What does the group's name mean?

MARCEL: It's just a nonsense word I made up in high school when I was listening to a lot of Kraut Rock and mid-90s so called "post rock." Thought that the band names such as Popol Vuh and Sabalon Glitz, in particular, sounded kickass. So that's our won horrible adolescent version of it.

ANDRE: Extremely means nothing. Simple to pronounce and easy to remember.

Let's reminiscence: The Osaka Journals is all about Japan. What's the Japanese aesthetic that you're trying to capture particularly?

MARCEL: I just liked the look and feel of the cities, and the way it still incorporated a lot of tradition and uniqueness. You can't be in Japan and not take it all in - for better or worse. It was strictly from the perspective of a traveling tourist. I took it that people would understand it was just a small thing we were interested in at the time; especially since none of the song sounded remotely like Japanese pop or something. Also, only two songs - plus the album's title - had something Japanese in them. None of the songs were about Japan. The analogy was there; but mostly I just liked the way certain words roll of the tongue. "Kyoto" is a pleasant sounding word for me to sing, but the song's completely unrelated you know. It could have just been called "It was Mecca, Where I Died."

You're not tempted to go back to Japan?

MARCEL: Of course, I am. All the time. But it's not a cheap trip, you know - And I've got a kid on the way and a wife, so a luxury overseas trip is not really on calendars right now. We're always saving though, so we'll see...

ANDRE: Absolutely not!

Manimal incorporates a huge reference to Baroque sounds. Which albums did y'all hear at that time?

MARCEL: The usual suspects: Brian Wilson's completed "Smile," and a lot his band's 70s material like "Holland," "Sunflower," and "Surf's Up." There was also things like Lee Hazelwood and Van Dyke Parks; but it was mostly just tinkering with brass sounds on the controller and rolling with it. We were challenging ourselves heavily, but we knew our limits, melodically and production wise.

ANDRE: Fleet foxes, Guided By Voices, Bon Iver, The Moffats, MLTR, Fennesz.

What's the main theme in “Manimal”? Is it a concept album?

MARCEL: Not at all. Of the 3, it's probably the most haphazard in terms of lyrical topic. It's more about nuance and nice things to mouth. The songs are definitely about something, and they do evoke a lot emotion when I sing them. It's about this time in our lives; what with being in our late 20s and early 30s; but we didn't try to produce a consciously unifying team. A lot of current bands do that for marketing sake - trust me, I know - and it's completely embarrassing and boring to me. "Alright, this album is about this...blahblah." You can't pull it off unless it's The Wall or something; and even then... I'd rather have something chaotic and moody like the white album or Alien Lanes.

ANDRE: We don't do no conceptual album. Named 'manimal' with no reason like we choose Sajama cut as a band's name.

Your free single “Celebrations (Light it Up)” sounded pretty lo-fi, in a good way. How's the recording process going, by the way?

MARCEL: I literally wrote that song 5 minutes before we recorded it. I'm not saying that to sound like I'm Rachmaninoff or something, just that it was insanely fun to do. It's not as lo-fi as you'd think. I sang one take to my friend's Macbook, then sent it off to our keyboard player, and we did a lot phone talking about the arrangements. But yeah, it took around half a day to complete, ultimately.

ANDRE: We did the recording on our poor, unprofessional hardware. First, Marcel did vocal and guitar then Andre and others give some inputs and arrangement, and so on.

What's with these pluralism talks that You've said in the liner notes? Please elaborate.

MARCEL: Oh, I don't know. Our publicist came up with that. He's a good writer so we let have the reigns. Personally, if you need someone to tell you that racism, homophobia, etc, is moronic, you'd be better fucking right off, you know. I've hung around all types of people since I was 1 year old, so the idea that you need to be woken up to the idea of not being a close minded tool seems completely foreign to me. But I appreciate that sometimes you need to be blunt about things, and that if you're somewhat of a public figure, certain people look up to you and take your opinion to heart. So I thought it was a welcome idea. As a side note, out publicist writes kick ass songs under the name Darryl Wezzy.

Each member, please state for us your versions of:

5 best games of all time.

MARCEL: The first Splinter Cell, Metal Gear Solid, Ninja Ryukenden 2, Rockman 2, and Prototype

ANDRE: Pac man, Arkenoid, Street fighter, Metal slug, Ice climber

ANES: I love Footbal! So, PES and Winning Eleven rules!

BANU: Final fantasy VII, final fantasy tactics, vandal hearts, medal of honor, mafia

DION: winning eleven, metal gear solid, fifa 2010, civilitazion, spore

RANDY: The Godfather, The Warriors, Super robot wars alpha gaiden, age of empires 3, pro evolution soccer 2011

5 favourite culinary stops in Jakarta?

MARCEL: I like expensive dining; call me a tool. But I love Sailendra. There's tons of others, but I don't want to name them for fear of being considered a bigger tool - not having one.

ANDRE: Gading food city, Eat n eat, Tip top, Sabang, Tjikini. Are you?

ANES: Urban and consumptive way Sushi Tei and Ramen 86. But, mostly is Nasi Goreng Mas Wid, Seafood that belong to Ayu, and Gultik Bulungan.

BANU: Eat nothing! Just “Sop kambing 3 saudara”, “sushi tei”, “golden century”, “solaria”, and “bakmie raos”.

DION: Around my neighborhood (Cinere:RED). Iki ena, 3 Sodara, Cak Yono, Barokah, Home!
RANDY : Cheap or expensive dos not matter! I like eat at Hanamasa, raja kepiting, abuba, mas wid nasi goring and nasi uduk perempatan.

Top 5 midnight destinations in Jakarta?

MARCEL: I like bookstores where THE BOOKS AREN'T WRAPPED UP IN GODDAMNED PLASTIC WRAPPERS. Aksara is one, but they used to be better and more up to date with their collection, didn't they? I like going to game shops. I like going to movies with my wife.

ANDRE: I like hanging out in Friends house, my Bedroom, watch movies at 21 cinema, going to gigs at Rossi, and meet tons of crappy people at Mata bar. Wait! Mata bar still exist is it?

ANES: Same like old story! TPU Jeruk Purut, Mahakam Junction, Ancol Car park, Taman Lawang and MABESPOLRI (Mangga Besar pol belok kiri)

BANU: My cribs, Girlfriend cribs, My own bedroom, midnight sale, and XXI

DION: Going to airport, Monas, Kemang, Senayan, then x2!

RANDY: My home and girlfriend home, mall, ambassador, then laughing at FPI mosque!

Top 5 or your most prized-collections...

MARCEL: I can't really. I'll say that my Russian Big Muff is one, and the other is my collection of vinyl and Agatha Christie novels.

ANDRE: Horrible junkie pants, my downloadable songs, Original tapes / CDs, Band clothes and Toys.

ANES: Watches, guitar, Mug, and my Wallet!

BANU: What do you want from me? I have Homer Simpsons, Alkaline Trio cd/dvd,, kung fu boy comics, and incubus cassette. You can have it actually! In your dream! 

DION: Priceless stuff like; tltn cd album, sajama cut cd album, tltn unreleased album, sajama cut unreleased album, sega megadrive 16 bit.

Top 5 Presidents..

MARCEL: I have no idea. But if the Ultimate Warrior was president, I'd like him. Obama is good - but I'm not American.

ANDRE: Obama, Kennedy, Sby, Bush ARE NOTHING compare to Abdurahman Wahid (Gus Dur)
ANES : Skillful Soeharto, the clever Habibie, Videl Castro, Sadam Hussein Mustache, and Black comedian named Obama! :)

BANU: Ir.Soekarno, Fidel Castro, Attaturk, Sadam Hussain, Achmad Mahmud Dinejad.

DION: All Indonesian president; Soekarno, Soeharto, Habibie, Megawati Soekarna Putri, SBY

RANDY: Soekarno, Habibie, Gus Dur, Megawati Soekarno Putri, SBY.

Top 5 porn stars..

MARCEL: Indonesia's got a slew of them, but the picture quality sucks. That's all I'd say.

ANDRE: I see Sandra, Kiki, Anita, Nayla, Putri

ANES: avy roath , jenna lee , leah dizon! Three are enough to emulate me!

BANU: Kaede matsushima, saki koto, tera patrick, jill kelly, janine lindemulder.

DION: I love local pornstar like Luna Maya and Cut Tari mostly!

[Interview.aldy kusumah / Photos.chromatic photography]