A 7 inch vinyl record of the Monophones, a legendary Indonesian indie band, have been released from a Japanese record label Production Dessinee. I wrote the accompanying liner notes. (Kawazu)
The Monophones are a four-piece band which was based in Indonesia in the early 2000s. At the turn of the 21st century, several fascinating indie/alternative bands had emerged in Indonesia and formed a new music scene. For example, the White Shoes & the Couples Company and Sore were among the representative groups. Formed in 2003, the Monophones based their music on the rough guitar pop of indie bands, while incorporating the sophistication of bossa nova and soft rock. They released an excellent album, A Voyage to the Velvet Sun, in 2006, but the band fell apart in mid-air after that one album.
The newly released 7-inch record features two songs cut from the numbers on that album. All of the songs are great and I really wish they would have reissued them on the album, but that will have to wait for another time.
The only album, A Voyage to the Velvet Sun, was once reissued on cassette tape in Indonesia in 2015. The release was handled by Ivy League Music, a label fronted by Mondo Gascaro. His wife, Sarah Glandosch, who is the label's A&R, released the following comments at the time on the album's reissue. I think this is a very meaningful piece of writing that conveys the importance of preserving a good work as a record for the future.
❝I feel that proper archiving and history has always been main problem in Indonesian music, whether it's industry or education or culture. Many of our past works in music is gone and forgotten without written history and archiving. And certainly re-issue of past works is one way to mend this situation. (Sarah Glandosch)❞
Since recorded music itself cannot be physically taken by hands, I believe that the "boxes" that package it - records, CDs, and cassette tapes - are necessary to preserve it for future generations. A lot of music are only released via streaming recently, but once the service is over, it's over. When thinking of it, I'm very grateful that Indonesian pop music, which is still hard to find in Japan, is being distributed in the highly durable format: vinyl record.
In fact, the music of the Monophones is not registered with any of todays' music distribution services such as Apple Music or Spotify. I hope you'll take this opportunity to pick it up and enjoy it.
♪The Monophones - Rain of July
♪The Monophones - A Voyage to the Velvet Sun
♪The Monophones - Rain of July
♪The Monophones - A Voyage to the Velvet Sun
A1. Rain of July
B1. A Voyage to the Velvet Sun
