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Gelora: Magnumentary of Gedung Saparua makes a case for archiving music history
Rich Music and Hazed Production are set to release a documentary feature highlighting the significance of Gedung Saparua for rock music community in Bandung.
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Forever rock: A press conference for the documentary feature Gelora: Magnumentary of Gedung Saparua is attended by (from left) Eben (Burgerkill), Aska Pratama (Rocket Rockers), director Alvin Yunata, Edy Khemod (Seringai), Lukman Laksmana (Superglad) at CGV Grand Indonesia on June 6.
(Rich Music/Courtesy of Rich Music)
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hroughout the last four decades of the 20th century, Gedung Saparua had become the ultimate destination for the youth across Bandung who wished to experience a one-of-a-kind rock music extravaganza. Understanding how influential the venue was in cultivating the city’s rock music community, Rich Music partnered up with Hazed Production to make a documentary feature titled Gelora: Magnumentary of Gedung Saparua -- which is expected to be released on various OTT platforms on June 15.
Directed by musician and journalist Alvin Yunata, the one-hour documentary offers testimonies from rock musicians and music journalists of various backgrounds as they share their memories and observations on Gedung Saparua during its heyday. The interviewees for the documentary include Arian13, Dadan Ketu, Eben, Wendi Putranto, Fadli Aat, Idhar Resmadi and many more.
Speaking with The Jakarta Post, Alvin revealed that the conception of the documentary was rooted in a collective desire to showcase Indonesian rock music. “We wanted to shed light onto rock music in some way, but we only had three months to shoot,” he said. “So we asked ourselves, ‘What kind of story that we can document in just three months?’ Then Gedung Saparua came to our minds because this venue was once crucial for the rock music community in Bandung. It was a melting pot for all kinds of musicians across the city and the media seemed to start taking notice of its significance as well.”
As a youth, Alvin had personally witnessed the euphoria. “It was back in ’94. I was a sophomore in high school and my friends and I were into hardcore music at the moment. One day we went to see the first Hullabaloo event in Gedung Saparua and I remember it was my first time seeing [90s era Bandung-based band] Pure Saturday. I was, like, ‘What the hell is this?’” he chuckled.
Regardless of all the glitz and glamour surrounding Gedung Saparua back in the day, what Alvin found the most attractive from the prominent venue was the abundance of diversity. “Back then, genre-wise, you could find all kinds of musicians performing at Gedung Saparua – from punk to hardcore to metal to alternative bands like Pure Saturday. It was a complete package,” he added.
Being one of the film’s interviewees, Eben of underground metal band Burgerkill gushed over how Gedung Saparua was influential for his evolution from being a fan to being a performer. “[Back in the early 90s] I had moved from Jakarta to Bandung. So when I saw lots of different performances taking place in this venue… Well, I had never seen anything like that in Jakarta!” he heaped. “Soon I started performing with my first band and our audience was huge but orderly and none of them caused any trouble. It was really wonderful and I got hooked [to Gedung Saparua] afterward. Even when I wasn’t performing, I felt like I had to be there.”
