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at a GLIMPSE : Make Mr. Curtis proud
The death of Ian Curtis, frontman of Joy Division, in 1980, may be remembered as one of the darkest days of post-punk, but his legacy lives on
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he death of Ian Curtis, frontman of Joy Division, in 1980, may be remembered as one of the darkest days of post-punk, but his legacy lives on.
More than 25 five years later, far away from Macclesfield, England, where Curtis began and ended his life, four lads united with an adoration for the icon.
They formed a band and bravely call it The Porno.
"The Porno is our lives," says vocalist Hangga, blessed with Curtis-esque raw vocals.
Subliminal, their full album debut can be heard as a beautiful tribute to Curtis and Co.'s music. Of course, it is 100 percent made in Indonesia, with an Indonesian touch.
Making up the band also are Yanu on bass, Bowo on drums, and Pandu on guitar. Post-punk is the term they use to describe their music.
But what is post-punk?
Music critic Greil Marcus, in his Rolling Stone article back in 1980, described post-punk as, "Sparked by a tension, humor, and sense of paradox plainly unique in present-day pop music." You can feel this in The Porno's music.
With their recent show, Subliminal, The Porno can be described as our local reincarnation of post-punk.
You're probably already familiar with Interpol, The Strokes, or The Rapture, all names that are ambassadors of the post-punk revival. Now, Indonesia has The Porno.
"Subliminal was originally made between the 2005-2008 period. We started to work on this album since 2006 in three different places. But we found difficulties creating the sound we wanted until we met Iyub," explains Hangga.
Iyub, the producer of Santamonica and Monkey to Millionaire, agreed to do sound engineering and be the band's producer.
"He gave us valuable advice," says Hangga.
Hangga and the boys are said to have a right to be proud of their work. Mr. Curtis - wherever he is right now - also should be proud. His followers have been reported do marvelous things in an eccentric way.
"One day, The Porno will leave a legacy of its own," says Hangga. The Porno can be followed at www.twitter.com/the_porno.
- Felix Dass
At a Glimpse is about the local music scene. Give us a shout at sundayglimpse@gmail.com. Also, become our friend at www. facebook.com/sundayglimpse and follow us at twitter.com/sundayglimpse.
