Nosferatu enters local music industry
Nosferatu enters local music industry
By Riris Irawati
JAKARTA (JP): Looking for something hard'n'heavy? Listen to
Nosferatu.
That's exactly how the four-member group plays its music,
although lead vocalist Agus Lasmono claims that Nosferatu
concentrates on the neoclassical, heavy groove genre.
It is probably rather unimportant to quibble about what kind
of music the group actually plays because rock music, to quote
critic Jon Pareles, is an open-ended concept.
The group's maiden album, Visible But Untouched, was released
last month without much fanfare, probably because its members --
two Indonesians and two Americans -- do not have a strong
foothold in the music industry yet.
This has not prevented them from turning out an interesting
album which opens with Thermal Destruction, a song about the
helplessness of human beings fighting the forces of evil.
The songs following, World of Policy, The Phantom (SOS) and
Asylum, all carry more or less the same message.
It is not until the last song on Side A, To Hurt The One, that
Nosferatu begins to touch on matters of the heart which is
presented in their typical way: hard and heavy!
Lasmono wrote all the music and lyrics for Visible But
Untouched including the signature, "Nosferatu".
Also Lasmono, the son of Sudwikatmono, one of Indonesia's most
successful business entrepreneurs, reportedly financed the
recording of the first Nosferatu album.
Lasmono is still pursuing an MBA degree at the West Coast
University California.
Other members of the group are Tjahjo Wisanggeni, son of
former Indonesian Attorney General the late Sukarton Marmosarjono
playing guitar, Ricky Wolking (bass) and Mark Bistany (drums).
Unlike Lasmono, who spent time to meet the press in Indonesia,
Wisanggeni, Wolking and Bistany, for undisclosed reasons seemed
to prefer to stay in the U.S.
Wisanggeni's guitar accentuates Nosferatu's craze for
something bold, while Wolking's bass and Bistany's drums are, at
best, supportive.
In all fairness, the album is interesting and its title
Visible But Untouched should be seen as a reflection of the
group's efforts to present haunting, baffling music for those
trying to come to terms with themselves.
Other songs on the album are This Emptiness, Terminal 666,
Sick of Goodbyes and Tastes Like Chicken!? (Instrumental).
The album was recorded at The Red Zone Studio, North
Hollywood, California, in April and May last year.
Nosferatu members say that their album will also be
distributed in other countries, but it is in Indonesia, where
they are cooperating with a major record company, that they hope
to have their first market.
(Visible But Untouched is distributed by Musica in Indonesia.
It is now available in major music stores).