Simak Dialog
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Interviews
Forum Description: Original interviews with Prog artists (which are exclusive to Prog Archives)
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=72068
Printed Date: December 23 2024 at 08:33
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Topic: Simak Dialog
Posted By: toroddfuglesteg
Subject: Simak Dialog
Date Posted: October 09 2010 at 12:25
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This Jakarta-based combo was formed in 1993 by Riza Arshad (keyboards) and Tohpati (guitars). The band plays an unique blend of musical styles: with jazz-rock/fusion in its core, heavily influenced with Gamelan music, as well as another Indonesian musical forms, to electronica, psychedelia and various aspects of rock. Their two only international albums has been released through Moonjune Records and both are recommended. I got in touch with Riza Arshad for the story. ==========================================================
Your
biography has been covered in your ProgArchives profile so let's
bypass the biography details. But which bands were you influenced by
and what does your name means?
A lot! It’s difficult for me
to specify only 10 or less or even more than that, but if I may say I
have in mind at the moment are ELP, Yes, Genesis, Led Zeppelin,
Return to Forever, Weather Report, any format of Miles Davis band,
any format of Keith Jarrett’s, early Pat Metheny’s group, the
Beatles after 1967 and many more. ‘simakDialog’ means to listen
carefully to the Dialog
How is
it to run a band in Indonesia ?
Depends on which track you are
in, if you are in pop/industrial music seems easily to run but you’d
have ‘so many similar sound yet type of music’ as your
competitors. If you are in ‘cutting edge’ kind of music less
competitors, but less spectators, means there must be bunch of works
you have to handle. Pretty much the same with in any other part in
the world.
Your
music is fusion/jazz with a mix of an Indonesian type of folk music
called Gamelan. Please tell us more about Gamelan.
Gamelan is an orchestra of a
collective of metal, wood, leather made instruments which has certain
scale the way it harmonically arranged and sounds. simakDialog
adapted only the way it sounds which represents gamelan ensemble, but
it is not necessary by playing its harmony and scales.
You
have five albums so far, three of them are not relased
internationally, according to my information. Will the first three
album get international distribution ?
I guess out if 3 only one
album I might put out in the international distribution – the third
‘trance/mission’ – our first album that marks band’s format
and sound metamorphosed.
Please
tell us more about your debut album Lukisan from 1995
Was completely big influenced
of ECM style of music.
Please
tell us more about your second album Baur from 1999
Still with heavy ECM style of
music, but we had started to expand the way we compose all materials 
Please
tell us more about your third album Trance/Mission from 2002
The beginning of a major
significant change both format and sound of the band. We have started
to commissioned sundanese kendang
to replace drums to make the band sounds more contemporary. 
Please
tell us more about your fourth album Demi Masa from 2009
It’s the next chapter of
‘patahan’ 
Please
tell us more about your live album Patahan from 2005
It’s the next chapter of the
band’s continuous changes mostly on composition/harmony issues
How is
your creative processes from coming up with a theme/riff/idea to you
got it down onto an album ?
We do a weekly rehearsal and
workshop twice in a week 8months in a year just to try and figure out
‘new thing’. If we think it might work - we continue to pursue
the material to become a complete composition, if it doesn’t we put
it aside.
Just
to give those of us who are unknown with your music a bit of a
reference point or two: How would you describe your music ? West meet southeast Asia, a
progressive ethno jazz group – maybe
Your
guitarist Tohpati has just released an album called Save The Planet
through Moonjune. Please tell us more about this album.
He is such a talented player I
ever meet in the history of this band. And well known as a talented
session player as well. The album is great and depicts the
involvement, contributions and influenced simakDialog has given and
vice versa in 17years he’s been joining simakD.
Besides
of Tohpati and his solo album; are any of you Simak Dialog members
involved in any other bands or projects ?
Adhitya – the bassist is
joining a high demanded combo in the national music scene, all those
three percussionist are busy musicians too both in traditional and
contemporary music scene.
While I keep myself
maintaining my involvement in underground music (particularly jazz)
community
To
wrap up this interview, is there anything you want to add to this
interview ?
There is nothing can stop
someone in sharing positive yet good things that coming from ones
area to the world Thank you to Riza Arshad for this interview Their PA profile is http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=4831 - and homepage http://www.myspace.com/simakdialog -
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Replies:
Posted By: Kazuhiro
Date Posted: October 09 2010 at 20:31
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There is not so much information on Simak Dialog in Japan. They are interesting bands. Thank you for the interview. |