The Abang Guard suppose to play 15 minutes. It’s gonna be Joe & Bullet only.

http://www.facebook.com/pyongyangartfest?v=info

The 3rd Pyongyang International Arts Festival 2010 in Kuala Lumpur is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (under the auspices of our Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-Il) generous demonstration of cultural good will towards Malaysia. We wish to further inculcate in our ‘younger sibling’ the glory of an autocratic state.

Through the medium of dance, video, performance art, music, we hope to share with the people of Malaysia, glorious works of art from the international second world. Besides featuring works from DPRK, this international festival will also feature a line up from China, Vietnam, and Cuba.

A special pavilion will host this event, utilising the latest and most innovative means of architectural non-interference in a dilapidated space, our Supreme Leader demonstrates his capacity as one of the world’s leading thinker in architecture by his subtle transformation of a derelict Malaysian shop house into a site of spectacle. Unlike capitalist rats such as Zaha Hadid who create disorientating ‘deconstructionist’ architecture that aim to crush and humiliate the human subject within its space, our Supreme Leader ennobles the space through non-interference and reflexive means, creating transparent frame that acknowledges the layers of accumulated history within a specific site as well as the dignity of mankind.

We would like to thank all parties involved in the aestheticisation of our political will.

Untitled #01

Untitled #02

Both taken by Shieko Reto. See the other clips: here

THE ABANG GUARD is Joe & Bullet of DUNG, this time we’re performing with ZAI KUNING @ Rice Above! #02, a show featuring BIRUSHANAH (Osaka) and many other locals. Both songs were improvised, with no prior rehearsals.

Projek sambilan Joe & Bullet, The Abang Guard, akan masuk studio hari ni (Khamis, 16hb Oktober 2008) untuk rakaman lebih-kurang 8 lagu-lagu yang akan dimuatkan sebagai soundtrack dokumentari kedua Fahmi Reza, Revolusi ’48.

Antara mereka yang akan bersama kami adalah pemain gitar Tom Bollocks (Carburetor Dung / The Bollocks) dan bassist Seed (Skullcrusher / Defeat / Skitsofrenia). Semalam kami sempat menulis 5 buah lagu-lagu sambil jamming di Ricecooker Shop. Lagu-lagu ini lebih berirama ’77-punk dan rock’n'roll, termasuk beberapa lagu akustik.

Apa dia Revolusi ’48?

“Pada 20 Jun 1948, beratus-ratus anak muda dari kalangan buruh dan petani telah menubuhkan pasukan-pasukan gerila di seluruh Malaya dengan matlamat untuk menumbangkan rejim kolonial British yang telah kembali bermaharajalela menindas gerakan kemerdekaan rakyat sepuluh tahun sebelum merdeka. Filem dokumentari ini menceritakan sejarah perjuangan individu-individu yang telah menyertai revolusi nasional untuk membebaskan Malaya dari penjajahan semasa Revolusi ’48.”

Ikuti perkembangan terbaru dokumentari ini di revolusi48.blogspot.com

Abang Guard’s 2nd performance, again unrehearsed and totally unplanned.

I was invited by the organisers of NotThatBalai Festival to “officiate” the opening of the Studio in Cheras’s part of the happenings and someone mentioned about Abang Guard performing for the night. So a few days earlier I called up Bullet about it, he said yes. Told Zai very late, but he cannot make it.

But we turned up there anyway and played with Yandsen on the saxaphone. Again some people really liked it but the some complained that Yandsen’s saxaphone was too loud. We also met one interesting character, Polly – original 70s punk rocker now living in Karala, India. She was being the punk rock heckler of the night making fun of Derek Baily’s “incompetence” when we were watching the film, and also me trying to be funny opening up the show by slicing 4 durians and pass them to the very small audience.

The Abang Guard played along to a video projected to the wall. I don’t know whose video it was but it was animated sepia-toned patterns and clouds-like stuff. I think we played well by the later part of the performance, where the beginning was a bit too all over the place.

Thanks to Aziz Ciplak for the bass guitar I borrowed for the night.

Abang Guard’s first gig ever! And it was not even supposed to happen. Zai came up from Singapore, Bullet turned up at the shop, and while other people were playing we devised a bass-line riff in the shop itself for five minutes and we played. Some people liked it, my friend Paul said, we should practice! Hah!

THE ABANG GUARD

This is a small project featuring Carburetor Dung’s members, Joe Kidd & Bullet which started as a laugh around late June 2007. It’s all about experimenting with some ideas we have floating around for years, a band which would be driven by one part cynicism, one part exclamation marks and two parts enthusiasm.

It’s supposed to be a duo which would collaborate with friends on impromptu projects. The first friend we had in mind was Zai Kuning, a Singaporean sound-artist and enfant-terrible! Joe plans to play bass, with post-punk and dub reggae influences BUT he only played bass once before, playing with one-man Red Martian playing old The Cure covers many years ago.

Bullet is the most experienced of all of us, since he has been playing with a lot of different sort of musicians, including pop-stars back in the mid-90s. Meanwhile Zai has been performing all over the world with his multi-faceted projects, from making his own sound instruments to doing videos of the sea-people of the Riau Islands!

We hope to record these projects as time permits it.