In "Ngélar" - the sextet’s sophomore LP - deeper social narratives and more intimate subject matters are more apparent. In which they speak a lot about ‘tanah’ or ‘land/soil,’ owing a lot to the fact that their hometown, Jatiwangi’s history of being the country’s largest producer of clay/terracotta-based products. The people in Jatiwangi’s intertwining relationship with ‘tanah’ is simply unparalleled - even their instruments are mostly made of terracotta.

From the reimagining of their hometown’s past glories, Lair, along with singer/songwriter Monica Hapsari (who co-wrote and co-composed three songs in the album) and Go Kurosawa (Kikagaku Moyo) helming the project as the producer, sings about the rituals and traditions of harvest, to sending off prayers towards their once-prospering land and the ruins of what was once a dense forest in Jatiwangi, which they are currently trying to reclaim while racing with the massive wave of industrialisation. It is a contextually-sorrowful album as much as it is a candid, cheery commemoration of the band members’ everyday life in today’s northern shores of Java, Indonesia.

"Ngélar" is one of the words that might be able to describe the essence of Lair as a group. The word itself can be traced back to the locals’ culture of ‘going around in celebration of something.’ In their village, ngélar simply means a traveling performance, in which the performers would play music and go around the village, greeting the people around them as they move from place to place, or simply within their immediate surroundings, indicating that there is something nearby that is being celebrated.

Lair are simply in love with journey, time, and all of their interactions. "Ngélar", for them, is a representation of their journey. How they go around, interacting and communicating, to celebrating and making sense of everything that is going on within and around them. For Lair, "Ngélar" is a method, a creative process, and - as an album - a culmination of each of their journeys since the group’s founding.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Hair raising psyche, fuzz and funk from this Indonesian group. Plenty for fans of Goat to enjoy, whilst it also sits perfectly into the Guruguru Brain ethos.

TRACK LISTING

Tatalu
Pesta Rakyat Pabrik Gula
Tanah Bertuah
Hareeng
Boa-Boa
Kawin Tebu
Bangkai Belantara
Gelombang Pemecah Malam
Mencari Selamat

The name means GEOMETRIC PATTERNS in Japanese. This Tokyo band started channeling the spirits of the Japanese psychedelic underground in the summer of 2012, quickly developing the sound of ‘60s psychedelia to a breathtaking degree. Their debut album exerts an elemental power. Enlivening their sound with sitars, percussive drums, theremins, wind instruments and ethereal vocals, the band manages to sound powerfully spacious and lazily serene all at once. Their songs can be light as air, or heavy as earth. Many evolve out of intense experiences of engagement with the natural world. The album’s first track, “Can You Imagine Nothing?” was written over a night spent jamming on a suspended footbridge in remote mountains.

As the song progressed the bridge began to sway, making band members feel as though they were floating weightless in midair. Kikagaku Moyo started in the summer of 2012 busking on the streets of Tokyo. Though the band started as a free musiccollective, it quickly evolved into a tight group of multiinstrumentalists. Kikagaku Moyo call their sound psychedelicic because it encompasses a broad spectrum of influence. Their music incorporates elements of classical Indian music, Krautrock, Traditional Folk, and 70s Rock. Most importantly their music is about freedom of the mind and body and building a bridge between the supernatural and the present. Improvisation is a key element to their sound.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Can You Imagine Nothing? 
A2 Zo No Senaka 
A3 Tree Smoke 
B1 Lazy Stoned Monk
B2 Dawn