Hertz Dyslexia

After their first overseas tour in Australia, the band was scheduled to visit the United States to participate in the South by South West (SXSW) Festival, in Austin, Texas. Unfortunately, the trip had to be cancelled because Acil’s visa was rejected at the last minute. But they tried again the very next year; and this time they succeeded. They did a small United States tour, played four gigs with the main and last show being the SXSW Festival.

Despite of the ups and downs, the band kept on playing their music with huge energy and passion as their fan base grew daily. The culmination point of this was in the music itself—they released their second EP: Hertz Dyslexia. Heartz Dyslexia was a two-parted EP that was released separately in between 2009 and 2011. The first included a cover of the famous Neil Young’s Only Love Can Break Your Heart and the second one was released digitally on their website in the form of download code. And in conjunction with the recently released album, the band and its record company celebrated it by doing “The Dyslexia Concert” on 20 June in Bandung. The concert was planned to be held at The Venue, Eldorado.

A week before the celebratory concert, they had shows in Semarang and Jogjakarta. After each show the band would ask the fans if they would come to Bandung to attend the big show. For fans in other provinces there might be a problem because they have to buy the concert ticket, transport, and standard accommodations like hotel room—they didn’t have that much money. They would have loved to and were willing to pay for the tickets but the money for other necessities was just not there. After coming home from the Central Java tour, the band had a discussion with the event organizer and later decided to provide transportation; fans could buy tickets with shuttle bus fare included, which definitely is easier. And the organizer extended invitations for fans from outsid Bandung. This is a common thing for bands to do in the US or UK.

The sold-out concert was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone attended. More than three thousand people flocked from all over the country just to see what was destined to be a legendary concert. The S.I.G.I.T. was the only independent band to draw that many people from all over the country to come to see them live. Even more significant considering that most of their latest gigs have been for free. Rekti also thought the gig was something else on an interview afterward, saying:

“When you’re on stage and you see so many people have come to your show, then they go home smiling at the end of the show, it makes you feel like you have succeeded. It is an overwhelming feeling.”

Hertz Dyslexia was a good example of the band only playing what they wanted to play. The album was filled with rock music experiments, a bit different from what they have previously released. They moved a little away from traditional Led Zeppelin-style rock ‘n’ roll, and defined a new sound. Some of their fans will probably be surprised with the new material. On an interview with The Jakarta Post, they said,

“It’s a new thing for us, we have never done this before—in terms of the musical journey as a band. It’s pretty hard to describe, actually. Even though songs on this album come from our early periods, the executions had become a new expression of our ideas,” Rekti, the lead vocalist and a charismatic frontman, said and added by Farri saying, “"Hertz Dyslexia is a rough outline for our second full-album.”

They have shown people they were strong enough to decide for themselves which musical direction they will take in the future. Not many bands can bravely stand at the top of their careers, and choose to do the unpopular thing; to release an experimental album. Well, they have not changed that much, but still, a lot of people will be surprised by these changes.

The arrangements they used in Visible Idea of Perfection were deconstructed in Hertz Dyslexia. They aimed at giving people something unpredictable, but not too confusing. They tried lots of new methods, and used many different instruments in the sessions. This EP was a gateway to their second full-length album. Behind the scenes of their promotional sessions for Hertz Dyslexia, the band was working on material for their new album. But though, these lads are still pursuing their love of learning, formally, in school. Rekti had just finished his postgraduate studies in Environmental Engineering at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB). Farri studied at the same postgraduate school, majoring in Architecture. The other two members were the same; Adit was studying for his joint degree, and Acil was a full-time architect.

By this period they were still playing in many local rock music festivals, and school events. But they were more focused to finishing their schools, and working on some new music.