Paul F. Agusta

Paul F. Agusta
Contributor/Bandung

Out of the dim, dark yesterday of the rapidly and consistently
shifting music trends in Indonesia, in which bands explode onto
the scene like fireworks and fade away in a puff of smoke, one
band still shines brightly.

Pure Saturday, the old warhorses of the pioneer days of the
Bandung indie scene of the early 1990s, keep the sparks of
inspiration flying at frequent gigs throughout Java and Bali.
Their latest ball of fire, an album titled Elora hit the shelves
late in March.

Pure Saturday, which grouped guitarists Adi and Arif, bassist
Ade, and drummer Udi, and Suar, the original vocalist, released
their first album titled simply Pure Saturday in 1994. The
initially diminutive release of the album with a black cover with
the image of a little toy boat on it blew the minds of music fans
and critics throughout the country. Nobody had ever made music
like that in Indonesia before, and with the help of their melodic
but morose hit single, Kosong, the band ruled the airwaves for
months.

Focusing on the premise that any given piece of music should
be the synthesis, or unified sum total, of all the sounds of all
the musical instruments employed, including the human voice, Pure
Saturday creates seamlessly fluent strains of movingly
atmospheric rock.

"Conceptually, nothing has changed with us. We're still
focused on music as a whole," said Ade, the big, bald, smiling
chain smoker who plays the bass for the band.

"Actually, when it comes to process, there have been some
changes, but conceptually, no," Adi, the bespectacled, intensely
focused guitarist, explained. "For our first and second albums,
the music simply flowed out of us just jamming. But now, because
of technology like 'frooty loops', Ade and I, like make the base
melody for songs on the computer, and in the studio, everyone
else adds in," he added.

"In the old days, we had more time to hang out, just jamming
like crazy. But now things have got to be a bit more scheduled,"
said Ade, who makes a living as a freelance musician.

"The one thing that has changed radically for all of us, is
that we are now married, and we can't hang out as much," Ade
explained.

"It is possible to make a living from music, but it's never
easy," Ade said of the fact that all of the members of Pure
Saturday, including their new vocalist, Satrio, who replaced Suar
when he had to chose between his day job in a company and his
musical endeavors, are gainfully employed in regular jobs.

Satrio, or Iyo, doubles as Pure Saturday's manager, as well as
publishing Ripple, an indie magazine. Adi works in graphic
design, and the others have jobs outside the music sector as
well.

Yet, for Pure Saturday, the music never, ever dies. It is the
center of their universe, the sun that burns through their souls
to blaze brightly in their songs and to set fires under the
younger musicians that frequent their gigs to see what the
original movers and shakers are doing now.

"Honestly, what encouraged us to release our new albums was
these new kids. We felt challenged. Why couldn't we produce
again? Adi had a bunch of material in his computer files, and we
still had the will, we just had to get together and do it," Ade
said.

"There are a lot of good bands out there now, making really
nice music," Ade continued enthusiastically.

Pure Saturday is especially heartened by the efforts of groups
like Sendal Jepit, Mocca, Teenage Death Star, Rocket Rockers, The
Upstairs, and The S.I.G.I.T., whom they feel are carrying on the
indie spirit that Pure Saturday sparked eleven years ago.