Pioneers of 'collage rock' share their love of music and each other

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 10/09/2005 1:06 PM  |  Life

Paul F. Agusta, pfa0109@yahoo.com, Contributor, Jakarta

One muggy Sunday night, outside of a cafe in the basement of an office building in the heart of Central Jakarta, five guys sit on the floor talking. As usual, the conversation veers off in the direction of music; the songs just presented at their friends' album launching, then eventually to their own creations.

Ade Firza Paloh, Awan Garnida, Gusti ""Tendy"" Pramudya, Ramondo ""Mondo"" Gascaro, and Reza ""Echa"" Dwiputranto are Sore, the newest phenomena in Indonesia's indy scene, and one of the top five bands in Asia, according to Time magazine.

""We really respect the Brandals, they're nice guys, and incredibly down to earth,"" said Ade of the band they had been moshing to all evening with the crowd of pre-teens and slightly older folks, who had turned out at Colours Caf.

And from the looks on the faces of the music fans gathering excitedly around Sore that night, the five young men are also perceived as one of the friendliest groups of musicians ever to grace the top spot on Jakarta's radio charts. The band, whose single Lihat has been at number one for the past two weeks, as well as sliding into the same slot on Rolling Stone Indonesia magazine's album chart with their debut Centralismo, greeted everyone equally, shaking hands, asking fans for phone numbers and emails so they could keep them posted on upcoming gigs and releases.

As Bemby boldly put it, ""Honestly, I feel that there are so many bands out there that focus mostly on appearance and attitude, while their creations are ... ugh.""

Ade chimed in, ""The most powerful waves are the calm, gentle ones"", as the rest of the band roared with enthusiasm.

""We just basically focus more on our creations, and let our personalities show through that. We are what we are,"" said the jolly, portly most-of-the-time drummer, Bemby, with a grin.

This group of versatile musicians -- Bemby plays drums, a variety of other percussion instruments and guitar; Ade plays guitar; Mondo plays piano, synthesizer, and guitar; Awan plays mostly bass, and Echa plays guitar -- each double as vocalists in turns on all of their tracks. As well, they are known for inviting in other musicians to enrich their already unique and creative sound.

""We are always open to collaboration,"" said Awan, a Paul McCartney fanatic with a modest smile. ""We see other musicians as brothers. We are always looking for 'temporary members' of Sore to work with.""

Not only do they collaborate openly with other individuals and groups, such as Tika, The Miskins, and Orkes Perguruan Cikini, they compose Sore's own music both singly and collectively. Individually they are shining stars; together they make a super nova.

Keyboardist Mondo is the vortex of their creative process. ""The one thing that maximizes Sore's music is Mondo. Without him, we would not be Sore,"" Bemby said. ""He's like the box we throw everything into, and he glues it all together,"" added Ade.

Either Bemby, Ade, Awan or Echa, or all, will toss chords and words -- the skeletons of a song -- Mondo's way, and he will blend the sounds and ideas from everyone until they become a cohesive whole that the entire band is proud to label a ""Sore creation"".

""All five of us put our anxiety, happiness, sadness, and everything we are into this expression of musicality,"" Ade explains.

Sore's musical products are a pastiche of several genres gleaned enthusiastically from listening to and experiencing the music of the various decades of the 20th century, and culminating in what can only be described as ""collage rock"", a totally new, totally exciting sonic experience.

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