Efek Rumah Kaca

"..valiantly put their thoughts into words in an honest and modest way"














(2008) I freshly remembered when the first time I heard "Belanja Terus Sampai Mati" (Shop Till You Drop) in a spacious-luxurious Serena, with some close mates. It had a catchy intro, vivid starter for the rest of the song. I would have turned off my autism for a second just to indulge my senses with the lyrics. Efek Rumah Kaca (ERK) valiantly put their thoughts into words in an honest and modest way, in the middle of the fake-plastic aliens. Although they were newcomers, they bravely sprayed the most contradictory topics nowadays such as rotten politics, human bad habits, self empowerment and damaged environment, which not many artists were radical enough to do it.

A week later, I had a short visit to the northern hemisphere, a small city called Canmore in Canada. It was a quiet place that made me had a lot of time to explore the first craft of ERK. Number of tracks had been played repeatedly in my iTouch, especially "Di Udara" (In The Air), "Sebelah Mata" (One Eye), "Debu-Debu Berterbangan" (Floating Dust), "December", whereas almost made some diamond tears emitted from my deepest sight. The rest of the album materials just threw me back through the wormhole, to the era of my childhood. In a glimpse of an eye, I dragged myself into the lucid mixture of the 90s sound, from the artists like Brighter, Popinjays, Lowsunday, The Ocean Blue, Teenage Fanclub, Bluetones, Radiohead, The Sundays, Stephen Malkmus, Rumahsakit and Pure Saturday. That was the best encapsulation for the band's melancholic-powerful-pop atmosphere.

(later on, ERK's first self-titled album turned to be the soundtrack of my days in Canada, other than Hazel Gazel).

(2009) They released the second album called "Kamar Gelap", which became the latest release from Aksara Records this year. Please have a deep thought for "Balerina", that was the answer for my erratic mental condition early this year. ERK had saved me, pulled me out from the black hole.. And it would be my tremendous sin if I haven't shared their splendor. Enjoy..

* Debu-Debu Berterbangan
* Kenakalan Remaja Di Era Informatika
* Di Udara
* Lelaki Pemalu
* Sebelah Mata
* Balerina

Hazel Gazel

Escape To The Real World..









Hazel Gazel, being the musical project of Dono Firman, Ade Paloh, Mondo Gascaro, David Tarigan, and Bonky Leboy (the former three are also known to be the members of the group SORE, while there's no need mentioning the Jonis' David Tarigan), was intended to be an open-for-involvement musical effort, meaning it would bring in musical minds and personalities from different bands and of various styles to work together.

Unluckily up to now they have not yet released anything, neither an album nor an ep. Even so a couple of months back they did contribute the music for a chapter of Paul F. Agusta's second art-haus film.

Well..however unfortunately fortunate we still are...and I suppose a little eavesdropping wouldn't hurt, would it.. So here are three of their demo tracks for all of you curious cats:

* The Midday Lantern

* I Wearyour Light

* The Kinderwall

VA - "Janji Joni" Original Soundtrack (2005)

"Joni kept his promise..."



Almost without precedent, back in 2004 a small and relatively unknown label, Aksara Records decided to put out a soundtrack album for the third release in their catalogue. It was music from the film Janji Joni, a comedy directed by a young Indonesian director Joko Anwar. Both the movie and the soundtrack album became quite a notable event for the film and music scenes in Indonesia. Probably for the first time in Indonesian film history, a mainstream film dared to feature exclusively songs performed by the local indie musicians, and that a newly born indie label had just the right amount of madness to have released its soundtrack. The movie was successful, and the label grew to be one of the most distinguished side-stream labels by continually releasing critically acclaimed albums for the past five years.

A few tracks to recommend: "Konservatif" by the Adams; "(I Got) Johnny in My Head" by Teenage Death Star; "Senandung Maaf" by White Shoes and the Couples Company; "Funk the Hole" by SORE; "Do the Cobra" by the Jonis

download: janji Joni Soundtrack - pt 1.zip
janji Joni Soundtrack - pt 2.zip

visit:
aksararecords.com

Tiga Pagi (EP) (2009)

An Ode to the Small Wee Hours...



Once again the city of Bandung has justified itself to be the home of endless creative talents by offering us this self-released EP from Tiga Pagi (3 AM).

Not unlike Beirut with the Eastern-European music, this group of five youngsters from the East Bandung region has managed effortlessly and without pretension to blend their influences of Simon & Garfunkel with their own traditional heritage of Sundanese music. They cleverly create intricate patterns on acoustic guitars that at times could be mistaken for Sundanese zithers, and they top it off with the lyricism near worthy of Ebiet G. Ade and Iwan Abdurachman.

Clearly their music is an ode to the wee small hours, a perfect hymn for the nocturnal...when the last bitter drop of coffee keeps lingering in your senses like a lonesome reffrain..when only the moon dares to cast her fair glow upon this familiar porch of a sleepless exile...

Track List:

1. Sorrow Sound
2. Tangan Hampa Kaki Telanjang
3. Happy Birthday
4. Batu Tua

Download - http://rapidshare.com/files/266958194/Tiga_Pagi__EP_.zip

If you like their music, please visit - http://www.myspace.com/tigapagi

Three Sisters Edition

THREE special bands on volume #THREE, proudly made in Bandung, West Java. Please meet the Three Sisters edition:

1. Sindentosca - Uns' Mixtape!

Famous with the lovable song "Kepompong". You'll love him even more after listening to his previous works..

2. Cascade - Pieces of The World EP

They've once become the opening act of SORE - Ports of Lima launching in Bandung, last 2008. Should hear the mixes between Mew, Brother Kite, Trembling Blue Stars, and Blueboy.

3. Annemarie - ABC on TV

Ah..what should I say? One of the best Anorak Pop band from Bandung!

Enjoy your weekend.

Hugs,
Halfgift.

BELLO and HIS BELLY!

Bello And His Belly was formed by Dana, Dika and Satrio who started as good friends. The idea of making this band came from a song that Dana wrote that is considered as a different tune from his current band [Mic.o.wave].Dika [Too Late To Notice and ex Pee Wee Gaskins] and Satrio [ex Ivory], together with Dana thought that they should start a new band instead. Though none of the member named Bello, they found it remarkable to call themselves Bello which was inspired by a kid's show character "Si Komo". By chance, Bello is also a name of a friend with a huge funny looking belly therefore concluded their inspiration for the band's name.

Their two kings-of-convenience-ish songs are so enjoyable. After spending 12 hours at the office from 6 am to 6 pm, going home, passing through the traffic.. and yet you'll love BELLO to accompany..

* Bello and His Belly - Love in Blue Screen

* Bello and His Belly - She Keeps Herself Invisible

Kontakt: Dana ( +62 812 19539898 ) plus myspace.com/belloandhisbelly2

The Saymour - Five Star Hotel (2009)

Jakarta -based indie band: When The Strokes meets Blur. 

Check em Out: Five Star Hotel (2009).

Kontakt: Agam ( thesaymour@yahoo.co.uk )