NEW INTERVIEW: Our first interview with Wisnar of POURRITURE (Bandung Death Metal), 17 May 2019.

Our interview with Wisnar of POURRITURE (Bandung Death Metal)

Date: Friday, 17 May 2019.

Translation: By Teguh Prasetyo.

Venue: Teguh’s house in Lembang.

POURRITURE is: Wisnar (guitar), Redy (drums), Rizal (vocals), and Beck (additional bass).

Kieran James (Busuk Chronicles): Please tell us the band history.

Wisnar (guitarist): We started in 2010. The first initiators of Pourriture were: Andika (vocals) and Angga (drums). We played DM right from the beginning but the lyrical theme has changed. Before, the theme was about ideology. Now it is talking about social issues and especially the taking over of ownership of land by force. We also talk about the negative effects of industry in damaging the environment.

We released our first CD in 2014 (Deny on guitar, Junior on bass, Andika on vocals, and Angga on drums). The CD was a three-song promo.

Then in 2016 we released a five-song demo album with the same personnel plus me (released by Soebangsat Records). It sold out in only one day.

Then we released the full-length album in 2017, The Savagely Construction (released by ESP).

KJ: Where is the band from?

Wisnar: Soreang. But now the base is Baleendah (South Bandung).

KJ: What is the meaning of the band name?

Wisnar: It is French language word meaning destruction. We pick the name because we want to have the same concept with the music and the lyrics.

Wisnar: We also made a comic book released by Holyman Productions. The comic creator was Dany Kurniawan. The comic is the visual form of the album.

KJ: Who were your heroes and influences when you were younger?

Wisnar: Inveracity, Deeds of Flesh, Severe Torture, Suffocation.

KJ: Indonesian bands?

Wisnar: Jasad, Jihad, Bleeding Corpse, Funeral Inception.

Teguh Prasetyo: For the comic, whose idea was it in the beginning – the band’s or the creator’s?

Wisnar: We wanted to release something which was not common in the DM scenes.

KJ: What is your comment about playing Flower City Death Fest?

Wisnar: We are very proud to play at Flower City as we have the same synergy. It is a non-profit gig and we like it because we can meet with other Bandung bands. It is like a kind of reunion.

Teguh: We usually meet with other bands in the other towns. Bandung is quite big and so we mostly see each other in a full band form. Personally we still meet with each other occasionally.

KJ: Were you surprised that the crowd was so big – 600?

Wisnar: We are very proud. It is beyond our expectations. We pay a lot of respect to the people who come because it is not only fans but also musicians.

KJ: Are you involved in organizing the second Flower City Death Fest?

Wisnar: Daniel is the initiator; I am like the vice-CEO. There will be a rotation as to who will be the vice-CEO of the event.

KJ: What is the future plan for the band?

Wisnar: We will be making a new promo and new video-clip. After that we will do an album.

Teguh: Will the style of the music still be the same?

Wisnar: No. The music will be more complex. We want to show more dynamism. In one song we can find four tempo changes. There will be more richness in the melody and musical notation.

Teguh: What I like from them is that they play the music so tightly and skilfully. It is like a technical band but not technical in genre. It is still brutal but with a technical way of playing. They don’t sacrifice the whole point of the song. They don’t sell only the technical side. They sell the whole song concept. For me they always stand out from the rest.

KJ: Tell us about the lyric themes.

Wisnar: Misi Patahkan Tradisi – taken from the Salim Kancil case. It talks about a man who owned some land outside Freeport Company (USA Company with operations in Indonesia, gold-mining). Salim mined the gold from his own place. Freeport took the acquisition of the land by force. He was hit by a car deliberately. This case was covered up and was not featured extensively in the media. It is an example of all the lyrics in the album. The event happened in Jayapura. All the album lyrics talk about reality and we are against the industrial system which causes damage to the environment and the people around it.

Teguh: Two members of the band have left; the original members. Did it change the lyrical themes?

Wisnar: Both of them still nongkrong (hang-out) with the band. They are still involved in the band but they can’t be band members because of their job commitments. However, it did not change the concept because the band’s identity is the same. We have only used one artist for everything right from the beginning.

KJ: What do you think about the Bandung DM scene at the moment – positive and negative things?

Wisnar: The positive thing is that the community is becoming a place, a vessel, and a forum for DM musicians so that we can show our musical feelings. No negative things.

KJ: Message for the fans?

Wisnar: In this digital era, don’t be afraid to buy a physical release because it will directly support the bands and the labels.

*****THE END*****