NASU

Hey, thank you for having me! Let's start from the beginning. NASU probably started around 2017, when I was getting really bored with listening to normal music. I wanted to hear something unusual, something that didn't sound like the music I was used to. That's when I discovered noise.

Back in 2017, I wasn't even thinking about having a project name yet. I was just messing around with VSTs on my computer and experimenting with different sounds.

Maybe around late 2018, I started taking it a little more seriously, hahahaha. I gave the project its first name, which was this completely freaky name: Naztdjhistdjhistsutdjchi.

I eventually started performing live around 2020 or 2021. I honestly can't remember exactly, hahahaha. The event was organized by Bengawan Noise Syndicate.

When it comes to the themes, I initially started from self-reflection. Then I tried to explore deeper into myself until I found the themes that felt right for NASU: religion, politics, and humanity.

They're pretty sensitive subjects, and sometimes they can be a little disturbing. But I think that's what makes them interesting to explore. For me, these are the most transparent themes I can work with. I'm not really trying to hide behind anything. I just want to confront these subjects honestly and see what comes out of them through the noise.

There are more than 15 digital releases through netlabels or on the NASU Bandcamp. I honestly don't really keep track of the exact number, hahahaha, but yeah, there are quite a few.

I've been trying to play the pedals without distortion, and it actually works pretty well. I quite like it, even though it can be a little complicated to work with, hahahaha.

For now, my favorite setup is the Buzz Box combined with the Meatbox. I really like what happens when I put those two together.

Ohh, this is definitely a project I'll never forget. So, I was originally contacted by Nanda, the owner of FAA, to work on the design. We spent maybe one or two weeks brainstorming and discussing the direction.

In the end, I decided to make the design minimalist and focus more on texture. I felt that this was the most natural and honest approach for the project.

I worked on it quite raw at first, then developed and packaged the idea into a more cohesive concept, from the packaging to the pedal case itself. Yaa, and eventually everything came together pretty quickly.

Hahahaha, thank you. It's actually pretty similar to what I said earlier. I always get bored with doing the same things over and over.

Before this, I used to draw a lot of dark art and designs for death metal bands and stuff like that. Eventually I got bored with it, so I tried to step outside of that comfort zone and just let my mind be more free.

Eventually, I found a style that I feel might actually represent me, without you even having to meet me in person. Hahahaha. That sounds a little too much, but yeah, that's basically how I feel about it. Sorry, hahahaha.

I'm always inspired by things around us, especially simple and ordinary things. For example, mold growing on walls, spider webs, plant or tree roots, asphalt, the texture of wood and stone, the lines on our hands, human skin, fallen hair, animal carcasses, and things like that.

I think there's a lot of beauty and character in things we usually don't pay much attention to.

Usually, I start by listening to classical music, opera, Britpop, or post-punk while I'm working. Then, when I'm really stuck, I usually switch to power violence or skramz.

But when I'm completely out of energy, I go back to Koes Plus or keroncong. Hahahaha. I guess my playlist depends on how messed up my brain feels that day.

For noise, the first name I always mention is Sickness. Then Xome, Facialmess, Kazumoto Endo, and our beloved friend Purgist. Actually, I have so many favorites, but I'd say the names I mentioned were some of the artists who inspired me to go deeper into making noise.

For non-noise musicians, as always: Maria Callas, Bob Dylan, The Mamas & the Papas, Johnny Cash, Linda Scott, Roy Orbison, Pure Saturday, Majelis Lidah Berduri, Sajama Cut, The Brandals, The Cure, Joy Division, and many, many more.

Maria Callas and Bob Dylan are probably my biggest inspirations outside of noise. They shaped NASU in terms of its character — the ideas of tragedy, love, and hope, and the process of killing and creating new characters.

So yeah, I think you could say NASU was shaped by tragedy and the duality of character.

I can't really say how long I'll keep doing it. But I know that I can stop whenever I want, and I can always start again whenever I feel like it.

I think that's the nice thing about it. There's no pressure for me to keep NASU going all the time. I can disappear for a while and come back when I'm ready.

I'm planning to release a small album at the end of September, on cassette. I'm also working on a split with some people who are pretty influential in the cut-up noise scene. You probably know who they are, hahahahaha.

You'll just have to wait and see.

And thank you so much for taking the time to have this little conversation with me. I really appreciate it. Sorry if my answers were a little too long, or if there were some words that didn't quite come out right.

See you in the real world!