Keepin’ It Real in Indonesia: A Tribute to Manusia Buatan

With reformasi in 1998, Indonesia experienced political change towards a more democratic future after 32 years under authoritarian regime. The new times were also reflected in youth culture. The development of the music scene in Indonesia became more diverse, also in the hardcore punk scene.

Hardcore punk had established itself in Indonesia in the early 1990s and was strongly connected to socio-political movements. It was also an expression of people’s frustration with the economic crisis. The emergence of distros as an alternative economic base in the early 2000s signaled the development of hardcore punk in Indonesia, especially in the city of Bandung, West Java.

Manusia Buatan was one of the Bandung bands founded during that period. The members met in an English language community center on Setiabudhi Street and shared an interest in hardcore punk. They started to hang out at the Riotic 181 store (located on Dago/Juanda Street 181), which was the hub of Bandung’s hardcore punk scene at the time. The store had developed out of a distro called Riotic and soon divided Bandung’s hardcore punk community. A group of kids hanging out at the adjacent yard became increasingly critical of the commercial side of Riotic 181 and decided to move on. They adopted the name “Sadar 181”, sadar meaning “aware”. There was a strong focus on DIY, politics, animal rights, and straight edge, although Manusia Buatan was the only real straight edge band coming out of the group (other bands had individual straight edge members). Together with some of the kids still hanging out at Riotic 181, the Sadar 181 crew founded Stress Distro.

Eventually, the Sadar 181/Stress Distro crew began to meet on the courtyard of the Bandung mayor’s office (balkot in Indonesian), and the group became known as the Balkot Collective. It was an important factor in establishing the DIY Network South East Asia, which strengthened contact among DIY hardcore kids in the region, helped set up gigs, and so on. Domestik Doktrin is probably the best-known band that came out of the Balkot Collective.

It’s time to straight up
It’s time to straight back
I wanna make a change
to benefit for everyone
Straight Edge is what we are.

— Manusia Buatan, “Straight Edge Is What We Are”

Manusia Buatan members say that they first received information about straight edge from tapes and CDs they ordered from abroad. They became straight edge themselves because it suited their daily lives. In a Muslim country such as Indonesia, straight edge overlaps with aspects of majority culture, especially the rejection of alcohol, but the political context of the hardcore punk scene is different. Drug use is a problem in society despite the religious teachings. Within the Indonesian punk hardcore scene, straight edge kids remained a minority but had an important impact on DIY culture, not least through Manusia Buatan.

Manusia Buatan did their first recording in 2003, when the band appeared with twelve songs on the Bandung Lautan xHardcorex compilation released by Ibuku Diperkosa Records. The song “181 Youth Crew” pays tribute to the band’s beginnings, “Straight Edge Is What We Are” is the straight edge anthem, and there’s a Minor Threat cover with “Out of Step”. The song also appeared on the 2004 Gone But Not Forgotten: A Tribute To Minor Threat compilation by Takut Sengsara Rekord.

In 2010, Hatred Records released the only Manusia Buatan album to date, Rich Dead Poor Dead, on cassette. It’s classical thrashcore, the songs are short, brutal, and loaded with messages. Animal rights feature a big role, in “Adu Bagong” the band turns against the West Java tradition of wild boars fighting dogs, the song “Tahu Cibuntu” hails tofu. “Media Busuk” is a critique of mainstream media, “Pesta Rakyat” raises the question of whether it really is the people who rule in a parliamentary democracy. A few songs from the Bandung Lautan xHardcorex compilation are included as well, “Straight Edge Is What We Are” among them. Manusia Buatan is also featured on the 2010 Balkot Terror Project compilation.

At their gigs, Manusia Buatan talk about each song in good hardcore tradition. Their performances are as rare as their recordings, but they remain a mainstay in Indonesia’s DIY hardcore punk scene. When they do gigs, they are exclusively at small venues and always an intimate experience. The band members are still straight edge. They remain a source of inspiration for many young hardcore kids in Indonesia, not least since there is a lot of commercial co-option of hardcore punk, just like anywhere else.

About the co-author: Frans Ari Prasetyo has been around the Indonesian punk hardcore scene for more than twenty years and taken thousands of photos. Other than hardcore punk, Frans is interested in urban politics, marginalized communities, and grassroots activism. Frans has written numerous articles on these issues.

Source: diyconspiracy.net