Exclusive Interview: Indigo Moiré are More Than Sad Boys, They’re Relatable
If you are into emo, indie, and in a constant search of something new, you probably have stumbled upon an indie rock act hailing from Bekasi, Indigo Moiré. Formed in 2014, the band that consists of Samuel Wullur (bass, vocals), Edwin Adriaansz (guitar, vocals), Rey Giso (guitar), and Leonard Benji (drums) have revealed six singles including their breakthrough hit “Perth”. Upon their upcoming performance during Turnover‘s show in Jakarta, we sat down with the boys to talk about their root of sadness, upcoming EP, excitement about the gig and many more. We also went on a mission to unravel the truth whether it is true that emo boys are sensitive and sad all the time. Let’s find out more!
- Hello Indigo Moiré, hope you guys are all doing well. Let’s start by getting to know who is Indigo Moiré by the origin of its name. So tell us how did you come up with the name of the band and how did you guys meet and decided to form a band?
Sam: Hello there! Thanks, we hope you guys are doing so as well! In the beginning, “Indigo” is the only word I came up with. Since it’s the darkest blue in the color diagram, I thought it’d be perfect to describe us lyric-wise. But then I was like “it needs another word.” So later I added the word “Moiré” for no reason to make it look cool.
It all started when me and Edwin decided to form a band together back in 2014. We both live in the same area. A couple of weeks later, Pandu Abbiyuarsyah joined the band for a short period of time and we recorded “Bloom” together. We didn’t have a drummer back then. So I asked Leo, a childhood friend of mine, if he wants to join us, and he did. Months later, he flew to Australia to finish his study, and he met Rey there, who’s from Indonesia as well, Samarinda to be exact. Leo told me that he’s a guitarist and I was like “that’s perfect since we need another one.” Eventually he joined us and we recorded the rest of the singles. Since then we became a long-distance band.
- Wow, you guys even came up with a new term – long distance band. As we inspect your music closer, Indigo Moiré are often expressing their true feelings in their songs, are you guys embracing the same approach in real life?
Sam: Sometimes. I mean every song we wrote is based on what happened in the past. It’s not something that happens on a daily basis. We’re not sad 24/7. That’s just too pretentious.
We’re not sad 24/7. That’s just too pretentious.
- What kind of stuff that inspires the band to create such emotion-filled songs?
Sam: We love the idea of being relatable to others. People go through painful breakups. People go through disappointment. Each person encounters those things differently, but we believe music is one of the things that connect us as humans. We don’t write songs just to simply express ourselves and that’s it. It’s more than that. We want to be relatable.
Edwin: We’re also inspired by bands that are too numerous to mention. We can go from Jimmy Eat World to Tycho. From Death Cab For Cutie to Real Estate. It’s endless.
- “Perth” kind of blew up after it was released and how did you guys feel about it?
Edwin: We totally didn’t expect the outcome. I remember the moment I wrote that song. I was in my room in the middle of the night. I recorded the raw form of the guitar parts. I showed it to Sam and he came up with his lyrics, and we went straight to Leo’s basement to get it all together, and at that time, we had no idea how people would react to the song. We never expected it. To see people actually digging that song, it feels surreal to us even until now.
- Can you tell us a bit about “Minestone” EP? Will all the 6 songs on your Soundcloud be included in it? Why EP instead of a full-length album, we think you guys have the capability to do so…
Sam: There’s nothing much we can tell about this EP at this moment. We’re pretty secretive on what we’re doing. But what we can tell you is that it’ll contain all new material and it’s coming out sometime soon, like real soon. It can be tomorrow, or next week, or maybe tonight. We’ll let you know when it’s out. It’ll be out when you least expect it. Speaking of the full length, we don’t know but we just don’t feel like it’s the perfect time for it. When it’s time, it’s time.
- Performing with Turnover, one of your musical influence in Jakarta feels like a dream come true right? If you guys are given a chance to converse with them, what is the first thing you would like to say?
Sam: Of course! Dude, you have no idea how pumped we are! I always wonder if they miss playing their old songs so probably I might ask them that. But I don’t know, I’m so nervous, I might stutter.
- For your live performances, which song from whom you guys love to cover and could you give a hint about any special preparation for your performance in Jakarta with Turnover?
Sam: We never enjoy playing cover songs on live performances. But if we had to pick one, “Chemistry” by Semisonic would be decent. We’ll bring out a couple of unreleased songs from the EP for the Turnover show. Oh yeah and also we’ll be there in a full formation for the very first time. Be there, my dudes!
Check out Indigo Moiré’s complete discography here and stay tuned at our Instagram for more updates!
