Holiday at The Office

We've been soooo busy with our jobs for the last few months
but we still have our minds on music
hopefully :)

Ninu's been sick for the last 2 months, he's getting better, though he's in no condition to play the drums until at least November,
April's haunted by deadlines, she hasn't showered for months,
Yogas' basically a one-man department in his office,
Ranggi's recording with his other band,
Saras' busy auditioning male musicians
and I have 16 cats to tend to,
it's madness!

The only musical thing I did in the past few weeks was to play with Jirapah last Sunday.
I got the chance to make some bad ass noises; something that I haven't done in ages, so it's really refreshing.
I'd love to play with them again.

Check them out here: http://www.jirapah.com , a dude called Ken Jenie is the mastermind behind it, he's a really talented multi-instrumentalist, and a pretty tall one too.


- Gilar

September

Dreaming of a lush soundscape
digital and analog noises.
The human voice as instruments
with synths and electric guitars
and the pulsating beats, hypnotising
haunting
gutsy and complex
A departure from the old traditional ways
abstraction of structure
visual
atmospheric and fluid
graceful and majestic,
like a herd of elephants
swimming across the sea.

But before then, it's a ride with this pop machine.
Our melancholic discoveries,
our practice space,
our playground of naive melodies.

- Gilar

Foreign Affair II

Cause de SEAIndie, nous sommes maintenant en vedette dans Tweendie: http://tweendie.fr/news/un-elephant-ca-trempe-enormement. Merci à tous pour votre soutien!! :)


Une traduction google du texte:


"We do not lie by saying that in terms of pop, our references are from the vast majority of North America, the United Kingdom or Scandinavia. But in the era of globalization, it is nice to see the four corners of the world, some very interesting things happen.From Jakarta, Swimming Elephants perfectly embody this breath of fresh air.Remember, in October 2010, we devoted an article to this excellent small label of Southeast Asia: Indie Sea. Today, we provide cover thus offering you to discover their latest release 100% digital and free.Swimming Elephants, the five musicians are beautifully strung Indonesian compositions of astonishing maturity. And once again, the best way you know it is still to discover and Sarah At The Zoo, the two tracks that appear on the above-mentioned EP and we greatly encourage you to download below"

-Jean Luc Gilar

Get On The Low Frequency

Among the many delicious things I got on my wish list is this sweet looking electric bass that I saw on a music web some months ago:

It's a Fender Squire bass, and I know there are lots of people who doubt the quality of a Squier, it being budget conscious brand etc, but I am a poor beginner anyway, so I kinda fit.

My crush is a copy of the classic '50s Fender precision bass; the Squier Classic Vibe Presicion Bass '50s done in butterscotch blonde. It has that light look on it, like it will feel so great when you play it.

Now, before I make a complete ass of myself, I need to let you know that I don't know shit about basses. I can only tell the one that Paul McCartney uses and the sweet Rickenbacker 4003, apart from the very familiar Fender standard basses of course. And as far as experience goes, I've picked one once or twice in my whole life, and played like 2 notes.

Based on this video, I'm liking the sound of it, and hopefully if I like the sound and look of it, I'll be more eager to learn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6Cd98DH__U

I used to like the look of the Vintage Modified version of the same series, like this one here:

But when I listened to the sound of it, it's sort of sounded too dark for a first bass. At this point I think I'd need something more wide ranged, even though the combination of that humbucker and the black pickguard is looking super cool.

The reason why I want to own one is because I want to learn how to play it, like I want to learn how to play pretty much everything; the drums, the tuba, the accordion, french horns or even the max/msp thing. Just out of curiosity, you know. And I always get fascinated by the sound of it, like when I see a jazz player playing one, or someone like Paul Simonon. Too bad you can't rent instruments and have them in your home for a month or two.

Anyways, I can always ask Ranggi to tell me if they're actually good for the price or just another piece of wasted wood (he's the real bass player in the band, fyi). And I know I'll have a great teacher to guide me then.

Only one thing left though; I hope I'll wake up someday having the money to buy it, that'll be sweet.

(Up date)

On second thought, this one seems ace!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsuiVj3B9E0&feature=related

- Gilar

Quiet Night in Jatiwaringin

I always favor the heart than the mind in making a song

Honesty above everything

A smart song is great when you listen to it once in a while, or when you want you ears to be stimulated

by something other-worldy, something cool.

But when you're down in the mellow lane or running angry

I bet you that you won't find yourself listening to music like Autechre, for example

You'd prefer an honest song, not much of an art piece, but a simple honest song that can pump the poetry in your vein

Whatever it is, it's gonna move mountains when it's made with honesty and raw emotion that comes out of it.

It's like comparing the blowing wind to, say a hair dryer.  

It's the real thing for me

And I've been avoiding to make something "smart" because your mind is always going to deceive your feelings.

Cover it up with pretentiousness, ambition, vanity

It corrupts you to the point that you go blind of your own emotion

Don't get me wrong 

I love to listen to something that most of us regard as cool,

A lot of my favourite bands are all the geniuses of the mind

They know how to treat a simple sound into a very complex art piece

But perhaps it's because they can deal with it, and they're obviously capable of doing so

Looking at it from a maker's point of view

I don't know if I'm the kind of person that can juggle between the mind and the heart

And stay honest throughout the whole process

I don't want to be pretentious

And I have no other place to go to express my emotions undistorted

A long time ago I said to a friend of mine that folk musicians have more soul than the actual soul singers

Take Dylan or Sharon Van Etten for example,
They don't need to compose a highly complex arrangement that can only be deciphered by scientists and mad sound engineers

They don't have to blow their veins when they sing

They don't have to reach the 100th octave, and turn it upside down

It's not the olympics

But through simple honesty, they get to you in a very subtle way, 

Catch you off guard and turn you upside down

Effortlessly

And you can't underestimate a thing like that

You can't look down on something that can make you go to war

or die in trying to stop one

As uncool as it sounds, but it's the heart that makes us go places.

That, and the bitter reality that is
or a flood or something :)

- Gilar