Barefood members Ditto Pradwitto and Rachmad Triyadi
Coconuts Playlist is where we spotlight Jakarta’s hottest up-and-coming musical talents, giving you the lowdown on their sound and the audio links you need to know if they’re right for you. First up, Marcel Thee takes a look at uber-talented indie rock throwback duo Barefood.
Formed in the fasting month of 2009, Jakarta-based Barefood execute their music with the kind of voracious hunger most older rock bands can only vaguely remember. That’s no surprise – though they’ve been playing together for 5 years, Barefood only started to gain underground recognition recently with their debut release, the “Sullen EP,” a 5-track mini album chock-full of catchy melodic rock that harkens plenty to the late-80s, early-90s US indie scene.
Released on Anoa Records, it’s the kind of music made for sweaty clubs and slam dancing adolescents; direct in both execution and emotion. A visit to their gigs – which have grown from clubs to smaller festivals – is like taking a time machine back to the era of fuzzed out guitar pedals, crowds of unwashed flannel and scruffy hair, slacker poise and plenty of scuzzy rock charm.
Though the two official members of the band – guitarist Ditto Pradwitto and bassist vocalist Rachmad Triyadi, joined by Pandu Fuzztoni on additional drums – were barely out of their diapers during the early 90s, the influence of the era’s underground veterans (Dinosaur Jr, Superchunk, Sebadoh) as well as power-poppers Superdrag and Smile, are undeniable in Barefood’s version of rock.
“Sullen EP” didn’t become one of 2013’s best local releases because it aspired to be; it did so because it was the sound of two best friends compelled to play this kind of music.
“’Sullen”s success was completely unexpected to me. We had no expectations at all from the writing, recording, and album release process. Everything just flowed naturally.”
“That it has been positively received certainly gives us a certain amount of pressure, as the album is now something of a benchmark for us that we have to top with our next album,” says Ditto. “That’s the creative process though – you’ve always got to be better than you were before.”
It doesn’t hurt that “Sullen EP” is, as they say, all killer and no filler. There are standouts – and crowd favorites – though. “Perfect Color” and “Teenage Daydream” are swift and driving, unrepentantly melodic, and produced to showcase the best of these elements.
The record’s layered guitars sound massive without ever becoming a blob of noise, while the rhythms sections sound tight without losing any sense of liveliness.
In April, Anoa Records released a limited cassette version of “Barefood EP,” a four song archival of the band’s early demos. Rachmad says they are already writing materials for the new album.
“Hopefully, it can come out sometime in the middle of next year. We are very excited.”
Barefood
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/barefoodmusic
Twitter https://twitter.com/barefood_
You can also listen to “Sullen EP” at http://digital.anoarecs.com/album/sullen-ep
