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Sigmun: Finding Themselves After four Years
Courtesy of Robby Wahyudi Onggo
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Courtesy of Robby Wahyudi Onggo." height="341" border="0" width="512">Courtesy of Robby Wahyudi Onggo.Rock band Sigmun from Bandung, West Java has a clear vision as to why they named the band based on the renowned psychologist Sigmund Freud: They believe that the music they make is coming spontaneously from their subconscious minds.
Formed in 2011, Sigmun consists of Haikal Azizi (vocals/guitar), Soedjono âJonoâ Sosroatmodjo (guitar), Mirfak Prabowo (bass) and Pratama âTamaâ Kusuma Putra (drums). Their music can be best characterized as riff-heavy blues sounds that twist and turn until they climax in a theatrical way.
Thatâs hardly an original description; from Led Zeppelin to the Swans, Sigmunâs influences could be worth a paragraph of their own.
And thatâs not a problem. For one thing, owning up to influences is okay; carving out a space from them is even better. Thatâs exactly what Sigmun has been doing for four years.
They nod to old-school, ferocious psychedelia, but the music that comes from âtheir subconscious mindsâ is another thing: Sigmunâs songs often are stretched into a long, distortion-driven jams before a sudden key change may alter your entire judgment.
This week, they released their debut record entitled Crimson Eyes, an 11-track LP with traces of influences that merely inspire instead of mold.
For long-time fans (and there really are long-time fans of Sigmun, as their consistent performing duties filled the absence of an official, well-documented release), the record will surely go down as a treasure.
The songs vary in length, sometimes they can go on for eight minutes, sometimes just a mere three, but Sigmunâs hard-rock, unconventional song-structures are largely intact.
On Crimson Eyes, the songs were fashioned with an impressive attention to detail. The clean production that might have otherwise have buried the songs in unlistenable dross certainly worked its charm.
Pay attention to the astronomical risk they were willing to take on the record, especially on songs like âInner Sanctumâ, âGolden Tangerineâ and âAerial Chateauâ. The transitions in these songs are delightfully seamless and the songs themselves are rousingly epic.
Sigmun is also a band grounded in its membersâ individual talents.
Crimson Eyes will bring you Tamaâs restrained drumming, Haikal and Yonoâs guitar interplays that stack upon each other like a game of Jenga and, of course, Haikalâs sharp and controlled vocals that deliver punches into every line of a song.
Courtesy of Robby Wahyudi Onggo. Rock band Sigmun from Bandung, West Java has a clear vision as to why they named the band based on the renowned psychologist Sigmund Freud: They believe that the music they make is coming spontaneously from their subconscious minds. Formed in 2011, Sigmun consists of Haikal Azizi (vocals/guitar), Soedjono 'Jono' Sosroatmodjo (guitar), Mirfak Prabowo (bass) and Pratama 'Tama' Kusuma Putra (drums). Their music can be best characterized as riff-heavy blues sounds that twist and turn until they climax in a theatrical way. Asked whether they think there's any isolated attempt to record the album in different settings from the more popular live ones, frontman Haikal said: 'Honestly, we didn't try to bring something new to the table, since there's a lot of people who are not familiar with our music.'
That's hardly an original description; from Led Zeppelin to the Swans, Sigmun's influences could be worth a paragraph of their own.
And that's not a problem. For one thing, owning up to influences is okay; carving out a space from them is even better. That's exactly what Sigmun has been doing for four years.
They nod to old-school, ferocious psychedelia, but the music that comes from 'their subconscious minds' is another thing: Sigmun's songs often are stretched into a long, distortion-driven jams before a sudden key change may alter your entire judgment.
This week, they released their debut record entitled Crimson Eyes, an 11-track LP with traces of influences that merely inspire instead of mold.
For long-time fans (and there really are long-time fans of Sigmun, as their consistent performing duties filled the absence of an official, well-documented release), the record will surely go down as a treasure.
The songs vary in length, sometimes they can go on for eight minutes, sometimes just a mere three, but Sigmun's hard-rock, unconventional song-structures are largely intact.
On Crimson Eyes, the songs were fashioned with an impressive attention to detail. The clean production that might have otherwise have buried the songs in unlistenable dross certainly worked its charm.
Pay attention to the astronomical risk they were willing to take on the record, especially on songs like 'Inner Sanctum', 'Golden Tangerine' and 'Aerial Chateau'. The transitions in these songs are delightfully seamless and the songs themselves are rousingly epic.
Sigmun is also a band grounded in its members' individual talents.
Crimson Eyes will bring you Tama's restrained drumming, Haikal and Yono's guitar interplays that stack upon each other like a game of Jenga and, of course, Haikal's sharp and controlled vocals that deliver punches into every line of a song.
He went on to explain that any attempt to sound new could have messed up Sigmun's songwriting.
His explanation makes sense, too: The songs on Crimson Eyes sound organic and not directly tailor-made for the stage. Don't get me wrong: They sound great on stage, but you can't swiftly compare them to the music they made on Crimson Eyes.
Sigmun honed their craft for four years before releasing a proper LP. Finding a sound, a beat, a rhythm and a character that would go on to characterize a band sure isn't easy work in any period of time, but on this LP, Sigmun nailed it squarely.
Crimson Eyes is Sigmun's first LP, but it might as well sound like their third or fourth. And as new guys, that's not bad at all.
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