitar work in All that Ends Well Goes Well: The clock strikes 12/ And we brace ourselves/ for the blast that ends our past/ they take to the skies/ and uncover the disguise that they have held for so long/ Now I know my dear/You know that tonight will end this year/ and all we've come to fear/ Oh my dear/ Don't let those tears fall off your cheeks/At least we'll be together here.

To get a firsthand listen to how The Trees Are Alive weaves these thoughtful words into his emotional acoustic pieces, go to: www.myspace.com/thetreesarealiveandliving. If you like it, tell him so by leaving comments on his page.

Thus ends this week's Underground Hum. Do tune in next week for Reverb.

If you have any questions or suggestions for this column please contact me at undergroundhum@yahoo.com

Stay clean and go green!

-- Paul F. Agusta

For all of you indie bands or artists out there, let us know if you have a gig coming up so we can include it in Reverb. Be sure to include the name of the event you are playing, what other acts are billed, time, place, date and entry fee if any.

Main Stage: Elemental Gaze

2008-08-19T02:37:00.000-07:00

Elemental Gaze: Drawing then drowning your sorrows

Sun, 02/10/2008 12:57 PM | Lifestyle

Hello my lovelies, welcome back to Underground Hum, now in its spankin' new home on Sundays. To any new readers out there who are wondering what this little box of words is about, let us tell you a little bit about ourselves: Underground is a music column that emphasizes the independent or indie scenes in ASEAN nations especially Indonesia. Underground Hum comes in two refreshing flavors that alternate weekly; Main Stage, where we feature new and unsigned music acts from all over the region, and Reverb, where we give you all the dish on the happenings in music scenes all over the world as well as schedules for cool gigs going on in our neck of the woods. And now, on to this week's edition of Main Stage.

Main Stage

Electronic acts are a dime a dozen in the local scenes, every music geek with a computer and decent soundcard can (and most have) start calling themselves "electronic musicians". But frankly, most of them suck so badly that they'd be lucky to have careers recomposing top 40 songs as telephone hold music.

Like many other genres, the musicians or acts that do stand out are the ones that dare to be a bit different and mix it up a bit. This is the case with Bandung-based Elemental Gaze, a band that deftly and creatively weds the ambient subgenre of electronica with the dreamy, contemplative, and guitar-heavy sound of shoegaze.

Founded by Fuad Abdulgani and M.Myrdal in 2002 in Bandung. Elemental Gaze's sounds are inspired by musicians such as My Bloody Valentine, the Cocteau Twins, Brian Eno, Robin Guthrie, Ulrich Schnauss, Blur, and M83. The name Elemental Gaze is derived from the Robin Guthrie song, titled Elemental. The guys began to play a few gigs around their hometown, and slowly making a name for themselves for their unique blending of guitar distortions with blips and beeps.

In 2006, Myrdal amicably left the band and was replaced by Bilfian Sugiana (programmer and synthesizer) and Lutfi Kurniadi (guitar and keyboard). Since then, the band has received international accolades from various international music publications, despite still being unsigned by any label.

Also in 2006, the band self-released their first EP titled We Cannot Create Ourselves for Someone We Love. Two-thousand-and-seven saw them further exploring the possibilities of their genre-bending sound, as well as examining more traditional Indonesian music with either samples of ethnic instruments or playing around a bit with the pentatonic scale. They are currently recording new EPs, which they hope to release this year.

The sound of Elemental Gaze is not a sound born out of reckless joy or a disregard for deep thought. It is a sound born in the deepest reaches of the human heart and mind; the dark little space in the back of our heads where grief, loneliness, confusion, and unrequited desires are processed. It is the sound of a sorrowful soul in the midst of healing itself. Their sound takes off from a rather dark place, but will almost always progress into a brighter place before finally ending.

The music of Elemental Gaze is an experience no one should miss. To learn more about their music, you can go to the following sites:

www.myspace.com/elementalgaze

amp.channelv.com/elementalgaze

www.last.fm/elemental+gaze

www.deathrockstar.info/elemental-gaze

be sure to let them know what you think of their sound.

That's it for this week's Underground Hum. As always, please write me at undergroundhum@yahoo.com if you have any questions or even to recommend a cool band that you really like or to let us know of any gigs happening in your neighborhood that might be worth checking out.

Ta Ta for now. See you next week! -- Paul F. Agusta

Main Stage: 70s Orgasm Club

2008-08-19T02:29:00.000-07:00

70s Orgasm Club: Funking around with rock, soul

70s Orgasm Club: Funking around with rock, soul

Hello, my lovelies! Welcome back to Underground Hum, your weekly indie music column focusing on scenes here in Indonesia and the ASEAN region. Thanks again for the peachy keen emails you have been sending. Keep them coming. They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

And now, on to another funky fresh edition of Main Stage:

Main Stage:

Since The Strokes popped up earlier this decade, it has begun to feel like everyone and their frizzy-haired cousin is starting a garage rock band. The scene here is no different. The indie landscape has become littered with guys in tight jeans screaming into mikes and swaggering like Mick Jagger on a bender. Let's not mention names, but you rock stars know who you are.

At first glance it would be easy to lump the Bandung-based 70s Orgasm Club into the aforementioned throng of bands, but to do so would a huge mistake. These guys are in a class of their own.

While most bands futz the same chords to death and worry more about exploring their wardrobe than their sound, the boys of 70s Orgasm Club raid the past for inspiration on how to refresh this rather tired genre. Their influences range from Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye, Corduroy, Sam Cooke, and The Jackson Five to The Ramones, The Police, The Stone Roses, Beck and 70s blaxploitation film theme music.

This band made up of Ant (vocals and guitar), Rio (bass), and Echo (drums), met up in college, but they didn't start jamming together until early 2005. When asked about how their songs come together, Ant had this to say: "Usually I have a guitar lick with vocal melody, which I bring in to the studio and finish the song there. Sometimes we just jam like crazy and we just let it flow, we barely even talk. Just play our parts and let the music guide us. Oh and the ideas usually come from stuff that happened around us or just the need to sing a song to get rid of sadness and sorrow. "Most of the songs, Ant creates them by recording in his room and we ruin it ... hahaha," Rio added, "but some songs we play by jamming in the studio for about two hours. We decide the pattern, and finally Ant gives them some words."

Fans can expect a full length album from these funky soulsters some time next year as they are in the midst of preparing the material. "It will be a rock-guitar driven record, with in-your-face crazy fuzz guitar solos, filled with positive and love messages and really nice grooves and funk-rock songs," Ant explained.

"What I'm trying to convey mostly is the message of love, positivity, and to give no way for hatred and violence. Hopefully more people will pay more attention to funk/soul music. Because there's more in the 70s than just classic rock," he enthused.

As varied as their influences may be, their sound is a highly cohesive blend of old school rock 'n' roll and freshly picked guitar funk with a dash of Motown soul. There is absolutely no way you can sit still while listening to these guys. Their songs force you to get up off your behind and start dancing. Keep a lookout for any shows that have these guys on the line-up, they're truly excellent live.

For now, you can listen to 70s Orgasm Club on their Myspace page: www.myspace.com/70sorgasmclub. Be sure to give them feedback on their music by leaving comments on the page.

That about does it for this week's Underground Hum. Don't forget to read next week's edition of Reverb.

Catch y'all later,

-- Paul F. Agusta.

Main Stage: The Wispy Hummers

2008-08-19T02:25:00.000-07:00

The Wispy Hummers: Sheer beauty of simplicity

Features - January 12, 2008

Hello, my lovelies, it is time for yet another Underground Hum, your weekly indie music column focusing on scenes here in Indonesia and the ASEAN region. Thanks again for the peachy emails you guys have been sending. Keep them coming.

And now, on to this week's edition of Main Stage:

Main Stage:

Soft, whispery hums, simple chords and direct to the heart straight talking resonate gently from Joan Lumanauw's recordings. Not the usual stuff on Indonesia's mainstream or even indie music channels.

Ever since I seriously started listening to the music emerging from Indonesia today, I have been moaning and groaning to anyone who cared to hear it about the heartbreaking lack of talented and emotionally sincere solo singer songwriters. Only recently have I figured out why that is. They are simply not considered cool. Who would want to go out of their way to see and maybe even have to pay for watching one quietly reflective soul strumming out the contents of his/her heart, when one could experience the spectacle of a bunch of over-accessorized hipsters gyrating around the stage playing whatever highly amplified spin-off of the rock genre is in season this year?

In this increasingly image conscious indie scene, obsessed with what's cool and what's not, it's sad but not hard to see why simple, honest expression about the everyday slog of life can be so easily waylaid by the glitz and noise of the popular crowd. But then again, folk music has always been the soundtrack of lonely deep-thinking wallflower types. I doubt that Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell or even Conor Oberst were ever prom royalty.

Yet their music resounds worldwide because their lyrics and melodies mirror the collective human consciousness that struggles to understand existence.

Eighteen-year-old Joan, who records under the name of The Wispy Hummers because those words describe what she does, explains, "I think what drew me to the whole folk thing is its simplicity. You know I was a pretty lonely kid, and life wasn't easy for me so music became, for lack of a better term, my refuge. And I think the loneliness kind of fueled my songwriting. Even now, you know, I don't think I could write a good song if I'm feeling content. So for me personally the best music in the world is music that was written honestly, with a lot of heart, you know; well, at least those are the type of songs that I aspire to write. And all the production and the gimmickry would come second. So the songs I write are basically the kind of songs I love to hear."

She cites Dylan, Young, Mitchell and Bright Eyes, as well as Wilco, Elliott Smith, Tom Waits, Jenny Lewis, Jeff Buckley and Johnny Cash among her musical muses. Amd like them, she draws heavily on what she sees around her and what she feels about life when creating her songs. "Basically every time something bad happens in my life, I write it down. Every time I hear someone say something funny or meaningful or even complete nonsense, I write it down. Every time something baffles me, I write it down. When I have enough material for a song, I take my guitar, play some simple chords (the ones I know) and voila. But I write a whole lot that never makes it into a song," she said.

What she writes and what she sings has had me smiling with delight since I encountered it on MySpace. I am just so glad that someone is writing the kind of lyrics she does and that she has the passion and the courage to make honest and real music that real people can relate to and enjoy without worrying about whether it will be popular or please the teeming masses.

The Wispy Hummers is a rare find, a glorious flash of brightness in the murkiness of generic nature of most music being produced in the indie scene as well as the mainstream.

It is my sincere hope that people will take the time to learn more about The Wispy Hummers and give a listen to her dulcet tones at www.myspace.com/thewispyhummers. If you like Joan's music, tell her so by leaving her comments on her page.

Thus ends this edition of Underground Hum. Do tune in next week for Reverb.

Be good! - Paul F. Agusta

If you have any questions or suggestions for this column please contact me at undergroundhum@yahoo.com

Main Stage: Shorthand Phonetics

2008-08-19T02:22:00.000-07:00

Shorthand Phonetics play it smart and frenetic

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 11/24/2007 11:46 AM | Life

Hello, my lovelies, it is time for another Underground Hum, your weekly indie music column focusing on scenes here in Indonesia and the ASEAN region. Thanks again for the peachy emails you guys have been sending. Keep them coming.

And now, on to this week's funky fresh edition of MAIN STAGE:

MAIN STAGE:

There are some people out there that still think that to be a ""real"" musician you need to have access to all the right equipment, proper recording studios,sound mixing software and/or be ""discovered"" by a major label. Those people need to book the earliest flight to the 21st century.

Nowadays, artists all over the world are producing works in their living rooms or bedrooms using nothing more than laptops and a decent microphone. To mix their music they use a variety of software that is cheap and sometimes even downloadable for free.

And how are these people getting their music heard? The internet, of course. The last few years have seen the mushrooming of not only net-labels, but also sites that allow artists to post their profiles and music for the world to access (i.e. http://www.mp3unsigned.com/, www.dmusic.com, http://www.dmusic.com , www.soundclick.com, http://www.soundclick.com, etc.).

Artists like Indonesia's Ababil Ashari have become adept at leveraging all of the above to further their artistic endeavors.

A Medical Student at West Java's Padjajaran University in Jatinangor, Ashari has been independently producing and releasing his work since 2005, under the moniker Shorthand Phonetics and has garnered a solid international reputation among independents and e-music connoisseurs. What began as a five piece band, with Ashari being the main songwriter, Shorthand Phonetics is now a one-man band since the departure of his band mates to college in America and Singapore. The lack of band personnel has not deterred this multi-instrumentalist in any way. In some ways it has allowed him to be more prolific. He sings, plays guitar, bass, drums, and programs, produces and mixes his own music using nothing more than a laptop and a webcam mike. Very lo-fi but very tight.

However, don't let the barebones nature of his process fool you, his sound is not sparse at all. The sound that Shorthand Phonetics offers is nowhere near simple. What he brings is pure sassy and sardonic indie rock in the vein of early Modest Mouse and Guided by Voices, with lovably lackadaisical vocal swagger.

Staccato guitars with the occasional melodic strumming, frenetic drumming, and basic bass lines accompany loose vocals that talk about mundane annoyances of life, such as neurotic yet irresistible girls (Your Name is Fujioka Tsubasa ... from the album Apparently ... I'm in Medicine /Love, or the Illusion of the Beginning Symptoms of It) and romance with it's byproducts of neurosis and psychosis (It's Not That She is Nothing, it's Just That She's Not Everything also from Apparently.). When asked about the rather odd pairing of med school and a music career, Ashari had this to say: ""Shorthand Phonetics is effectively my diary, my memoirs. Time will only tell if I would go on to write albums about being a real doctor, and dealing with malpractice suits ha ha ha... I hope I still have time to record the songs. Its part of my double life fantasy I guess, I want all the glories that come with being a rockstar, without any of the risk.""

In the humble opinion of this writer, Ashari's future in music is a bright one, especially if he becomes as well known in his native country of Indonesia as he is known amongst the global e-music listeners.

In closing, Shorthand Phonetics will always make for a rousing, if not slightly rowdy, and fun treat for the ears; most definitely worth checking out.

For now, you can learn more about Shorthand Phonetics and give a listen to his first net release Fanfiction at www.archive.org/details.php?identifier=ShorthandPhonetics_Fanfiction Fanfiction http://yesnowave.com/albums/yesno008.htm Be sure to give him feedback on his music by leaving comments on his Myspace page at www.myspace.com/shorthandphonetics

Thus ends this week's Underground Hum. Tune in next week for Reverb.

See y'all later!

If you have any questions or suggestions for this column please contact me at undergroundhum@yahoo.com undergroundhum@yahoo.com For all of you indie bands or artists out there, let us know if you have a gig coming up so we can include it in Reverb. Be sure to include the name of the event you're playing, what other acts are billed, time, place, date, and entry fee if any.

Main Stage: Echolight

2008-08-19T02:20:00.000-07:00

Echolight: The shoegazing upstarts of post-rock dream pop

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 11/10/2007 5:31 PM | Life

Paul F. Agusta

Welcome back to Underground Hum, your weekly indie music column focusing on scenes here in Indonesia and the ASEAN region. Thanks again for the peachy keen emails you guys have been sending. Keep them coming.

And now, on to another dreamy dose of MAIN STAGE:

MAIN STAGE:

Shoegaze is called shoegaze because it is the music of the contemplative loner. The floating and spiraling movements of the heavily distorted guitars emulate the flow of random solitary thoughts that slither through one's mind. It could be said that shoegaze is music for the subconscious, a soundtrack for your dreamscapes.

Within Indonesia's independent music scene it's currently gotten to a point where you couldn't randomly throw a shoe without hitting a shoegaze or dream pop band. They're literally everywhere, but unfortunately most of them are considerably below par. What separates the good ones from the mediocre ones are the following elements: originality in composition, which includes creative chord changes and careful yet complicated layering of guitar distortions, solid interplay between the instruments, which means perfect timing (drums and bass guitar hold the key to this), and the ability to make the instruments engage in nonstop conversation with each other.

Bandung-based Echolight are one of the few shoegaze acts that get it. These boys exhibit a keen sense of instrument intercommunication as well as the ability to compose chords in an unusually creative manner. One of the things that highlight their originality is their ability to include very traditional Indonesian elements into their compositions. On some of their pieces (most notably on the entirely instrumental The Sky is Full of Colors), you feel the inclusion of the specifically Asian pentatonic notes paired with drumbeats that feel distinctly Malay. ""We try to focus our energy into making our arrangements sound as tight and tidy as possible. We don't want to do what other bands have done. Basically, we try very hard to be different. If we notice that another band had already tried something we were going to do, we immediately rethink it, until our piece becomes entirely original. We also study ethnic or traditional styles of music and try to include it into our work, so we can clearly sound different from other bands,"" explained keyboardist/vocalist/guitarist Rayhan Sudradjat

When asked why they chose this particular genre, Rayhan said, ""We feel like it reflects who we are. We have always been attracted to dark, gloomy, and contemplative music.""

Their attraction to that kind of music is apparent in their list of musical inspirations, which include Argentina, My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive.

Meanwhile on the tracks that have vocals, they prove they understand the main use of the human voice in shoegaze, which is not to clearly enunciate lyrical poetry, but to use it as an additional instrument that contributes to the dreamlike haze of the entire piece. This understanding is most apparent on their track titled Falling Down.

Another fascinating thing about these guys is that they're all under the age of 21. the band was found in 2005 by high school students Fariz Halim (lead guitar), Dito Setyasa (bass), Gega Darmawan (guitar), and Fendi Gustya (drums), with the inclusion of Gega and Fendi's underclassman Rayhan Sudradjat in 2006.

Amid the thick fog of distorted guitars out there, Echolight shines brightly through. These guys are worth looking out for.

You can find out more about Echolight on their Myspace page: www.myspace.com/echolightecholight. Be sure to give them feedback on their music by leaving comments on their Myspace page. You can also catch them live at the Smiles Waterfall gig series at Monik distro, Jl. Dr. Setiabudhi 56, Bandung on Nov. 17 at 6 p.m.

That about does it for this week's Underground Hum. Don't forget to read next week's edition of Reverb.

Catch you all later!

If you have any questions or suggestions for this column please contact me at undergroundhum@yahoo.com

Main Stage: Luky Annash

2008-08-19T01:39:00.001-07:00

Luky Annash: Mad, one-of-a-kind piano man

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 10/27/2007 4:32 PM | Life

Yes, boys and girls, it is time for another fun-filled Underground Hum, your weekly indie music column focusing on scenes here in Indonesia and the ASEAN region. Thanks again for the ultra-fab emails you guys have been sending. Keep them coming.

And now, on to this week's entirely enticing edition of MAIN STAGE:

MAIN STAGE:

Anyone that follows the music scenes in Indonesia (be it indie or mainstream) knows that singer/songwriters are a rare breed. If you're lucky you'll find some, but only less than a handful of them are worth talking about. Luky Annash, 23, is one of them. Luky is a rare breed among a rare breed. When the term singer/songwriter is mentioned, one tends to think of a person standing on stage alone with a guitar and singing. This fact is true especially in our region. Luky composes and plays his music on the piano. ""The piano is kind of like a lover to me. the piano understands me and I admire his patience,"" he enthused.

His passion for the instrument of his choice is both seen, in his performances, and heard in his compositions. A quick casual listen to Luky's work may cause some to brand him poppy and simple, but a closer listen will reveal the layers of complexity, both in his compositions and his lyrics. His music contains deep thought and a strong current of empathy for all that surrounds him. You can tell why that is when you hear him speak of his musical influences and how they have affected him: ""I tend to listen to female singers more. I try to understand this language of intensity in their feelings because I think that men are more logical and cold whereas women are more emotional. Growing up, I would listen to mainly female artists such as Tori Amos, Bjork, PJ Harvey, Fiona Apple, Sarah McLachlan, etc. there's also an introspective quality to their work that I like to explore. But it's not like I don't listen to male musicians. When it comes to technique, Tom Waits, Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman and Patrick Doyle are the fathers in my musical family. It's like having a mom and a dad, one side will take you on a wild ride with his noisy motorcycle and the other will teach you how to make a good dinner.""

He does get a bit annoyed when people call him the male Tori Amos; ""She's wonderful and more of a mentor to me. It's not like I am trying to become her.""

If I'm forced to describe his music using comparisons, I would say Luky's work contains the poppy friendliness of Ben Folds, Rufus Wainwright and Harry Nilsson, but possesses the raw and thinly veiled emotions one would expect from Amos or Apple. But above all, it's the playfulness of his work that will draw people to him.

While trying to get more of his stuff recorded, Luky has been steadily performing, either as a solo act, or as the keyboardist for the supporting band for Tika. His seldom but steady stage appearances have garnered him a small but faithful following that seems to grow in number after each one of his gigs. I suggest you look out for any shows with him on the bill. He is amazing live.

For now, you can learn more about Luky Annash and give a listen to his sound on his Myspace page: www.myspace.com/lukyannashmusic. Be sure to give him feedback on his music by leaving comments on his Myspace page.

Thus ends this week's Underground Hum. Tune in next week for Reverb.

If you have any questions or suggestions for this column please contact JP's resident music geek at undergroundhum@yahoo.com

See y'all later!

Main Stage: Sungsang Lebam Telak

2008-08-19T01:27:00.000-07:00

Underground Hum

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 10/06/2007 3:10 PM | Life

Paul F. Agusta

It’s time again for another Underground Hum, your weekly indie music column focusing on scenes here in Indonesia and the ASEAN region. Thanks again for the really nifty emails you guys have been sending. Keep them coming.

And now, on to another fresh and juicy installment of MAIN STAGE (now with aloe extract):

MAIN STAGE:

Sungsanglebamtelak: Jazz, Super-sized and re-energized.

Sungsanglebamtelak (SL*T), is a band that defies direct categorization. You could call their sound jazz, punk, or just three crazy guys randomly riffing on their instruments. All three monikers would easily apply. Instead of wasting time trying to pigeonhole them, let’s talk about how truly cool they are.

SL*T was founded in a university in Bandung, West Java, in 2005 by Literature majors Ageng (vocal, bass, piano, and drum), Dani (drum, piano, vocal) and Gembi (bass, piano). The utterly nonsensical name of the band (which literally means “breach-born, bruised and beaten to a pulp”) tells you that these guys play it very hard and loose.

With their music, SL*T seems to mock the snobbery and the “we’re-oh-so-chic” nature of Indonesia’s jazz scenes. Taking their cue from masters of Jazz improvisation, such as Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane, each of their songs goes through a kind of evolution from the opening riff to the closing note, as if it has grown a life of its own. This maverick spirit of improvisation is mixed with the equally rebellious and devil-may-care punk attitude clearly apparent by the loud screaming vocals and the vicious pounding of their instruments. When asked whether they would define their music as experimental free Jazz, bassist/pianist Gembi says, “We have our own name for the kind of music we play, we call it ‘super jazz’, perhaps, we're sort of afraid of the word ‘experimental’. Let John Cage and Yoko Ono take that label.”

Their creative process is also a very organic and unique one. “Everything's simple. We go to the studio. Jamming. Recording. And then we give it a title,” Gembi explains, “a silly thing that we do is we jam using body signals. For instance if Dani turns his head to the left when he’s drumming, that means that Ageng and I have to slow down our tempo, or when he suddenly looks down, Ageng and I stop.” Despite the often chaotic nature of their sound, do not underestimate the skill of these musicians. They are solid professionals. Each improvised note is calculated to correspond to the other notes thrown out there by their fellow band mates. ”Before we jam, each of us will contribute ideas concerning tempo, the emotional plot of the composition, and duration. The execution is completely improvised. We’re always open to ideas from each other... we don’t want to sound boring.” What these guys offer is the beauty of organized mayhem, and what an intoxicating sound it makes.

It’s their unique quality that drew the attention of renowned French free-Jazz net-label eDogm. The label founded by musician Johann Bourquenez has agreed to re-release SL*T’s previously self-released album "Kecuali Mengenang Betismu"(Except to Reminisce about Your Calf) under a creative commons license on their www.edogm.net website. The creative commons license means that anyone can download the band’s album for free, as long as the downloader agrees not to use the music for commercial purposes. This is quite a coup for this trio, considering that eDogm is incredibly well-known in global net-label circles to be an extremely picky label.

Although their music may not be everyone’s cup of tea, no one can mistake the sheer talent and complex thought behind it. Bottom line is, what these guys do is brave, exhilarating, and definitely worth some attention.

You can find out more about Sungsanglebamtelak on their Myspace page: www.myspace.com/sungsanglebamtelak or go to www.edogm.net to download their full album. Be sure to give them feedback on their music by leaving comments on their Myspace page.

That about does it for this week’s Underground Hum. Don’t forget to read next week’s edition of Reverb.

If you have any questions or suggestions for this column please contact JP’s resident music geek at undergroundhum@yahoo.com

For all of you indie bands or artists out there, let us know if you have a gig coming up so we can include it in Reverb. Be sure to include the name of the event you’re playing, what other acts are billed, time, place, date, and entry fee if any.

See y’all next Saturday!

Main Stage: Jerome Kugan

2008-08-19T01:03:00.001-07:00

Jerome Kugan, a poet with a laptop and a guitar

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 09/22/2007 3:10 PM | Life

Paul F. Agusta

Welcome to Underground Hum, a new weekly column focusing on ASEAN region independent music with a special emphasis on the growing Indie music scene in Indonesia.

This column will alternate biweekly to give you in-depth coverage. The biweekly segments will be: 1. Main Stage: profiles and reviews of currently unsigned/unknown indie music acts that have gathered small followings but remain unnoticed by record executives and the public. 2. Reverb: news and updates from Indie music scenes in Indonesia and around the world; who's got a new album, who is recording, what gigs are coming up, and other buzz.

And now, on to our first installment of Underground Hum:

MAIN STAGE: Jerome Kugan, a poet with a laptop and a guitar

Jerome Kugan, who was born in Kota Kinabalu on Borneo, is a small man who is busy carving himself an ever-growing niche in the arts, not only in his homeland Malaysia, but internationally.

Poet, singer, songwriter, short-story writer, culture columnist and visual artist, Jerome is also cofounder of ""Trobadours KL"", an organization focused on promoting Malaysian singer-songwriters worldwide. In fact, his activities in Troubadours KL, have made him a sort of poster boy for the Malaysian singer/songwriter scene.

The truth is that this bespectacled young man, whose diverse inspirations include Bjork, David Sylvian, Bonnie ""Prince"" Billy, Kate Bush, Suzanne Vega and Tracy Chapman, has become so busy organizing and promoting gigs for other performers that his fans and friends have become worried that he has left his own music on the backburner far too long.

Although Jerome has never stopped performing around the region, including having the honor of opening for renowned Swedish singer/songwriter Jens Lekman in KL early this year, he has never before recorded a full album, always getting stuck in the middle before dropping everything to help other artists. The result of this on-again-off-again approach to recording has been just a smattering of songs found in compilations or online.

Needless to say, fans of this artist, who belts vocals (quickly bringing Jeff Buckley to mind) to the accompaniment of his laptop-produced John Vanderslice-esque mix of acoustic guitar and electronic beeps, blips and beats, have begun putting the pressure on for him to put up or shut up.

Because shutting up is the one thing he could never do, Jerome, who started playing music in 1996 at the age of 20 while he was studying in Australia, is now completing the tentatively titled Songs for a Shadow, an album spotlighting his trademark traditional Malay vibrato combined with strong lyrical content (highly reminiscent of Suzanne Vega in its reflective quality but very much his own). This album, which is due out early next year, will feature songs that examine varied subjects, ranging from a cynic's return to love (This Excellent Love) to the feeling of connectivity one gets when one lives fully in the present (Now I Know How it Feels), and tales of solitude and isolation packed with sociopolitical metaphors (Song for the Service Industry). For now, you can listen to Jerome Kugan on his Myspace page: www.myspace.com/jkugan or go to troubadourskl.blogspot.com Be sure to give him feedback on his music by leaving comments on his Myspace page.

That about does it for this week's Underground Hum. Don't forget to read next week's edition for the premiere installment of Reverb.

If you have any questions or suggestions for this column please contact JP's newest resident music geek at undergroundhum@yahoo.com

See you!

the music video for Jerome Kugan's "This Excellent Love"