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Surabaya in the eyes of Silampukau
Felix DassSurabayaâs image will never be the same again after Silampukau â one of the cityâs homegrown bands â came out with stories about life on their home turf in their new album
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Felix Dass
Surabaya's image will never be the same again after Silampukau ' one of the city's homegrown bands ' came out with stories about life on their home turf in their new album.
For a metropolitan city like East Java capital Surabaya, life has many different facets, from business-oriented activities all around to the fast pace of life.
Still, inside the city's alleys, many of its people find space to talk to each other, laughing over coffee ' having a good time.
Eki Tresnowening and Kharis Junandharu of the Silampukau band are good examples of Surabaya's
residents who are forever in love with the city.
The band, with help from a couple of friends, made a brilliant debut album entitled Dosa, Kota dan Kenangan (Sin, City and Memories).
The album tells of Surabaya ' their playground ' in a very noble way, about how people face challenges, from earning a living in the daytime while creating stories for the future inside their minds and, later, dancing the night away in the last leg of the day.
Setting up Silampukau is another part of the story.
'We like to talk to people anywhere we go within Surabaya. It can be in small alleys during lunch or dinnertime, bus terminals, train stations, street corners in our neighborhood, anywhere,' said Kharis, who writes most of the songs in their new album.
'This city has room for it. We get many interesting stories from people we meet. We see things in their real conditions. That makes the city interesting.'
The band builds harmonies through acoustic guitars and vocals played by Eki and Kharis.
They play different tones and pitches of vocals that make the format quite easy to digest.
In some parts of the songs, they invited friends who play cello, drums, bass and a few other instruments.
Silampukau probably just starts their journey, but what they play, stunningly, probably lies in the same league as legendary folk artists like Gombloh, Franky Sahilatua or Leo Kristi.
'For us, folk music is way bigger than punk rock. If punk rock teaches you to be a rebel, folk music leads you to scale it up. It has the 'rebellion' feel, ballads and, on top of all, it guides you to celebrate life. That's what we do with Silampukau,' Kharis said.
'Doa 1', the album's leading single, reveals a bitter fact about being a young man in the indie music scene with no chance to play in bigger scenes since he is against the mainstream.
The composition becomes more interesting when they add a survival issue in the next part, such as a contradiction between choosing freedom or facing the reality of the need to pay daily bills.
The anthem 'Malam Jatuh di Surabaya' (The night falls in Surabaya) is a ballad about living in the metropolis, where they capture daily scenes at Jl. Ahmad Yani ' one of Surabaya's busiest streets ' at the time when commuters leave their offices in the busy district to return home. The story was beautifully written by Kharis and filled with slide-guitar tones in some parts, making the song a bit haunting yet contemplative.
Eki's contribution to the album can be found on 'Bola Raya' (the great ball), a protest against the city's decision to grant permits for constructing tall buildings across the city, which leaves children with less choice to find space to play soccer outside.
The album's other songs, 'Sang Juragan' (the boss) tells about the illegal liquor that has been an integral part of the city for ages and, in a way, colors people's lives and 'Sang Pelanggan' (the customer) is the latest addition to the album that voices the story about Surabaya's red light district, Dolly.
The album's songs, written from 2009 to 2014, are relevant to Surabaya.
'It took us more than five years to finish the album, so many changes happened, but we're here,' Eki recalled.
Previously, Silampukau released an EP called Sementara Ini (In the meantime) in 2009.
For the new album, the band did not use a large distribution service, but worked independently by self-releasing the album.
The band also toured Jakarta and Bandung to promote their album this month.
They were pleasantly surprised to find out that some of the people in the audience could sing their songs, like 'Doa 1' or 'Malam Jatuh di Surabaya'.
'This is our first tour outside Surabaya and we never thought the reception would be like this. It's definitely our best gig ever,' they told The Jakarta Post after a show in Kedai Tjikini, Central Jakarta.
The documentary collective, Sounds from the Corner, filmed the gig and will screen it as concert movie later this year.
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Dosa, Kota dan Kenangan is available in stores or you can get it directly from the band, which can be contacted at silampukau.com.
