JAYABAYA is an Indonesian band that combines various styles in their music whose ingredients could be Power Metal and Progressive.
However, the voice combines the clean style and the guttural style, both performed by the same singer, something that is not very common to hear.
Many are the vocalists who, for fear of damaging their strings, only favor one of the two styles. That might be the most striking feature of JAYABAYA.
After releasing a demo three years ago, at the beginning of August the group released an EP entitled: Anathema, with five songs that clearly demonstrate the power of this group.
We contacted the band to tell us about this release and its songwriting process, which is far from improvised.
Find out more about JAYABAYA:
JAYABAYA: just as there is yin and yang, in our songs there are clean voices and guttural voices
HeavyRiff: Thanks a lot for your time and for this interview! Let me start asking, how did the band start and how did you get to know each other?
B-Lee (batería): Actually we knew each other before we made a JAYABAYA, because we often met in music events but with different bands.
It started in around 2015 when Adam (vocals) and Rony (Kimak, guitar) asked me to join to make a band project with power metal genre & then we asked Bayu (Jayus, guitar) and Candra (bass) to join us.
HeavyRiff: What does Jayabaya mean and why did you decide to name the band like that?
Jayabaya: Jayabaya was the name of one of the kings in Kediri, during the ancient kingdom in East Java.
He was famous for his supernatural powers and accurate predictions which were very well known to all corners of Indonesia until this day.
He wrote the prophecies and summarized them into a book called: «Kitab Jangka Jayabaya”, as well as Nostradamus, which was famous in Europe in medieval times.
Therefore, we are very proud to make Jayabaya the name of our band.
HeavyRiff: We know that tags sometimes are a little bit useless, however, what kind of music would you say you are playing? You combine many sub genres in a really effective way!
Jayabaya: Maybe the genre is prog extreme power metal or prog melodic death or some kind like that.
Then we combine with some javanesse ethnic tones, but actually we are still a little confused about our genre so we just let it flow (laughs).
HeavyRiff: You included some non-english songs in this EP. Will this be the way in your future works or you will decide for only one language?
Jayabaya: I think we’ll just write in english, because we want all people from many countries to understand what we convey through our songs.
HeavyRiff: Something innovating is that you combine gutturals and clean vocals, how come this has become part of your music?
Jayabaya: Just like yin/yang or black/white or heaven/hell… so we make it in our songs with clean and growl/scream vocals.
HeavyRiff: Is Adam the one who sings both guttural and clean?
Jayabaya: Yes, he is!
HeavyRiff: We can find some very interesting progressive parts in your music. Did you study music or composition?
Jayabaya: Not really, we just study from music courses, listen to many bands from YouTube and share experiences with fellow musicians.
HeavyRiff: How do you achieve this way to create music?
Jayabaya: We made our music with our imagination and inspiration, and it’s just flowing; then we combine it with a progressive music and some freaky idea (laughs).
HeavyRiff: Is Raising Angel the same version that we listened to in your previous Demo or did you get the chance to record it again for this EP?
Jayabaya: Yes, that is the same demo version.
HeavyRiff: How would you describe your recording sessions; was this the first time you ever got into a estudio?
Jayabaya: Not really, actually we are studio session players too, so we are often into the studio.
We made our songs in our spare time, slowly but sure, because we have our own business outside the band and the music.
HeavyRiff: Where did you record the songs of this EP; did you record any other song that could not be included in this EP?
Jayabaya: All guitars, sampling, orchestration and bass were recorded at Bayu home studio, but all drums and vocals were recorded in another studio. We did not record any more songs.
HeavyRiff: In which versions is this Anathema EP available and where can the people buy it?
Jayabaya: There will be a CD version, you can pre order it at Interlude Records.
HeavyRiff: How are you planning to spread this EP keeping in mind that nowadays it is not possible to play live?
Jayabaya: We are planning to make a live studio and then will upload it to YouTube, but it depends on the situation. We hope it won’t be too long.
HeavyRiff: Are you working in some future full length album or what are your next plans?
Jayabaya: Of course! We are always trying to make some new songs for the next full album!
HeavyRiff: Thanks a lot for your time! Do you have any final words for all the latinamerican readers who are just about to listen to your music?
Jayabaya: You’re welcome! Stay healthy, keep metal alive and greetings from Indonesian metal heads! Horns up!