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.

*Box*

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.

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