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Jakarta Post

Tribute to the Metropolitan

Every great rock band has paid tribute to their hometown

Felix Dass (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sun, September 5, 2010

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Tribute to  the Metropolitan

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very great rock band has paid tribute to their hometown. Wilco recorded Yankee Hotel Foxtrot in part as homage to Chicago. Interpol wrote NYC as a forlorn tribute to the Big Apple, while punk greats The Clash composed London Calling to remind them of their roots in the titular city.

Jakarta-via-Yogyakarta band Bangkutaman is another band continuing the tradition. Earlier this month the band released Ode Buat Kota (Ode for the City), a Brit-rock inflected album that soon garnered rave reviews and sent the blogosphere abuzz. And the fact that Bangkutaman seem to be bursting out of nowhere has provided an intriguing backstory to the band.

The rise of Bangkutaman is the stuff of indie rock lore. Some likened them to the founding of the Smiths, when guitarist Johny Marr and singer Stephen Patrick Morrissey teamed, when guitarist John Squire teamed up with Ian Brown to start the Stone Roses or from recent memory, when the Gallagher brothers plotted world domination with Oasis.

The band formed in the early 1990s when Wahyu “Acum” Nugroho (bass and vocals) J. Irwin (guitar) and Dedyk Irianto (drums) went to college in Yogyakarta and soon found themselves enamored with the Stone Roses.

Back then, the independent music scene in Yogyakarta still paled in comparison to the thriving scenes of Jakarta and Bandung. Bangkutaman was practically unheard of in the cacophony of critically-acclaimed bands like Pure Saturday, Cherry Bombshell, Rumahsakit, Pestolaer, Jukebox and Wondergel — mainstays of the indie scenes in the two cities.

In 2003, Bangkutaman grabbed attention by independently releasing Love among the Ruins. The mainstream media failed to take notice when the band founded their own label, set up their own distribution network and relentlessly toured.

But, they soon shot onto the radar when MTV Indonesia started to broadcast their music video Kabut (Fog), a single from that album.

Bangkutaman soon gained their much-deserved recognition and the band became an ambassador for the Yogyakarta indie scene. Band members shuttled between Yogyakarta and Jakarta to perform and handle their business deals.

But problems soon arose. In a classic example of an indie band straining under the pressure of instant stardom, Bangkutaman soon dealt with intra-band tension.

The band’s second record Garage of the Soul is the result of Bangkutaman’s members clashing over artistic direction. The album is a radical departure from the debut record, with Irwin and Acum trying to dominate the musical style of the record.

“This is the first time I’ll say it in the media, we didn’t even talk during the Garage of the Soul sessions,” Irwin said. “If I need to talk to him [Irwin], I talked to Nuki — Bangkutaman long- serving manager — then he would relay my message,” Acum said.

Asked what kind of artistic difference they had, Irwin said: “I was more into John Squire type of play; sometimes I used Jimmy Page’s style of playing. Acum on the other hand wanted a more folky approach.”

“We got to the point where nothing could be reconciled. So I let Irwin go ahead; if he wanted to play the Stone Roses thing, then he could do it but not with Bangkutaman,” Acum said.

Following the release of Garage of the Soul, Bangkutaman made an effort to work together to promote it. But Irwin soon left the band to form Johnny and the Pistol Heroes. After that short stint, he recorded two solo projects and released them as EPs.

Acum and Dedyk retained the name Bangkutaman and brought the band to Jakarta. But deep in their hearts, the two members believed Irwin would come back.

“Dedyk always told me not to worry as he believed Irwin would be back,” Acum said. As Bangkutaman, they hired session men to fill the gap left by Irwin. “But we felt that something was off, no one could replace [Irwin].

“For Bangkutaman’s live shows, I was the only remaining original member. I asked some friends to join the band, but it was not Bangkutaman. It’s a shame.

“I was pretty vacant at that time, full of anger and immaturity,” Irwin said.

A couple years later, Irwin relocated to Jakarta and Acum was the first to lend a hand.

The band soon plotted a reunion, which took place in March 2008. “The first gig was a disaster. I didn’t even remember some of the chords,” Irwin said.

But the band gelled quickly enough. Jakarta has also been kind to them. They are Jakartans, after all.

Acum was born and raised in Depok, a suburb south of Jakarta, where he has settled again. Irwin grew up in Bekasi and now lives in Serpong, while Dedyk just moved to Sawangan, south of Depok.

All band members now have day-jobs that require them to commute to their offices. Living, working and commuting in Jakarta has become the source of inspiration for Ode Buat Kota.

“We did not design Ode Buat Kota as a tribute to Jakarta, but as we went along we felt that Jakarta has become part of our story,” Acum said. The album marks a turning point where all members finally came home to roost.

“It’s an album about migrating; we want to tell people that Bangkutaman is home, back to Jakarta,” Acum said.

Acum and Irwin evenly share the credit for the album’s songwriting. It was hard for them to meet and write songs as a team, given their tight work schedules and the difficulty navigating hectic life in Jakarta. “Even if, for example, Dedyk showed up one-and-a-half-hours late because of  traffic, we’d be OK,” Irwin said.

But in spite of the logistical problems, Ode Buat Kota is by far Bangkutaman’s best record.

Acum and Irwin have keen eyes to portray the life of middle-class Jakartans, which is in fact a reflection of their daily lives. It documents the band members’ love-hate relationship with Jakarta. The only thing that band members could agree on is that Jakarta offers them a lot of opportunities. “I always remember how Dedyk said to me that if I wanted to look for money, then head to Jakarta. I couldn’t agree more.

Anything is possible here,” says Irwin.

The album is about the mundane side of Jakarta, the difficulties in coping with its myriad problems.

“Everything is about daily life. I fight a lot with my wife just to decide which road we should take,” Acum adds.

Knowing the genesis of the album, it is plain to see this is the perfect album for those jaded by Jakarta when the sun doesn’t shine but always returns the next day.

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