Kasimyn of Gabber Modus Operandi announces solo album under the name Hulubalang

Kasimyn, one half of Indonesian electronic duo Gabber Modus Operandi and a collaborator of Björk, has announced a solo album under the name Hulubalang.

The record is titled ‘Bunyi Bunyi Tumbal’ which according to Kasimyn translates to ‘Synthetic Feeling for Anonymous Sacrifice’ – a reference to “the mixed and inexplicable emotions aroused from browsing the Indonesian war archives from various sources for years”, according to the album’s description.

The statement continues: “Instigated by the secondary characters in the pictures, the unimportant, unnamed, uncredited trivial props in history, mere tools in ‘lessons learned’ from the sides of the conquerors and the defeated, TUMBAL, the non-belligerent ‘sacrifice’, takes a turn to mean more than its translation, neither a victim of nor a martyr for civilization, but a curse of the system that continues to disappoint.

“Alas, the album should not be thought of as political in any sense, it is a personal ‘letting go’ of a long lineage of anger; a tribute to some small village whose ritualistic dance one night was disrupted by external forces, causing the tune to become broken; a dance that was dragged out, wonky between innocence and pain.”

‘Bunyi Bunyi Tumbal’ will be released June 26 via Jordan label Drowned By Locals and can be pre-ordered here digitally and on vinyl. Hear the first preview of the record, the track ‘Sayat’:

Kasimyn, aka Aditya Surya Taruna, is a member of electronic experimentalist band Gabber Modus Operandi alongside Ican Harem. The group have dropped two albums so far, 2018’s ‘Puxxximaxxx’ and 2019’s ‘Hoxxxya’, and recently contributed the song ‘Larung’ to the album ‘Entrancing’ by Asian Dope Boy-associated project Trance Band.

Just last week, Kasimyn joined Björk onstage at the Tokyo stop of her Cornucopia tour. The Icelandic icon had collaborated with Gabber Modus Operandi on her 2022 album ‘Fossora’ after listening to and being inspired by their music during pandemic lockdown. Kasimyn is credited on three songs from the record, and appears in the music videos for opening track ‘Atopos’ and title track ‘Fossora’.

Last August, Gabber Modus Operandi cancelled their Canadian tour and hired a mediator after sexual assault allegations emerged against a member of the duo. A month later, the group issued a statement saying member Ican Harem would undergo a six-month rehabilitation process that included consultation with psychologists and education on sexual violence. Ican Harem also made a statement apologising for the alleged events, writing that “it has never been my intention to cause harm to others or to have any similar impact in the future.”

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