KOES BERSAUDARA - Koes Bersaudara 1967

The first in a series of (Sublime Frequencies) releases to chronicle the Indonesian popular music scene from the late 1950s through the late 1970s -- titles to come will consist of single artist releases and various artists compilations dedicated to specific styles or genres. This CD features the first-ever reissue of Koes Bersaudaras two extremely rare and almost impossible-to-find original recordings from 1967 -- To The So-Called The Guilties" (12 song full-length LP) and Djadikan Aku Domba Mu (8 song 10" LP). Guilties has long been considered by Indonesian music historians as their nations legendary garage rock masterpiece, not to mention the first record to directly challenge or speak out against the Indonesian government. Recorded live in the studio in a few hours, the album is laced with a raw, guitar-driven sound that forays into previously unexplored realms of the mid-60s Beat generation. Though Guilties is obviously inspired by Western bands of the period, the record possesses a unique feel throughout and will challenge you to find obvious derivative Western sources (with the exception of the Byrds guitar style on "Apa Sadja"). Djadikan Aku Domba Mu was recorded a few months before the Guilties album and has a much dreamier feel overall. Some of the tracks are more psychedelic and reminiscent of the ballads the Koeswoyo brothers would create at the end of the 1960s. Also included in this set is the studio outtake "The Land Of Evergreen," the only cut in this collection that was recorded in stereo. One of 4 tracks on this CD sung in English, "The Land Of Evergreen" features an absolutely stunning guitar intro and is one of the best songs the band ever created. Koes Bersaudara (Koes Brothers) were originally from East Java but formed in Jakarta in 1960. At the beginning, the group consisted of five Koeswoyo brothers -- Jon, Tonny, Nomo, Yon and Yok. After their first album was released in 1964, older brother Jon quit, reducing the group to a four-piece. Tonny (lead guitarist and songwriter) was the leader of the group with Yon (rhythm guitar) and Yok (bass) handling the vocals along with Nomo on drums. Their early recordings were influenced by The Everly Brothers and Western ballads, but by 1965, the group started to grow their hair longer, wore high-heeled leather boots, and added Beatles songs to their stage show. This caught the attention of President Sukarno who began waging war against the "Western decadence" of Beatlemania which had taken hold of the Indonesian popular music scene. Koes Bersaudara was arrested and spent 3 months in prison for performing a Beatles song at a private house party. They were released from jail at the same time General Suhuarto launched his military coup and former restrictions on Western pop music began to be lifted. By 1967, Koes Bersaudara were back in the studio recording Djadikan Aku Domba Mu and To The So-Called "The Guilties" (what would become their most challenging music) on Dick Tamimis Mesra Record label. Nomo left the group in 1968 and after Tonny, Yon and Yok found their new drummer Kasmuri (Murry), Koes Plus was born in 1969 and became the most popular Indonesian band of the 1970s. These reissued tracks have been coveted by serious "in the know" collectors worldwide for decades and will surely appeal to all fans of the garage rock/psychedelic era of the mid-late 1960s as a significant missing piece of the global pop music history puzzle. Housed in a tri-fold digipack CD with a 20-page booklet featuring selected lyrics, rare & unseen photos provided by Koes Bersaudara for this specific project and extensive liner notes of the bands amazing history by compiler Alan Bishop." - Sublime Frequencies.