I'm chilling out with Cascade!

For some reasons, there are songs we automatically associate with specific situations. There are undoubtedly songs that remind you place, person, thing or time. When I listen to Cascade, this reminds me the sun...You know...When you are by the beach, chilling out and just enjoying the moment. Their sound is sparkling, pleasant and make us crave for the summer to come very soon.

Untuk beberapa alasan, ada beberapa lagu yang secara otomatis menyatukan kita dengan situasi yang spesial. Pasti ada lagu-lagu yang mengingatkan kita kepada tempat, seseorang, sesuatu atau momentum. Bila saya mendengar lagu-lagu Cascade, mengingatkan saya pada matahari ..... kamu tau kan ..... bilamana kita di pantai, bersantai dan menikmati momentumnya. Suara mereka gemerlap, menyenangkan dan membuat kita sangat merindukan musim panas datang cepat untuk berlibur.



Who are Cascade, can you introduce yourself?
We are five friends who gathers our passions into creating a unique style of pop music.
Siapakah itu CASCADE, silahkan perkenalkan diri?
Lima sekawan bersatu dalam keinginan untuk menciptakan pop musik yang unik.

How would you define your music?
Sebuah paduan antara nyanyian dan suara merdu gitar, dengan jalur-bass yang aromatik, dibungkus dengan synthesizer yang hangat, dan disajikan dengan ketukan yang dramatis.
Bagaimana kamu mendifinisikan musikmu?
Combination between a song and sweet guitar melody, with spicy bass-track, wrapped in warm syhthesizer and presented dramatically.

LISTEN TO CASCADE WHILE READING THE INTERVIEW

What does the word « indie » mean to you?
Indie means limitless, timeless, unconventional, and where the new thought begins.
Apa arti "indie" untuk kamu ?
India berarti Tanpa batas, tak mengenal waktu, inkonventional dan tempat ide baru muncul.

You are from Bandung, tell us more about this city in terms of music, compared to Jakarta? Bandung is surrounded by mountains, nice cool air compared to other cities in Indonesia, so it gives the impression that this atmosphere has a strong influence on all creations made in Bandung. Bandung is very thick with its pop-tradition, we can easily recognize people and music coming from this city, it's always gloomy and atmospherix. The interesting point is, music lovers here tend to be more critical and pragmatical, they don't clap their hands if they don't really love the band...In other words, the audience is not taken for granted, when it claps your hand at the end of the show, the artist really appreciates it ;-)

Kamu dari Bandung, cerita dong mengenai musik di kota ini, apa bedanya dengan Jakarta)
Bandung merupakan kota yang dikelilingi pegunungan, udaranya relatif sejuk dibandingkan dengan kota-kota lain di Indonesia, sehingga memberi kesan bahwa atmosfir kota Bandung menjadi pengaruh yang kuat terhadap karya-karya yang lahir di sini. Bandung kental dengan budaya pop-nya, orang-orangnya mudah dikenali, terlihat dan terdengar ‘sangat Bandung’. Musiknya pun begitu. Apapun genre-nya, selalu tercium aroma Bandung yang sangat khas - gloomy dan atmospheric. Yang menarik adalah, apresiator musik di kota ini cenderung lebih kritis dan pragmatis, mereka biasa menonton dengan tangan melipat di dada... Hahaha... Tepuk tangan dari mereka bernilai sangat tinggi.


Which artist would you dream to be on stage with?
Well, it's not an easy question...We ve been mainly inspired by artists from the 80's and 90's, so it would be probably an artist coming from this era.
Dengan artis mana mimpi kamu untuk kolaborasi??
Sepertinya banyak sekali... Sangat sulit untuk ditentukan... Mungkin artis-artis yang berasal dari era 80an-90an, dimana karya-karya yang lahir di era tersebut banyak menginspirasi kita.

Would you like to go international or do you only target Indonesian people?
We would like to go as far as we could be, we would like to go inter-galactic!
Kamu ingin go-international atau targetnya hanya orang-orang Indonesia?
Kita ingin mencapai sejauh mungkin, dan go inter-galactic!

How important is internet to promote your music?
It is very important! Especially to be as near as possible to our fans, just like on stage. Internet go lots of facility, preview of new songs even recent recorded gigs with a very low or without any cost at all. It is very friendly stuff for an independent person ha ha (Aisyah, thank you for introducing fairtilizer)
Apa pentingnya internet untuk promosi musik kamu?
Sangat penting! Terutama untuk membawa kita lebih dekat dengan pendengar. Di panggung kita ingin berada sedekat mungkin dengan pendengar, begitu juga di luar panggung. Internet menyediakan semuanya, preview lagu baru atau bahkan rekaman gigs semalam. Semuanya berbiaya relatif sangat rendah, bahkan bisa dibilang tanpa biaya. Sangat bersahabat buat kita yang semuanya-serba-sendiri... Hahaha... (Oiya, thanks buat Aisyah yang sudah mengenalkan Fairtilizer kepada kita...)

2009 Indonesian Top Tracks?
Malaikat - The Milo
My Diary - Mocca
Anais Lullaby - Santa Monica
Ribbons and Tie - Santa Monica
Kebebasan - Singiku
Setengah Lima - Sore
Cinta Melulu - Efek Rumah Kaca
Kunang-kunang - Dewa Budjana
Desire - Pure Saturday
Matel - Kubik

2009 international top tracks?
A Dark Design - Mew
Tom Sawyer - Rush
Vapour Trail - Ride
Mermaid - Tatsuro Yamashita
Nightingales - Prefab Sprout
Everybody wants to rule the world - Tears for Fears
On an Island - David Gilmour
A separate reality - Ocean Blue
Whales Tails - Cocteau Twins
Domino Line - Casiopea

To our international readers... Which Indonesian dishes would you recommend the most?
- Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice)
- Batagor (Baso Tahu Goreng): Literally "Fried Tahu Meatballs". A true Bandung Invention :D Made from snapper filet mixed with tahu and coated with pangsit. Served with peanut sauce and sprinkled lime juice, it can also be served in a broth. Try also Baso tahu ;-)
- Rendang: Padang (West Sumatra) traditional dish. Made from meat cooked in a thick coconut milk sauce, hot and spicy. Impressions of adventurous spirit of Padang men who'd like to broaden their horizons.
- Gado-gado: Indonesian style salad with peanut dressing and served with rice cake and kerupuk. In Bandung, it's known as Lotek.
- Soto: A traditional meat soup. Each part of the country has its "own soto": Soto Bandung, soto padang, soto Lamongan, Soto Makasar, etc.
Oh, and try also Rawon, and Sop Konro!

The best of 7 worlds: SOULVIBE

When I first listened to Soulvibe, I would have never guess that there were 7 people in the group.The harmony within the band immediately reaches the listener. For many bands, 7 means a lot of discords and arguments whereas for Soulvibe it means richness and eclectism. Their upcoming album is due on March 10th, and they're really looking forward to presenting it to their fans. Mendengarkan SOULVIBE pertama kali, enggak pernah terpikir bahwa ada 7 orang dalam grupnya. Permainannya sangat harmonis untuk didengar. Untuk banyak band-band yang ada, 7 adalah jumlah yang tidak sedikit untuk argumen dan bermain dengan baik, sedangkan untuk SOULVIBE malah memberikan kekayaan dan eklektik. Album yang akan datang akan muncul 10 Maret, mereka sudah tidak sabar untuk menyajikannya untuk para fans.

Who are Soulvibe? Can you introduce yourselves?
Soulvibe is an Indonesian Band from Jakarta. The name is the acronym of: Sound Of Universal Love/ Various Instrument Behaviour. The band members are Abenk (lead Voc), Bayu (Lead Voc), Handy (Bass), Caesar (Drums), Frans (Keyboard), Rio (Synth), Asa (Guitar).

Siapakah Soulvibe?

Soulvibe sebenarnya kepanjangan dari: Sound Of Universal Love / Various Instrument Behaviour, band asal Jakarta yang beranggotakan Abenk (Lead Voc), Bayu (Lead Voc), Handy (Bass), Caesar (Drum), Frans (Keyboard), Rio (Synth) dan Asa (Guitar).

LISTEN TO SOULVIBE WHILE READING THE INTERVIEW

How would you define your music?

Right from the beginning in 2005, we've been influenced by different kind of music. We prefer to be driven by creativity instead of being stuck in a specific style of music. Anyway, at the end, it is tour fans who decide what kind of music we are. Since we've signed with ORGANIC records, we like to say that our style of music is ORGANIC.

Begaimana kalian mendefinisikan musiknya?

Dari mulai terbentuk pada tahun 2005, banyak banget jenis musik yang akhirnya menjadi referensi buat musik SOULVIBE seperti sekarang ini. Dan kami pikir yang namanya kreatifitas itu tidak terpatok pada genre musik apa yang kita mainin. Akhirnya juga bakalan dibalikin ke penikmat musik, pembeli CD, fans dalam menghayati musik SOULVIBE. Tapi sejak kita bergabung dengan ORGANIC Records, untuk mempermudah...kita dan artis-artis ORGANIC Records yang lain menyebut musik kita bergenre ORGANIC.

Tell us a bit more about your upcoming album ?

We just recorded our 2nd album...yeahhhh! We are very excited about it! It has been produced by Widi Puradiredja (from MALIQ & d'essentials), under ORGANIC RECORDS label. We've been working with a lot of different people who are relatively new to us, it's been a great experience. For this second album, we had the chance to collaborate with Indra Lesmana for the mixing and the recording. The name of the album is "Antartika" and will be release in March 2010.

Cerita tentang album ke 2 kalian?

Album ke-2 kita baru aja selesai...yeahhh!!! Lagi semangat-semangatnya---dirpoduseri oleh Widi Puradiredjy (MALIQ & D'essentials) lewat Label ORGANIC Records. Banyak yang baru tentunya, pengalaman...suka dan duka bekerja dengan orang-orang yang relatif baru buat kita. Album SOULVIBE yang ke-2 ini lumayan banyak surprise-nya, salah satunya adalah kesempatan bekerjasama dengan Indra Lesmana dalam proses Mixing dan Mastering. Album ke-2 ini judulnya "Antartika", berisi 9 lagu dan bakalan release bulan Maret 2010 nanti.

What will be the role of internet in promoting thie 2nd album?

The role of internet is becoming very important as much as and sometimes more than traditional medias such as Radio, TV and Magazines. The main advantage of internet is how fast you can spread the word. By the way, we are really proud to be among the few Asian artists who have been nominated for the HipHop/TripHop/RnB and Funk/Soul/Blues at the "People Music Awards". http://www.thepeoplesmusicawards.com

Apa peran internet untuk mempromosikan album yang ke 2 ini?

Peran Internet sama pentingnya dengan media promosi tradisional seperti Radio, TV, Majalah. Malahan untuk beberapa hal, Internet bisa jadi lebih unggul terutama soal cakupan dan kecepatan. Kalo ngomong soal bukti nyata...dari Internet SOULVIBE bangga banget menjadi satu-satunya wakil dari Asia dan mendapatkan 2 nominasi untuk kategori Hiphop-Triphop-RnB dan Funk-Soul-Blues pada ajang penghargaan "The Peoples Music Awards ".http://www.thepeoplesmusicawards.com

What is your perception of the Music Industry in Indonesia?

As Indonesian Artists, we are very proud of being part of the national music industry which is huge. The last 2-3 years, there have been tremendous amount of new artists on the local music scene. The problem that indie artists are facing is basically lack of promotion tools, but internet is becoming more and more useful for them. We strongly believe in the future of music industry in Indonesia, we are on our way to become the leaders in Asia.

Begaimana kaliah melihat industri musik di Indonesia?

Sebagai musisi asli Indonesia kita bangga banget ikut ambil bagian dalam industri musik di negara kita sendiri, yang nyata-nyata sangat massive. Mungkin 2-3 tahun belakangan ini bisa dibilang secara kuantitas, banyak banget band/ musisi baru bermunculan. Geliat "Indie" juga sangat bagus meskipun akar masalahnya tetep sama, kurang promosi. Tapi at least kita percaya industri musik di Indonesia sedang menuju ke arah yang lebih baik dan harusnya bisa jadi leader Industri Musik di Asia.

Can you explain how do you compose music? Are there always seven of you working on a son, or is there any particular process?

The way we are composing is not determined by a particular process. However, when we are composing/writing songs, there is always one of us who's appointed to be the Music Director. When we are recording, the appointed music director represents the bridge between us the the music producer. Anyhow, at the end of each song, we make sure that everyone agrees on the final result.

Begaimana Soulvibe menulis musik? Apakah ada proses tertentuh?

Cara kami membuat musik tidak pernah terpaku pada satu sistem tertentu. Selama proses pembuatan lagu ada 1 orang dari kami yang berfungsi sebagai Music Director-nya. Pada saat recording, Music Director ini yang menjadi jembatan kita ke produser. Tapi pada tahap final sebuah lagu, biasanya kami selalu melakukannya bertujuh.

Which artists would you dream to collaborate with?

Local:Slank, Naif, Armand Maulana (GiGi)

International:Mint Condition, John Legend, Kanye West, Musiq Soulchild

2009 Indonesian Top Tracks?

- MALIQ & d'essentials "Luluh"

- Boogiemen "Havana"

- Endah & Rhesa "When You Love Someone"

- The SIGIT "Money Maker"

- Gita Gutawa "Malu Tapi Mau"

2009 International Top Tracks?

- John Legend "Green Light"

- Bob Sinclar "The La la Song"

- Alicia Keys "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart"

- Mayer Hawthorne "A Strange Arrangement"

- John Mayer "Heartbreak Warfare"

To our International Readers which Indonesian dish would you recommend?

Sop Kaki Kambing (=Lamb Feet Soup)