Rabu, 07 Desember 2011

@theaftermiles for British Council INA | #BestofUK Fest!



Tweet: RT @theaftermiles #BestofUK by @BCIndonesia | Saturday, Dec 10th at 19.00 - End | Pacific Place Jkt | FREE ENTRY | tell all ur friends : )

This will be the first gig we hit without our kid vocalist, @andre_achin; after so far of dedication to the band he finally decided to leave and begin his career with Astoria, a new music project that came from the good hands of Uki [PeterPan]. I, of course, deeply feel the loss of a great vocalist, but I nonetheless always wish @andre_achin the best of luck, for he deserves the best of results after years of developing as a devoted musician.

Good luck mate : )

The Aftermiles

Fever to Tell

Morning Blue

I thank the British Council for the invitation, the chance is definitely an honor to deliver the best of a performance. Other than the Aftermiles, the show will also present Fever to Tell [@fevertotellband], The Wall [@thewallofficial], and the well known Morning Blue [@himorningblue]. Personally speaking, this will be my opportunity to see @fevertotellband :D I have been meaning to catch them at various gigs around town, but the chance never came. I am therefore grateful to share the stage with @fevertotellband : )


So far, the preparation has been running on the good lane; the Aftermiles returned to the rehearsal studio last week, and will be finalising the concept of performance on Thursday. I was hoping we could throw out something special for the evening, but certain limitations on time have been an obstacle difficult enough to overcome. Though worry not, the Aftermiles will definitely be all out on stage : )

Right on then readers, I hope to see you on Saturday!

Cheers!



Sabtu, 03 Desember 2011

Pad 28 - Warung Bejo


@gitanova | @arindakristie | @acilfais
@bbondann | @_chicchira | @jattuanggraeni

Dear readers,

Greet @acilfais, @gitanova, @_chicchira, @jattuanggraeni, @bbondann, and @arindakristie as we met her later on last night. Laughter and little teasers were on the platter, and I was once again having the good time; surely, it would be within my best interest that everyone shared the same good night out in town. Within some self-surprise, I did not even attempt to deliver the current case of my broken heart [everyone say "oooooooooooooh" - haha]; for all I knew, the evening was way too valuable to miss only for some sad soapy stories. Everyone had given the effort to enlighten the mood, and so I tried my every best to level up : )

Pad 28 | taken from @padkeeper28

We had a plan to visit @beergarden_kmg for a silly treat over bottles of beer [while I'm not even allowed to have any alcohol - haha], but then as suggested by our one and only Ms. @jattuanggraeni, the destination was changed to Pad 28 in Senopati, South of Jakarta. No one [but her, I presumed] knew the place, though I was then convinced that Pad 28 offered some super cozy atmosphere.

The evening ran a little decent, no alcohol was involved, other than a big bottle of Bintaeng obtained by Rio [sorry mate, I know not of your existence on Twitter - hehe], who spent half the time fiddling around on his bibi [read: blackberry], while spending the other half being encouraged to get some girl pregnant so she would not have to move out of town [ahahahahaha]. We had our worries that the venue would not hold our verbal foolishness, but then none of the worry was left, not until this couple turned around and placed ears as one of us [please note yourself - haha] claimed that getting a girl pregnant would be one of the best ways to stay together [errrrrr? Ahahahaha? Hmmmmm].

Quote: @errrrrrr :D

Ouh, I would also like to highlight @_chicchira, Ms. Electrolux-on-Discounts [highly on demand] who arrived in lateness and looking like she was just brutally raped by the traffic jam, and started eating @bbondann's seemingly to be delicious Dorayaki cakes without permission [I was sure it was out of anger, yes yes *sigh*] :D

Quote: @gitanova

Our little meet up with @arindakristie ended the night : ) There were bits and pieces to reflect upon inside the stories we once again shared; life - and I kept on capturing the word "simplify" [quote: @gitanova], love - find happiness [keyword: family | quote: @everyone], and the value of friendship that were shown openly on the table became parts of my going-home thoughts : )

Note: @juhessica will need to come next time : )

Sabtu, 22 Oktober 2011

: )

The plan was actually to dedicate this page to music, to them super awesome local indie bands that one day, I believe, will take our nation to the world stage [super amen]! However, due to my currently super galau mood [haha] I am changing the initial plan to instead accommodate what my deepest feelings require.


Tiga tahun tiga bulan [kurang dua hari]; bukan waktu yang singkat untuk saya. Jatuh hati pertama kali jumpa Dabi, dan dengan bodohnya nembak sehari kemudian. Aplikasi saya untuk jadi pacar, tentu saja, ditolak - haha - sampai akhirnya kita jadian. Entah Dabi ngeh atau nggak, yang jelas faktor jadian itu bikin saya jadi orang paling bahagia sedunia jagat raya - haha - lebay maybe? Tapi saya rasa nggak lah, Dabi cantik, pintar [meskipun punya potensi untuk jadi tidak rajin dan super pemalas], rendah hati, meskipun terkadang super rese, dan sama sekali tidak pandai menabung. Oh, satu lagi yang saya lupa highlight, Dabi punya pribadi nrimo [bahasa Jawa, yang artinya "cukup menerima"], alias bukan pribadi yang neko-neko, atau dengan kata lain cukup bersahaja [saya nggak pernah bilang langsung memang, tapi itu jelas terlihat].

Sayang memang tidak semuanya dapat berjalan sesuai dengan keinginan kita; ada kalanya harus sadar, melihat, dan memahami kehidupan dari sudut pandang yang serba lumrah. Manusia berangan, lalu berusaha, meskipun kadang lupa berdo'a [myself included], lalu berharap, lalu tidak mencapai cita-citanya, itu lumrah. Saya jatuh cinta, lalu berusaha untuk bisa selalu sama-sama, tetapi tidak tercapai keinginannya, itu pun harusnya lumrah. Lucu, lumrah itu mungkin dapat diartikan "wajar", tetapi kadang memang sulit sekali menerima sesuatu yang sifatnya "wajar". Pacaran lalu putus, itu wajar. Mudah disikapi? Tidak : )

So Emo - Haha :D

Untuk saya, harus ada sesuatu yang dituju dalam hubungan dengan Dabi, dan tidak pernah tidak saya mengusahakan tercapainya tujuan itu. Perjalanannya memang kebetulan cukup sulit dan berliku; kondisi-kondisi yang mengharuskan adanya ketidaknyamanan menjadi sesuatu yang dalam banyak kesempatan harus dihadapi selagi berteman dengan emosi. Tetapi saya bukan orang yang tidak berusaha, saat ini alhamdulillah semuanya secara perlahan membaik; dan saya katakan alhamdulillah karena ternyata usaha saja tidak cukup, tetapi juga harus dengan adanya do'a, minimal untuk saya yang sedang belajar untuk lebih beriman. Insyallah, amin, alhamdulillah, mudah-mudahan semuanya menuju ke suatu kemapanan hidup.

Sedih memang rasanya ketika diharuskan untuk menerima keadaan dimana Dabi ingin meninggalkan saya, apalagi saat semuanya memang sedang tidak menentu. Rasanya tidak pada tempatnya, apalagi ketika saya benar-benar membutuhkan seorang pendamping untuk dapat berbagi. Untuk pertama kalinya saya benar-benar merasa ditinggalkan ketika sedang terjatuh. Saya selalu mencoba untuk ada saat Dabi membutuhkan kawan, dan sadar atau tidak, saya mencoba untuk selalu ada bahkan ketika Dabi membutuhkan lawan. Percaya atau tidak, memposisikan diri sebagai seorang lawan untuk orang yang disayangi cukup sulit, hehe. Lalu apakah saya menjadi sakit hati? Untuk kali ini saya katakan, "tidak, ini semua lumrah" : )

Hari ini tanggal 22 Oktober 2011; setelah pukul 00.00 nanti saya dan Dabi sudah bersama-sama untuk 3 tahun 4 bulan, seharusnya : ) Tetapi, mungkin, ya sudah - saat ini saya akan kembali pada posisi berangan, berusaha, berharap, tetapi kali ini ditambah dengan berdo'a : )

Saya ucapkan terima kasih melalui blog ini kepada kawan-kawan yang selalu senantiasa menghibur saat saya sedang galau tingkat dewa - haha; Arinda Kristie, thank you so very much, you're a very good friend - you being around mean a mountain to me, and you even checked up on me, and asked how I was doing - thank you, thank you, thank you. Untuk kawan-kawan di Mumos; Afree dan Michael, pasangan suami istri terkeren di seluruh dunia jagat raya; Ande, yang selalu nemenin saat saya butuh curhat setelah tengah malam [meskipun saya tahu sebagian besar waktu karena terpaksa dan tidak punya pilihan lain, ketimbang saya ganggu kegiatan baca komik malam-malamnya - haha - peace]. Andhika Triyadi, yaaaah, you know lah, sekarang gantian saya yang galau, kita janjian di supermarket terdekat! Cakra maboy yang selalu mendengarkan keluhan saya. Terima kasih yang sebesar-besarnya untuk mami, yang sudah memberikan nasihat dan arahan - I am slowly growing to love you as if you are my own mother - sosok ibu itu memang akan selalu dibutuhkan, dan sosok ibu seperti mami yang selalu dengan terbuka bisa menerima sudah menjadikan mami sebagai ibu panutan : )


Last but not least, untuk orang yang paling saya sayang dan cintai sedunia jagat raya the absolute super whole universe gugusan bima sakti, Dabi - kamu adalah bagian dari tujuan hidup aku, bagian dari kemapanan hidup yang aku cari : ) Always, I love you today, more than yesterday, but not as much, as tomorrow.

Happy anniversary, [almost] October 23rd, 2011

Eddie Mohammad

Minggu, 04 September 2011

Angsa dan Serigala: the Return of Catchy Tunes!

Ini akan jadi rekomendasi pertama saya dalam bahasa Indonesia, dan dengan sukacita saya dedikasikan rekomendasi ini untuk Angsa dan Serigala.

Taken from their Myspace

Kota Bandung seakan tidak pernah lelah mencetak band-band berkualitas. Nama besar seperti The Super Insurgent Group of Intemperament Talents, Bottlesmoker, serta pendahulunya seperti Mocca dan Pure Saturday telah secara lebih luas dikenal oleh penggemar musik independen lokal; dan seolah tanpa batas, Bottlesmoker sedang dalam proses mendunia. Saya berlebihan? Tidak. Tour Asia mungkin menjadi salah satu alasannya. Tetapi tour Asia mungkin harus dihitung biasa saja untuk mereka; bagaimana dengan konser tunggal di Bandung [terima kasih kepada Ma' Icih, industri makanan rumahan yang telah mendukung eksistensi musik independen lokal] yang mampu menarik penonton mancanegara [dari Malaysia, Jepang, dan bahkan Rusia]? Itu yang saya sebut super luar biasa.

Taken from ther Myspace

Saya yakin nama-nama diatas sudah tidak terlalu membutuhkan rekomendasi, apalagi dari saya yang hanya penikmat musik biasa dengan jumlah follower kurang dari 300 orang di Twitter [haha]. Tetapi, sudahkah kalian dengar tentang kawanan Angsa dan Serigala?

Twitter update: #nowplaying | @angsaserigala - Bersamaku.


Biarkan menghentak, dan naikkan volume-nya! Gitar berdistorsi dengan ciri khas sound band-band Inggris bersahut ikut meramaikan suasana, dan "hey" dalam sekejap iringan latar musik orchestraic menyambut, menghantarkan saya ke arena dimana mereka mengangkat tangan bertepuk di udara sembari melantun, "saaaat kiiiitaaaaaa, berpegang erat padaaaaa, kuatnya rasaaaa, tangguhnya jiwa bila, cintaaa yaaaang aaaadaaaa, warnai angkasa, hari peeenuh makna, hati yang bijaksana". Really, beautiful is the least of a remark I could give.


Angsa dan Serigala - Bersamaku | Live Performance

Suara vokalis Hendra Araji memang khas, berteriak lantang tetapi tenang, dewasa dan membuai; dan Araji tidak sendiri, dengarkan suara tinggi vokalis Meyga Sukmana yang datang dari sisi seberang namun berjalan dengan satu tujuan. Desah nafas Meyga adalah musikalitas sensual yang menurut saya sejauh ini tanpa tandingan.

"Dan kulihat semua masa depan di matamu dan berjalanlah bersamaku".

Taken from their Myspace

Hentakan drum yang tidak berhenti, suara trumpet yang menjadi pemeran utama suasana orkestra, dan xylophone [ hear the bells, hear, hear the bells ] yang mengiringi vokal yang semakin mengalun merdu adalah alasan utama untuk kalian mendengarkan Angsa dan Serigala.

Kalian dapat mendengarkan "Bersamaku" pada halaman Myspace mereka, mengunduh "Detik dan Waktu" pada halaman 4shared, dan mengikuti timeline @angsaserigala untuk update berita terbaru.

Hubungi Yulius Iskandar untuk mendatangkan mereka ke acara kalian di +62 812 2385 759.

Jumat, 02 September 2011

TinkerbellDiscollegers: Lady Kicks Teenage Pop-Punk

Funny, I never have liked Pee Wee Gaskins, but I keep on falling in love with your typical teenage pop-punk tunes; especially with this one, TinkerbellDiscollegers. A teenage pop-punk with a kicker of a frontlady? Hot!

I uploaded "Tentukan Pilihan" for you to watch, and it would not be too hard to understand my recommending TinkerbellDiscollegers. It might also be quite in reference to mention that I grew up watching a lot of American teenage movies [yes, I used to love them to bits].


TinkerbellDiscollegers - Tentukan Pilihan

So, would it be wrong to recommend a band because they have a hot vocalist? Well, I could assure you that this band would not be on my recommendation list if they would have gone out with a male vocalist. What am I saying? TinkerbellDiscollegers is a must-recommended band as they have appeared on the video above [watch the clip if you have not]. As a matter of fact, I think Pee Wee Gaskins would be better off with a female vocalist. In fact, all teenage pop-punk bands should have a female vocalist. Female vocalists fit teenage pop-punk so well, and please do not misunderstand the statement for I super-dig teenage pop-punk [ask my mum].

Taken from their Facebook Fanpage

I believe the term "good" does not only refer to a band's original material, but also their appearance in public be it on a live performance or promo material such as video clips. Anyway, I will not stop encouraging you from watching "Tentukan Pilihanmu", and right at this point, I am hoping to be able to invite them to one of my shows.

Meanwhile, join their thousand something followers on twitter @tinkerbell_DCLG and "like" their Facebook fanpage.

Kamis, 01 September 2011

Easy Tiger: Let's Paint This Town!

In all honesty, I fell in love with "Paint This Town" by Easy Tiger the first time I listened to it; and for such cleverness, Easy Tiger will deserve more than just your applause. Furthermore, I will not be surprised at all if the band would appear continuously on gigs and festivals across town. They are succeeding in painting this town after all.

Promo Picture taken from their Facebook Fanpage



Easy Tiger - Paint This Town [Acoustic Version]

Surely, this is not the first motivational song on my playlist, but I am quite convinced that "Paint This Town" actually has that great power to motivate just about anyone, to get out of bed! Yesterday knows you'll be fine today, and that super cute voice flows out dancing on the surface of some easy to digest piano playing. The rest of the song is needless to say too great to be true. Light distortion on the guitar combined with catchy electronic sound coming from the synth, natural male vocals in addition to the previous cute female vocals, pop-semi-dance drum beat, and oh yes god let us paint this town.

Live at JakCloth taken from Hai Online

Another thing, that No Talent [and don't tell me you've never heard of No Talent, one of the coolest local punk rock acts] kid, Armand, knows how to blend in with tunes other than his usual duk tak duk duk tak tune : )

Rabu, 31 Agustus 2011

East Overcast: Super Mood Booster!

Hailing from Pamulang, Tangerang Selatan, my first impression would be "what a super mood booster", and East Overcast reminds me of how music could be much simpler than some trying-to-be-cool composition arranged within such complication. Rewrite your ideas, and start consuming simple music for the modesty these kids offer is somehow genius!

East Overcast | taken from their Myspace Photo Album

Listen to "The Wind" by East Overcast, and you might just agree with my opinion of putting the song super out loud right after waking up on a weekend. On the other hand, I would not deny the suitability of the song to roll on my playlist, on a late Saturday afternoon right as I would be heading out of the house to grab beer with friends.

East Overcast | taken from their Myspace Photo Album

Constant drum beats and single bass line that accompany the continuously distorted guitar sound that creates echoes every once in a while define such simple manner of let-us-have-some-fun attitude. The vocalist clearly sings the lyrics in happiness as he says "to spend my time, thinking of you" : ) Yes, high school punk tunes are the greatest!

Download "The Wind" on oBox here and visit their MySpace page for a full profile. If you happen to be on Kaskus, you could also visit their Kaskus thread and drop your comments to support them.

Call Dita Anggraeni on 0857 1851 4285 to book East Overcast, and let me know for I will most probably be on that show!