Belting my heart out: The band sings about politics, spirituality and humanity.

On its debut album, Jakarta rock band Max Havelaar makes good on its history laden name with a modernized take on classic and progressive rock.

A sense of dramatics and an almost theatrical approach to rock music adds to Jakarta rock band Max Havelaar’s self-titled album’s epic feel.

Though the album is self-released, Max Havelaar delivers a scope of ambition that is more in line with chart-dominating, arena-filling global acts such as Muse or The Killers.

There’s little in the way of modesty here, as the record’s nine tracks are peppered with flashy piano lines, guitar hysterics, heart-on-your-sleeve vocalizing and massive drum fills.

Named after a satirical 1860 novel written by Multatuli (the pen name of Douwes Dekker, a name familiar to Indonesian students), Max Havelaar’s penchant for progressive rock dramatics extends to the band’s song titles.

Songs such as first single “Tumaritis” (named after the mythical abode of clown-servants in Sundanese and Javanese wayang) and “Suara Kita Suara Tuhan” (Our Voice is God’s Voice) rests on constant dynamic shifts, operatic female vocals, neoclassical piano tinkling and loud guitars.

Meanwhile, tracks such as “Jaket Merah” (Red Jacket) and “Rumah” (Home) are almost power ballad-like in their melodramatic execution — slow-building arrangements that revere in musical showmanship and big hooks.

Formed in 2010, the band came together after keyboardist/pianist Muhammad Asranur, who has played for Pandai Besi and Fever to Tell, met with vocalist-guitarist Dedidude, after noticing each other’s ubiquity within the local music scene. The pair then recruited guitarist David Q Lintang (Float, Pandai Besi) before asking Teddy Satrio, a DJ and music producer, to join on bass.

Though the foursome wasn’t yet able to find a suitable person to sit in behind the drum kit, they were eager enough to begin writing and recording songs together — doing so with the temporary help of Efek Rumah Kaca drummer Akbar.

Slowly producing between their own schedules, the band worked for years to come up with something they all could be proud of. To inspire the music, the band members listened to bands such as Sigur Ros, Porcupine Tree, M83 and Tool.

On stage: Progressive-minded alternative rockers Max Havelaar is set to entertain fans.

As the group began recording their songs, they settled on using Max Havelaar as a band name, though doing so for “no philosophical reasons” in particular, as Dedidude explains. It simply came time to introduce themselves as an entity to the world, as the record’s production was winding down, and they had to begin playing shows.

“We worked on the album ourselves. Starting from the song arrangements, picking the sounds, the artwork, and the layout — everything was in our hands,” says Asranur.

“The most exciting part was trying to workshop our songs and come up with common ground, as we all come from different musical backgrounds — some of like pop, some jazz and some of us like heavy metal.”

Dedidude said they were able to mesh all those influences together and come up with something that they thought was unique within the scene.

Lyrically, the band sings about politics, spirituality and humanity. “We want to be honest and to the point,” said Dedidude.

All the band members share a sense relief with the album’s release after years of production.

“We’re feeling relieved and free because finally, the album is out without any limitations,” Asranur said.

— Photos Courtesy of Max Havelaar

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