Jirapah which in Indonesian translates as ‘giraffe’, is an Indonesian band that has been paving their music excellence in New York’s underground music scene. Fronted by Ken Jenie on vocals and guitars with currently Mariati Galatio (Mar Galo) on bass, Thank you Max, EP was their first recording album, followed by a release of several songs in the Digital 7″ vol. 01. We’ve previously featured Jirapah’s songs in our first roundtable session, and both Ken and Mar were generous to provide us with their mix tapes. However, this time Whiteboard Journal wanted to dissect more information about the band itself and recently talked to Ken about the recording process of the album, their music inspirations, and whether being in New York has made a difference in their music career.

So, where exactly in your music career are you at the moment?

We are currently performing all around the city, getting the name out there and recording a lot on our downtime.

What initially drew you to love and perform music?

That’s sort of difficult question. I believe there are a number of influences through out my life that initially and continue to inspire me creatively. If I had to pick one very important moment, it would be the realizing that I can do it myself. Like many, I started playing guitar by mimicking my favorite musicians, finally one day I tried to compose my own songs … and I actually enjoyed what I wrote! Looking back, the revelation seems trivial and terribly obvious (not to mention the songs were horrendous [laughs]), but at that moment it was very liberating.

Could you tell us about your debut / first EP?

The Thank You, Max. EP. consists of six songs.”Hazy Sundays” has become a favorite live so we decided to include it in the mix. The idea to release the online EP came about because we wanted people to listen to the music other than a live setting, and what better way than online where one can download at their leisure. We also thought that after so many years of recording, we are finally comfortable enough with the quality of the material to release it. I mean, we have recorded many songs, but they are very erratic in their production, and though I would like to think Jirapah’s music as dynamic, the inconsistencies work against us in the long run. Now I sort of developed a little formula when recording, mixing and mastering, but its rules are not set in stone so there’s still a lot of room to experiment and progress without sacrificing our “sound”. So yeah, I hope people give the EP a listen and enjoy what they hear,  And now with the Jirapah website/blog in effect, we will be releasing many more songs. I just hope people will listen (laugh).

What are your major musical (and non musical) influences?

The dreaded question, so many to name! I’m currently very much into the writings of Haruki Murakami, particularly “The Wind Up Bird Chronicles“.  I enjoy the surreal train of thought and adventures he presents in his stories. Music-wise, I just bought a collection of Vashti Bunyan singles and demos,  and most Broadcast albums have been on heavy rotation recently.

Do you have a favorite record sleeve? If so, why?

One would be the Flaming Lips The Soft Bulletin, the division of title and image, the overhead shot, and the perfect placement of the Warner Brothers logo really sets the tone for what I believe to be their most epic work. The Minor Threat cover is another, the image of Ian Mackaye’s brother sleeping on those steps pretty much sums the band up visually. I love OOIOO’s Gold & Green sleeve just because it is so colorful and complete inside and out.

Let me ask you about the tracks on your record. How did the track’ flower people’ come about? A reference to Spinal Tap?

“Flower People” came about from listening to way too many lectures and reading articles by Chomsky, the phrase just sounded appropriate with whatever idea I had at the moment of recording. I just found out that there’s a reference to Spinal Tap hahaha.

There’s a difference when listening to a Jirapah record and seeing them live. What do you think is the major difference?

There’s a pretty big difference between the live shows and the recordings. The music really begins with the recording because Jirapah was initially a studio project. There are usually many layers of instruments and sounds playing simultaneously. We usually perform as a three-piece, so as you can imagine sometimes we cannot reproduce exactly what is on the record. But with that in mind, personally I take the example of Yura Yura Teikoku post-Memai and Shibire. Their performances are different from the album takes, but does not sacrifice the core of the songs. We have a pretty generous amount of freedom to interpret the songs live, which keeps the music from being redundant.

What makes New York important to your career?

I don’t know to what extent New York as a city is important to a band’s chances of success, but it certainly has a lot to offer. There are so many events happening in the city all year round. Whether a music venue, museum, gallery, theater, library, even walking down a street you can experience the result of somebody’s creative labor. There is an overwhelming number of creative options to be discovered, and that is something I really appreciate about NYC.

Tell us more about the story behind the recent release of the Digital 7″ vol. 01?
We actually have a number of songs recorded when Jirapah was still in its infancy that we  have never released. Over the course of time and performances we started playing the music a little differently. Since we still play Snake Kills Child and Summer on a regular basis, we decided to re-record them as close to how we would play them live. As for Ratapan Sang Bayi, during the time I wrote the two songs mentioned above I listened to Lilis Suryani pretty regularly. Her voice and music heavily influenced the creation of many Jirapah songs back then, so I figured it is only appropriate that we cover one of her songs to show our appreciation in volume 01.

The whole Digital 7″ idea is that Jirapah would release songs old and new songs that just would not fit into an EP or LP setting, so you’ll be seeing more of them in the near future. Stay up!

What do have in store next for Jirapah?
Number one is we are going continue performing regularly. We have a couple of really good shows lined up, so who ever is in the New York City area please come check us out. Other than that we’re just going to keep releasing music through Jirapah.com. as I’m typing this interview the second Digital 7″ is close to being finished, be on the look out for that. I guess the answer in short is performing and recording!

Are you able to pack in the day jobs now thanks to Jirapah?

Ha! I wish, maybe someday. Wish us luck, and thank you Whiteboardjournal.com!

And thank you Ken! we look forward for Jirapah’s performance here in Indonesia!