Love And Turbo Action (2004) "A revolutionary album and has a high imagination in a country that is not a producer of science fiction stories"
At that time the independent music scene in Indonesia at the beginning of the millennium experienced a new era. The indie music activists of the capital made the revolution in response to the harshness of independent music from Bandung dominated by rock music such as metal, hardcore, and grindcore. The revolution began when a group of students of the Jakarta Arts Institute (IKJ) formed a band called Naif and Clubeighties.
Both bands received a positive response and great popularity thanks to their video music that looks timeless and able to snatch the highest award MTV Indonesia Music Awards as Best Video through badminton and transgender video clips.
Naive and Clubeighties offer a new and fresh kind of music in the ears of Indonesians so at that time we had something to be proud of to outsiders before the Internet era came.
The new musical revolution in Indonesia at the beginning of the millennium also came from the rock and roll unit capital of The Brandals which released its first album in 2003 under the brand Self Titled. The era that rock and roll they really represent the true face of Jakarta; wild, dirty, aggressive, rough, demented, perverted. Through their debut album, they get an overwhelming response from music and radio media that is looking for a new musical footing after bands and alternative Indonesian singers have started to lose 'kekerenannya' and become industrial printing machine.
Then, a similar revolution was also done by a successful new wave movement blurring the boundary between indie music and major music. The dualism of music is merged into a grip especially in a big city, everyone suddenly dancing with The Brandals or singing Naive and The Upstairs songs in the glitter of Jakarta's pensions.
The trio filled by Henry Foundation, Bondi Goodboy and Oomleo who resonated themselves as Goodnight Electric also took a big part in the new wave music revolution in Jakarta. They brought the video clip "Am I Robot?" In 2004 viral thanks to the concept of a simple and low-budget video clip but has a visual ciamik especially about the head of the robot that became a mandatory costume pensi pensi capital of the time.
The distribution of these video clips is also like the story of how independent musicians can get their big time. Initially this video is often played on local tv Jakarta. The impact of their first album Love and Turbo Action became one of Indonesia's best-selling albums in 2004 and triggered a new wave movement in Jakarta and the establishment of a legendary independent label that had turned the music of Indonesia aksara Records.
There is a reason why Love and Turbo Action will always be memorable and become a landmark in the music of Indonesia to get into the list of 150 Best Indonesia Album Throughout the Rolling Stone version of Indonesia. Love and Turbo Action is an album that can be said to be an anomaly in Indonesian music even in electronic music itself which is always associated as something glamorous and expensive. They reverse these perceptions and make electronic music that sounds very local with the theme of everyday life a boy geek with all keeksentrikannya and wild imagination will science fiction complete with the accompaniment of electro music low budget but ciamik.
'Am I Robot' and 'Psychic Girl' illustrate that the band was founded by pop culture lovers with the Depeche Mode synthpop music pattern in the Speak & Spell era. On 'Psychic Girl' they proudly point out that they are a geek by mentioning all the mecha and tokusatsu series they like like Kamen Rider, Voltus, and Ultraman in a geeky 8-bit music medium.
'A.S.T.U.R.O.B.O.T' describes the dystopia atmosphere with the dreams of Blade Runner with the simple music and vocals of Henry's males to strengthen the innocent and raw elements of Goodnight Electric.
Check out 'The Supermarket I Am In' ran with a supersonic beat that tells about making out in a supermarket that sounded very advanced from the era of Indonesian music at that time.
'Rocket Ship Goes By' brings the essence of indie pop with the cradle of stories between beautiful aliens and human beings as if they were making their own version of Interseller. Then 'We're Going To The Star' is a sweet cover and takes its listeners to a new world of imagination after traveling with Goodnight Electric along the album.
On his first album Goodnight Electric wrapped his music with themes that may sound unfamiliar to the general public in Indonesia. They bring an imaginary future dystopian theme with a broad imagination level like a science fiction movie mid 80s like Star Wars.
Goodnight Electric captures all the futuristic spirit of the 80s whether it's music or its visuals with very solid and neat. 'Love And Turbo Action' also captures the simplicity of the synthpop by bringing it into the back-to-basic packaging without having to sound ambitious or fiery (just listen to Henry's lemon vocals and seem to lack the energy to sing that adds to the simplicity's aesthetic).
They once said that this album is made from a variety of pirated software because they do not have a big budget to make an album, let alone this album is only circulated in some stores before Aksara Records redistributes throughout Indonesia. Thanks to this album everyone suddenly has FL Studio on their computer while hoping they can make a unique and cool song like Goodnight Electric.
When this album exploded and everyone became a fever Goodnight Electric, Adidas jacket that became their style imitated everywhere to look hip and look classy in Jakarta environment.
Overall this album is fun to be listened to and can be used as a milestone marker of a period in which time there was a new wave outbreak back from a group of trendy mullet haired people and liked music like The Cure, Depeche Mode, Devo or Postal Service.
They succeeded in making the revolution behind the limitations by only having imaginations and wild dreams. If Goodnight Electric does not appear, Indonesians will probably wonder what is the use of the real synth and no trend of emo / pop punk bands that could burst in Indonesia in early 2010. Goodnight Electric managed to make a geek look cool.