The Bandung pop-punk act is preparing to release a cathartic mini album.

“The lyrics are a bit dark […] They contrast with the music, euy,” said Andresa Nugraha, bassist of Bandung pop punk band Saturday Night Karaoke, with a chuckle and a typically Sundanese particle that is often used to express delight. 

He was describing his band’s soon-to-be-finished new album.

The 30-year-old was sitting outside of the recording booth at Bandung Creative Hub (BCH) – a state-owned facility built in 2017 in Bandung as a resource for the community and creative economy – on June 15.

Prabu Pramayougha, the band’s lead singer and guitarist, was in the recording booth, recording a vocal track for the band’s upcoming release.

“It’s going to be an EP [extended play album],” answered Rezki Delian Kautsar, Saturday Night Karaoke’s manager. Gilang, the recording studio’s operator, signaled for Prabu to start singing again for another take.

Lead vocal: Prabu Pramayougha gains his international network from the Facebook, where he also crosses path with Andresa Nugraha, the bassist. (Courtesy of Ibrahim Partogi) (Courtesy of Ibrahim Partogi/Courtesy of Ibrahim Partogi)

Cheap is the way

The band had been recording their new material at BCH for four consecutive days.

“Because we’re cheapskates!” Prabu said, when asked about the choice of location. 

Few independent bands in the area would have thought about recording at BCH. Rezki had sent a written proposal to the facility and managed to secure a set of recording slots for the band. They were not required to pay a single rupiah.

“The [recording] gear is really nice too,” Andresa said. 

“I think that it’s a win-win solution. They only require a mention in the credits,” continued Prabu. “The only problem was when Athif was recording his drum tracks.”

“It’s too nice here, I can’t get my adrenaline rushing,” said Prabu, imitating Athif, the band’s drummer since 2015. 

The band’s previous recording studio in Cicadas, Bandung, “was a bit cramped. The atmosphere could be a bit constrained.”

“It’s an upgrade. We also knew Gilang who operates the studio there, so we thought, ‘Why not?’” said Prabu. 

“Why not make use of what our tax money has paid for?” quipped Andresa.

He became the band’s bassist in 2017, after Saturday Night Karaoke’s first Japan tour. The band has toured Japan twice: in 2017 and 2019.

“The point is that we’re a bunch of cheapskates. Anything free, or cheap, we’re all for it”, noted Prabu, just before Andresa jumped out of his seat. 

“Mantis! I’m scared of them,” Andresa said, pointing at a praying mantis crawling on the table in front of him.

“What is more punk than ripping off the government?” Prabu said.

The drummer: Athif has been joining the group as a drummer since 2015. (Courtesy of Ibrahim Partogi) (Courtesy of Ibrahim Partogi/Courtesy of Ibrahim Partogi)

Post-Wota

Saturday Night Karaoke has been around since 2008, the year when the original members, Prabu (lead vocals, guitar), Asykar (bass guitar, vocals) and Dadang (drums) started their studies at Padjadjaran University’s English Literature Department in Jatinangor, Sumedang, West Java. 

The band laid the groundwork for their trademark self-deprecating sense of humor with their debut EP So I Can Write A Song About…, which they self-released on CDRs (rewritable compact discs) in 2008. 

Since then, they have consistently churned out releases and have piled up two full-length albums and 17 singles and EPs with various independent record labels in Indonesia and Japan. 

“Check out our Wikipedia page for the details of our releases,” said Prabu.

The band has had its share of feuds with Wikimedia Indonesia.

“They took down our page a couple of times in the past. We had to talk them through the citations, ” he added.

“The offer for doing a full-length album actually came in 2012,” Prabu said, referring to the band’s debut full-length album, SLURP!, which was released in 2015 through SP Records Japan in partnership with Rizkan Records in Indonesia.

“But I wasn’t interested in doing anything with Saturday Night Karaoke, as I was really into [pop group] JKT48 at that time. I had my Wota phase,” he added, referring to the Indonesian-Japanese girl group’s fan club.

Prabu had initially planned for the album to be released domestically.

“The idea [of releasing it with the Japanese label] had completely vaporized,” he said, but he then remembered the label’s offer at one point before the release and reached out to them again through Facebook. “Turned out they were still interested.”

“I do my international networking through Facebook, lah” Prabu said. His creative partnership with Andresa also began with Facebook correspondence. 

“Saturday Night Karaoke got into this online community that doubled as a pirated MP3 blog dedicated to pop-punk and punk rock music called Ramone to the Bone,” Prabu said. 

The blog, which Andresa believed was run by a German national, then featured Andresa’s punk band, Down the Block.

“We started talking from there,” he said.

“It’s a ‘no nonsense’ platform. People network there. They talk to each other,” said Prabu, while Andresa smirked and nodded his head in agreement. 

“For punk rock and garage bands, Facebook is the playing field. You look for label deals and tour [opportunities] through correspondence there,” Prabu added. Andresa’s smirk turned into a wide grin.

On stage: Pictured is bassist Andresa Nugraha facing the crowd when Saturday Night Karaoke perfomed at Wild Generation, a collective event in Bogor, West Java, on June 19. (Courtesy of Ibrahim Partogi) (Courtesy of Ibrahim Partogi/Courtesy of Ibrahim Partogi)

Professional goofballs no more?

“People forget that if Andresa and Athif were not here, Saturday Night Karaoke wouldn’t exist,” Prabu sighed.

As the last remaining original member of the band since its founding, people often identify him as a sole driving member of Saturday Night Karaoke.

“They’re supposed to see the band as a whole,” he said

On stage, Prabu’s witty banter and quips in between songs create an approachable atmosphere, like that of seeing your funny neighbor performing in a band with his best friends.

“I’m actually an introvert in disguise. I was at the point where I didn't want people’s pity, so I tried my best to hide it,” Prabu said.

“This EP will be different from our past releases, as these are the darkest songs that I have ever written, lyrically,” he noted.

He had been dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts throughout the years in hiding, and he felt that the band’s upcoming EP could be a way for him to release everything. 

“I don’t want to hide anymore, but still, I never want people to take pity on me. I don’t need it.”

Some of the lyrics were written as fragments within the span of years.

“Then, I compiled them together into songs”, said Prabu. “Some of the songs’ lyrics were actually intended to be my suicide note a couple of years back. I decided to bail after I thought about my parents.”

He admitted that the recording process of the vocal tracks was really difficult.

“I got all teary-eyed,” he said.

“Usually, people who claim to like Saturday Night Karaoke base it on just three songs, which are ‘Lamar’, ‘Bam Bam Bam’ and ‘Bertemu’,” said Prabu, referring to the three most exuberant songs in the band’s catalog. 

“This coming EP could be a turning point for us musically as a band and also a turning point in terms of listeners. We’ll see who our real listeners are. If they really care about our music then they’ll stick around, but if they only care about [songs that are similar to] ‘Lamar’ or ‘Bam Bam Bam’ then so be it,” Prabu remarked.

Saturday Night Karaoke’s new four-track EP will be self-released in early August 2022 on cassette tape. Its title has yet to be revealed.