W: First of all, congratulations on releasing DGNR8! A new BRNDLS album is long overdue! You mentioned before the record release that this album would either be loved or hated. Now that it is out, how has the response been for DGNR8?

It has been pretty good so far. There were some protest & disagreement particularly from our old fans but once they’ve listened to the whole album, they understood the concept of our new music and pretty much into it.

W: You have mentioned that DGNR8 is inspired by the many social and political turmoil happening in Indonesia. Is there a specific event or moment that caused you to discuss this in your album?

No particular moment as such. Just turn on the TV or read the paper to realize that social unrest, cultural, economic, religious and political turmoil is happening daily in Indonesia. Every Brandals album is a general documentation of those moments and events.

W: The difference of sound between DGNR8 and your previous albums is very noticeable. Was there a particular direction of music you wanted to do (genres, production perhaps)? And what was the experience of making music that is outside your comfort zone like for BRNDLS?

Well, initially we were about to do a post-punk album in the vein of those late 70s British Bands (Wire, Gang of Four, The Au Pairs, etc). But during the recording session we went through a very vigorous brainstorming session with our producer. A few ‘contemporary’ references were thrown onto the table (Primal Scream, The Jesus & Mary Chain, LCD Soundsystem, Battles, etc). There were a lot of exercise and experiment in trying to reconstruct and inspecting the possibilities of composition on every song. This process made us spending almost a year in the studio. But it was a very challenging experience for us, as musicians who used to trust our instinct during recording and now had to carefully arrange every detail to build the materials into what is being presented on DGNR8.

W: With the addition of PM and Radit, has the dynamic and direction of the band change? How big was the impact of having new members?

Definitely. Different fingers, different characters. We deliberately changed our direction with the benefits of these two new ‘blood’ in the band

W: On the song “Abrasi” you collaborated with Morgue Vanguard from the now legendary Bandung Hip Hop group, Homocide. How did this collaboration come about? And what was it like collaborating with a Hip Hop emcee?

The idea was popped up during the recording session. The rough demo has that minimal, and simple structure drum beat. Our drummer Rully was heavily into hip-hop and dubstep during the recording session, so we translated those drum tracks into low, bass-heavy beat (that characterized much of the the genre’s) as the foundation. There was a long stretch of void laid on some part of the song because I just couldn’t get my head around on how to sing on top of it. So one night, Iyub (our producer) called me up and said ‘I got an idea, why don’t we get Ucok of Homicide to fill in those gaps?’ I didn’t even think and considering it done that very second because it was a such fucking brilliant idea ..hahaa

W: You are now part of Sinjitos Records roster. How did this come about and what was it like working on this album with your current label?

Well it has pluses and minuses but the thing that we like from the label is that they believe in us. They were the only label that believed in our demo back then when everyone was ignoring us. And also their production technique is incomparable and mind-blowing, as you could hear on the output in DGNR8.

W: Can you explain to us what PRJKT: DGNR8 is? and how is its progress?

It’s a movement to get people registered the idea of visiting record shop as an essential activity back to their mind. In the 90s (when digital product barely existed), going to record shop is considered a MUST, even if we didn’t buying anything, only just browsing through.

And this is what we try to bring back by starting project DGNR8. It hasn’t fully started yet, but as we getting closer to our launching album party (somewhere around September), we’ll try to make it mass.

W: What is your opinion on digital music sales in relations to the physical CD, Vinyl and Cassette? Do you think digital music will ultimately be the dominant format for music sales?

There is always a market available for physical CD that can’t be penetrated by the digital realm. A market that is available to be penetrated by good, quality music with well-presented package that becomes collector item, not just another product. Yes, digital format would be the dominant format, but that doesn’t mean the death-knell for the physical product. You just need to put out a very good album to be bought by the consumer. Y’know what I mean?

W: Not only has your music progressed, but visually (such as the shortening of the name and packaging) as well. How important is the relations between music and visual presentation for BRNDLS? And how did you decide on the current visuals you present?

Very important. We’ve been through this question hundred times and we’re going to explain it again and again that music without visual would be like a plain, flat painting on black and white. Whereas if you combining it with visual element in it (fashion, image, movies, attributes, etc) it would transformed the whole packaging into a multi-colored, 3D experience. Well, so to speak…

For DGNR8 design & package with got help from a young, bright and talented designer named Dibyo Kusumo. There is also a short documentation movie as a DVD bonus on the album made by another fine director named Pras. So for those whose about to release their album, think of the visual, packaging and presentation as it would determined whether your album is good enough to be bought by the market.

W: You guys have existed for a decade now and have been on the roster of several labels, from independent to major. Can you explain to us from your own perspective the differences between being signed to a major and an independent label are?

Everything comes down to scale. Major label = Big budget, major distribution, large promotion. Independent label is the opposite. Plain and simple.

W: Also, being musically active for that long, according to your own experiences, what is your view concerning Indonesia’s music industry and music scene?

Depends on from which angle you look at the industry. If we look into the independent scene, it’s very productive and exciting, due to its variety of characters of the music. The so-called underground scene releases hundreds of albums (in physical format) per month that would be consumed by its own community and general music consumer. And the music contained in the product itself is much more superior compared to the albums that is produced by the mainstream industry, which is very stereotypical and monotonous. Our local independent releases nowadays have the same quality with any other releases by other labels from any side of the world. We’re just a bit unfortunate being situated in a country where music piracy has becoming a major problem. That condition has put us into a state of constantly being neglected, looked-down upon and under-estimated by the international market. But music wise, we’re on fire baby! Ready to fight!

W: Now that the record is out what does BRNDLS have in store for us? Any info or hints on your future endeavors?

We’re aiming to invade our neighborhood countries and distribute DGNR8 into a wider international audience

W: Anything we missed? Shout outs?

Buy our CD as it would extend our productivity and longevity as a band to produce another album

Our sincere thanks to BRNDLS and Sinjitos Records for the interview, and a special thanks to Anggin Lembayungsari for setting it up. Be sure to check out BRNDLS latest record, DGNR8. You can find it at your trusty local record shop. If you can’t, be sure to contact BRNDLS and Sinjitos Records via the following links.

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BRNDLS Twitter
BRNDLS Facebook
BRNDLS Website
Sinjitos Records