Interview with Ghaust!

*They are two piece band from South Jakarta, Bandung. Ghaust without a doubt is one of the great act from the Asian region. The improvisation of the sound range from metal, post rock, hardcore etc been combine together in perfect blend. Their last full length CD release under Purbaharuan recordings (CD) and third arm records (tape), was superbly recorded and among the best releases in 2008. Soon cactus will release a split CD with Aseethe (drone/doom/noise band from USA). This is a brief introduction of them.

1. Can you please introduce the band. A little bit history of the band? And whose play what?
We're Ghaust an instrumental two-piece from Jakarta, Indonesia. My name is Uri A. Putra and i play guitar and my good friend M. Edwards plays the drums. We've been playing together since around August 2005, and have released one full lenght album so far.

2. What will be the main influence of the band (musician, artist, band, books, movies etc)? And do you guys mind telling us the philosophy of the band as well as the music direction Ghaust that maybe reflecting upon your life and the culture where you living?
When we all met up for the first time, we truly understood how diverse we were with our music tastes. One day we would be listening to hardcore/punk music, then post rock, and then some doom metal or black metal music. We really couldn't pinpoint any influences as a band. Personally, i think Corrupted would be a major influence for us.
For us, our songs are more like journey of emotions. We suppose different people will feel different vibes and interpret things in different ways. Our sound reflects what we're trying to say, the heavier parts mostly explain the anger in the concept and the more ambience parts are the opposite.

3. Share with us a little bit experience of the previous recording process of the band? And is there any new things been explored and progression of the recent recording?
There wasn't so much new experience we can share about our last recording.. On the guitar and bass part we were doing the same recording tehnique like before, but only we used a much better equipment. oh and, i guess we did some experiments on the drum, especially on the miking. It takes a lot of time but we think we satisfied with the result.

4. Do you think that the DIY/Independent music is the best channel for spreading out your music? Any thought of using other channel to spread your music in the future? Do you have certain kind of ethic regarding playing show, and also releasing/distributing the music material of the band?
Yes, we think DIY is the best way on spreading our music.
No.
And about the ethic thingy, we dont think we have it.. but we prefer to play at the small gig or show. it has more intense feelings and we surely enjoy it.

5. Any plan to tour somewhere in the future?
We still dont have any plan about touring since we are kinda busy right now.

6. Add anything you want regarding the latest release, or anything else you would like to add. Thanks brother.
The next releases (in no particular order) are:
- Ghaust / Blckwvs split 7" on Maniyax Records
- Ghaust / Aseethe split CD on Cactus Records
- Ghaust / Pazahora split 7" on Epidemic Records

Thanks again for the interview! And thanks to all who've helped and supported! More info on Ghaust at : www.myspace.com/soundofghaust