I sat down with Elephant Kind in a normal Tuesday evening.
Even though marketed as a musical unit, Dewa, Bam and Bayu treat Elephant Kind as a multi-layered art project that resembles their character, not just a band that plays gig and sells merchandises. In 2014 they started out as a “group of outsiders”. “We were just the cool kids from South Jakarta who didn’t know anyone from the local scene,” said Bayu. The only currency that they had to move forward at that moment was just the music that they play. Fast forward to 2017, Elephant Kind is now considered as the most promising rookie in Indonesia, milking a lot of gigs and recognition from young listeners.
Elephant Kind’s texture is approachable, modern and straightforward. While Bayu is reasonably loud with his drumming, Bam’s high pitch voice grants them distinct character. They’re visually entertaining, arguably good looking with proper side-stream attitude.
Debut album City J (2016) is Elephant Kind’s endeavour to unfold Jakarta - not only physically as a city, but also figuratively as an idea of living. The 24/7 hustle, the never-ending dynamics, it gives certain hues to people who are thirsty of certainty.
“You gain so much, but you also lose so much,” explained vocalist/band leader Bam Mastro when asked about how he sees Jakarta. For Bam, it was not a hard task to objectify Jakarta as a city. As he continuously mentions in City J lyrics, “I’ve been to places,” Bam - with his true third culture persona - has been to places both geographically and mentally. He intentionally put that gesture not to practice arrogance, but to state the relevance of his journey in life and how the album fits into him, personally. Bandmates Dewa and Bayu also have arrived in that certain level of musical stage where they are comfortable with themselves to produce good art.
What lured my curiosity from my conversation with them is how Elephant Kind position themselves as artists, with concrete confidence. This creates so much difference, especially nowadays when it’s easy to create music - therefore bands are lacking consistency. They spoke about how they wanna put solid financial structure towards the band, how they put the band as their number one priority. “Too bad some bands don't really care about making money from their music,” Bam said. That being said, more bands should adopt Elephant Kind’s entrepreneurial attitude.
To encounter this drive is indeed refreshing, especially from a band as young as Elephant Kind. Their intentional profanity came from the same roots of confidence, aimed not to trigger controversy or to sound bullish, but more to spark honesty. Perceived from a local point of view, this attempt might sound confusing, but the idea is to embrace transparency while maintaining focus on delivering consistent message throughout the album. They want to use swear words to break boundaries and grow positive mental attitude. This is a band that needs to be acknowledged by everyone that believes in the power of music. Ladies and gentlemen, Elephant Kind - Teguh Wicaksono
SETLIST
1. Love Ain't For Rookies
2. Downhill
3. True Love
4. Montage
Follow Elephant Kind at :
Twitter - / elephant_kind
Instagram - / elephantkind
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22 фев 2017
