Elephant Kind

Elephant Kind is a pop band from Jakarta, Indonesia, with a line-up that as of 2018 consists of Bam Mastro (vocals, guitar), Bayu Adisapoetra (drums, vocals) and Kevin Septanto (bass, vocals).

After completing his studies at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, in 2013 Bam Mastro returned to his family’s hometown of Jakarta, Indonesia, where he first became known in the local music scene as the songwriter and producer for the debut album of his older sister, Neonomora. Meanwhile, as Bam was developing his own project Elephant Kind, what was originally conceived as a solo endeavor became a full-fledged band which included Bayu Adisapoetra (drums), Dewa Pratama (guitar, synthesizer) and John Paul Patton (bass) – all of whom had been part of Neonomora’s live backing band with Bam. After releasing the singles “Be Somebody” and “We All Lose (Holy Shit)” in mid-2014, Elephant Kind’s debut EP Scenarios: A Short Film by Elephant Kind arrived by the end of the year, with the band quickly gaining a following thanks to their raucous live shows and fresh, quirky sound as exemplified by the jerky rhythms of “Oh Well”.

Elephant Kind’s digital-only second EP Promenades: A Short Film by Elephant Kind was released in late September 2015, and was soon followed by the departure of John Paul Patton who had opted to focus on his own fast-rising band, Kelompok Penerbang Roket. The remaining trio commenced work on their full-length debut album with Bam Mastro also taking on bass duties in the studio. The album City J was released in September 2016, featuring anthemic cuts such as “Beat the Ordinary,” “Montage” and “True Love.” The band also went through several bass players for live shows before settling on Kevin Septanto, who was previously their road manager.

2017 saw the band collaborating onstage and in the studio with Rock N Roll Mafia, which led to the Urban Gigs Unreleased Project Volume 01 compilation that included two new songs from this union. Meanwhile, Bam also found time to embark on a hip-hop-leaning solo career via the EP I Bleach My Skin.

The first half of 2018 saw another solo EP from Bam, I’m an Albino Polar Bear Living in Captivity and I Know Aliens Don’t Exist, as well as Nanook, Bayu’s punk rock solo debut EP as SoftAnimal. Meanwhile, Dewa Pratama opted to take an indefinite leave of absence from the band, with Yosaviano Santoso – who had previously played bass for Elephant Kind’s shows before being replaced by Kevin Septanto – returning as the band’s live guitarist and synthesizer player.

At the end of 2018, the band announced that Dewa Pratama had left the band while Kevin Septanto was now a full member. They also released “Sour”, the first single by the new line-up, from their upcoming second full length album The Greatest Ever. Two more singles, “Pleaser” and “I Believe in You”, were also released prior to the album.