7 December 2023

They’re young, still students, they have a new socialist revolution vision and
they embed their power to the people views in swirling, energetic dance pop
tunes as they did again with their new, 3rd album DISMANTLE!. They operate
artistically under the moniker of CAMLANN.

It’s 2023, but history keeps on repeating itself. Intolerance, governmental oppression, belligerent world leaders dominate our world again and again, the poor getting poorer
and the rich getting richer. It all sounds like we’re talking about the past. Unfortunately,
it’s today’s reality and there’s not a light shining at the end of the tunnel so far.

Therefore, we need young people to get up, stand up and fight for their right to have a peaceful future. That’s what Calmann is about as human beings and outspoken musicians.

It’s great to have Ony Godfrey and Fauzan Pratama for a chat about it all.

Hello Ony, hello Fauzan,
Welcome,

What/who inspired you to start your musical journey?

“We were 15 when we started Camlann, we used to idolize a lot of goth bands
both from the modern times and from the 80’s. Sisters of Mercy, Joy Division, and
Drab Majesty were the first bands that inspired us to start our journey.”

Which track would you play to people who never heard of you?

“Definitely “Your Death Is My Glory”, “The Sacred Sacrifice”, and “Charming Deceiver”.

You’re pretty productive. Every year since 2020 you released an album.
Definitely no writer’s block. Do you write songs that easily?

“Thankfully, we never really experienced writer’s blog and new ideas are always coming into our minds all the time. It’s probably because we’re still university students and have no other job but studying. It definitely gives us more time to explore our music.”

Your 2023 album is named DISMANTLE! What do you want to express with it?

“Through this album, we are contributing to the liberation of the proletariat class by releasing songs that talk about the struggles that the proletariat endures. Songs like “False Consciousness”, “Proletariat Wishes”, and “Alienated” showcase the proletariat’s hopes and struggles through a Marxist perspective. Not only that, this album is also our weapon on critisizing the hypocrisy of some high ranked politicians both from the present and the past.

Songs like “Your Death Is My Glory” and “Politician Superstar” are full of satire on the lyrics, mocking and exposing the bourgeoisie class that has been oppressing the working class for centuries. “DISMANTLE!” is our first step in using music and visual art as a weapon to express our socialist ideas to the world. Like it or not, we won’t stop voicing the working class through our art.

This album is just the beginning of our journey as a dark disco Marxist duo, we will
keep serving you revolutionary tunes in the future! POWER TO THE PEOPLE!”

The album’s artwork is quite intriguing. What’s the story behind it?

“We were thinking of making an artwork that has soviet poster elements to it.
So we communicated our ideas with the artist who’s working with our current
label, Oberwave Records.

We showed them the references we have, mostly inspired by early soviet constructivism art and also vintage soviet posters, and the result of the artwork really matches our vision.”

I discovered you with this year’s fantastic single YOUR DEATH IS MY GLORY.
What is it about and how did the song came together?

“As we previously briefly explained, this song is a mockery of the hypocrisy
of the bourgeoisie politicians who rule with manipulation, lies, and hunger
for power.

This song tells you a story of a power-hungry bourgeoisie dictator who arranged the assassination of the former president of a fictional country we made for this song.

If you watch the music video (definitely check it out, since the audience will understand the whole message through the storyline of the music video), the bourgeoisie dictator, played by Ony), got what he deserved and got assassinated by the people and the country is finally back under the control of the proletariat of the country.

The former president’s legacy, played by Fauzan), remains in the people’s hearts and they continue to build their country by following in his footsteps. This song serves you an aggressive satire of the ruling class but also empowers the working class by reminding them that even if you are currently suffering under oppression, remember that there’s always hope for the future. Things will get better and keep fighting for your rights as a human being and as a citizen of your country.”

Are you playing the music yourself and/or do
you work with other musicians in the studio?

“We recorded, wrote, and composed our music by ourselves, but we have been
working with a Czech producer and musician, David Novotny since our 3rd album,
“Train To 86th Street”. We are currently working with him on our upcoming
5th album that will be released at the beginning of 2025.

Both “Train to 86th Street” and “DISMANTLE!” are all produced, mixed, and mastered
by David. Aside from the production and musical engineering, we do everything by ourselves.”

.

Suppose DISMANTLE! Is the soundtrack for a movie, which one would it be?

“DISMANTLE!” would be a great soundtrack for a historical biopic, especially biopics
or documentary films related to the struggle of the working class, Marxist or Socialist revolution, etc. Movies like Che (2008), biopic of Che Guevara, or Stalingrad (2013) would
be a great fit for this album.

The past decade Indonesian rock/pop really boomed?
What made that happen ?

“It seems that the youth has become more enthusiastic about music, especially the ones that are influenced by western indie and alternative music. Many indie and alternative bands from Indonesia have reached international attention since the late 2010’s.

And lately, it seems that Darkwave and Post-Punk have reached the interest of Indonesian youths too. A lot of Darkwave and Post-Punk influenced bands have been appearing in the scene lately, which is amazing.”

What do you think about AI? Good or bad for music?

“AI can be very useful for us, but AI music is definitely harmful for music. We see a lot
of AI cover of songs that are currently trending and the sad thing is, the AI cover got more attention than the original song which is very sad and disrespectful for the artist of the song.

Take example Mitski’s song “My Love Is Mine All Mine”, the AI cover of the song
got famous and some people who didn’t know that it was made by Mitski, thought
that it was made by another more popular artist that is created by the AI.

As we said before, AI can be very helpful in various aspects
but not in music, since it causes more harm than good.”

What’s your favourite album of 2023

Here are our favourite albums of 2023:

1. Fanfare – Dorian Electra

2. My 21st Century Blues – RAYE

3. Zig – Poppy

4. The Fear Of Fear – Spiritbox

5. Starfucker – Slayyyter

What was for you the most important event of the year?

“The release day of our 4th album “Dismantle!” will be our most
important event of this year. Our first mini-tour would be the second
most memorable and important event of 2023.”

Which song will/would you play at midnight on 31 December?

“This will definitely be “Your Death Is My Glory”

What musical and or personal plans do you have for 2024?

“We will be releasing the remix of “Dismantle!” on February 2024 via
Oberwave Records.

And we will be releasing some music videos from the album, continue
the Indonesian tour, and release a new single at the end of 2024 as a sign
of our next era.”

Thank you for this interview, Ony and Fauzan.
Have a fantastic 2024.

Stream DISMANTLE!

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Buy DISMANTLE!

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CAMLANN: Instagram