Trying to Get Out of 'Living Hell", Say:Kou Releases Original Work

Say: Kou (Doc. Say:Kou)

JAKARTA - Early 2023 is a moment for the band from Tangerang, Say:Kou, to take a more serious step. After a long period of performing covers of songs from other bands, Say:Kou made the decision to make original work.

After going through the discussion stage and the recording process, Say:Kou's debut single was born, namely Living Hell which was written by four members of the band; Fauzy (vocals), Eko (guitar), Agung (bass), and Hanif (drums).

According to the official statement, Living Hell tells the story of someone who feels trapped in an environment where he shouldn't be. An invisible environment provides support for this person to develop for the better.

Instead of providing support, the people around this environment scorned and left this person alone. It was then that this person felt like he was locked in a "living hell" which slowly damaged his mentality so that he could only blame himself and try to get out of this "living hell".

"Actually, this song was made based on personal experience and the results of children's stories. Because the unpleasant nature can be said to have become our habit. So people who don't like it are all wrong. You always want to make other people happy, you want to help other people to make them develop for the better, but they don't give the same in return," said Fauzy, who is usually called Oji.

"In fact, they said, 'What are you doing? Does anyone want to see? Will someone notice?' That's what my children and Say:Kou put into this song."

Say: Kou is known as a band that is involved in the Japanese Rock genre. However, in the process of making Living Hell, they copied very few Japanese elements. Overall, the lyrics of this song are in English, with the hope that this song will not only be enjoyed by Indonesian music lovers, but also heard on the international music scene.

"As much as possible, we make arrangements that are not too Japanese. Because we want this song to be enjoyed not only in the Japanese scene, but in general as well. I'm sure many people will relate to this song when they hear it later. So yes, we hope that this song will reach everyone from all walks of life," said Eko

Living Hell was recorded at ERK Studio, where Say:Kou usually practices. During the recording process, Say: Kou took several references to the songs of his role models, such as ONE OK ROCK, Bring Me the Horizon, Bad Omens, and Summerlane for inspiration for the arrangement and mixing of this song.

The recording process for Living Hell was also assisted by fellow indie musicians, namely Bowo (@bowobeatlock) as the Sound Engineer, Nanda (@krisnandalien) as the Sample Maker, and Dino (@ahli.fengshui) for the mixing and mastering sections.

“Incidentally, the children also have a relationship that both are in bands and understand about song recording production. So we ask them for professional help. Plus they already have a lot of experience with this matter, so we all ask for input if there is anything that needs to be added or subtracted. The result is quite satisfying really. I hope my friends who listen to it will also like it," said Agung.

The artwork cover for Living Hell was designed by the drummer, Hanif assisted by his wife, and perfected by BluePin Studios (@m4dbae) with the theme of doodles, in which there are four characters one of whom is on fire, which symbolizes that the person is on fire. “Living Hell”.

The artwork cover with the doodles concept was brought up by Hanif because he wanted a simple design, which he could do alone with all the limitations that exist as an indie band.

"The important thing is the simple design, at least it describes the song," concluded Hanif.