Bandung rock-band CJ1000 talk debut album, psychedelic influence and breaking out of their non-existent campus scene.

On July 15, vitamin-drink-sounding Bandung, West Java, punk/rock/metal group CJ1000 released their debut studio-album Midnight Ambush after putting off its release for almost a full year. Although the album only received a couple of lukewarm reviews, Midnight Ambush is undoubtedly a solid rock record with a just amount of dyed-in-the-wool foolhardiness (barring some awkwardly timed bridge tracks). It shows plenty of promise.

The music and the writings might come across, sometimes, as a bit goofy -- if in a positive way. In one song, band lyricist and vocalist Muhammad Fardlan Hakim sings about walking home after school across a military compound with a bagged drink and crisps bought for Rp 1,000 (US$0.06). 

Next, he sings about throbbing pain in his buttocks. All these are sung over heavy riffs dripping in fuzzed-out malice.

No brakes

CJ1000, still unnamed back then, started as a conscious antithesis to the band members’ on-campus environment, where ska and reggae cover bands dominated music events. 

“We were just bored. Our campus back then was full of melenoy entertainments,” Fardlan said to The Jakarta Post on Sept. 9. 

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