Name: Koes Barat
SKU: 352561

When AlanBishop becomes obsessed with something, he often goes to great lengths (andtravels great distances) to turn that obsession into an essential artifact.Such is the case with his latest group's Sub Pop debut, Koes Barat, asincere, gripping tribute to a band of Indonesian brothers—the Koeswoyos—whoseinstantly catchy garage-rock songs and ridiculously charming ballads caused asensation in their homeland, Singapore, and Malaysia. They also made theirgovernment very uneasy: Basing your look on Western musicians andcovering Beatles songs were considered subversive activities in mid-'60sIndonesia.

Back in2010, Sun City Girls legend Bishop asserted his fandom of Koes Bersaudara (akaKoes Plus) with two archival releases of their music on his and Hisham Mayet'sSublime Frequencies label. But that noble gesture wasn't enough to sateBishop's appreciation of this music that flourished from the mid '60s to 1970.He also felt an overwhelming urge to interpret what he felt to be the best Koestunes. To that end, he enlisted some of his favorite musicians in theSpoils—guitarist Milky Burgess, drummer Don McGreevy, and bassist Jim Davis—allof whom also play or played with Seattle’s Master Musicians Of Bukkake, andproducer Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Marisa Nadler) to work the boards. KoesBarat was cut in less than a week of sessions, and the results hit yourears with a revelatory smack. It is the most immediate, fun collectionthat the prolific Bishop has ever led.

“I justwanted to do it without thinking of it as an album,” Bishop says. I broughtrough mixes of the songs to Jakarta and played them on various radio stationsand then I played them for Koes Plus. All my Indonesian friends were verysupportive (laughing at/charmed by my 'creative' pronunciation of the Bahasalyrics), even the Koeswoyos were amazed how vintage the production sounded.” WhileBishop admires and is inspired by the Koeswoyo brothers' courage to make thiskind of “forbidden” music while in the grip of an oppressive government, heultimately returns to the band's “amazing songs, their longevity in continuingto challenge themselves to continue producing/recording album after album overdecades.”

What doesBishop think 21st-century listeners can gain from this music? “I think this musicstands the test of time. Their Indonesian fan base turns over from generationto generation, always increasing in number. They are perhaps the most popularand recognizable Indonesian music group of all time. Whatever can be learned orgained from this music is not my concern. People either get it or they don’t. Ilove them to death and if this album can turn more people on to the KoesBersaudara/Koes Plus legacy, even better.”

Thisalbum is a Record Store Day 2015 exclusive, limited to 3,800 worldwide.