I am not sure if I know anyone from Jember, but with Nuril I am meeting not only him as a person, but also three bands he’s a member of. And to illustrate how small is the world… how did I learn about him?
Long story short – through the Surabaya’s small fanzine called Arus Bawah, #6 (as that was the only issue in my possession), where Criminal Vagina, the porn-grind band he’s in has been mentioned. You will agree, with the band name like that, I couldn’t pass it by just like that, so I’ve been looking for someone from the band to ask a question or two for your reading pleasure (but I will readily admit, also for my pleasure as well).
So as usual – let’s not spend too much time with the introduction and jump straight into the interview! Enjoy!
Hello, Nuril and thanks for your time doing this interview! Let’s start with the proper introduction – what can you tell me about yourself?
Hello Rudolf, I am Nuril, I live in East Java, I am a guitarist and I have several bands. Greetings.
One of the questions I am usually asking people I am doing interviews with is this – when did you start getting interested in the world of extreme music? What band did you discover as the first one? Have you been inspired by them to start playing guitar, or you had some previous experience?
I became interested in extreme music by the time I was in 6th grade of elementary school. The [first] extreme band I’ve found was Dream Theater, at that time, the people around all idolized them. Until middle and high school I started to find more extreme bands like Slipknot, Necrophagist, The Faceless and other similar bands. I’m very inspired by all guitarists, in every guitarist I’m always discovering something new. My references are always dynamic and fluctuating.
I think it’s only logical to begin with the band which inspired this interview…CRIMINAL VAGINA. From the info given in Arus Bawah I see there was a guitarist in the band called Pepenk. Is that your nickname or there was another guitarist by this name not mentioned in the available information?
Yes, I was a member of Criminal Vagina. I happened to know Pepenk, the guitarist who first joined this band. All I know, Criminal Vagina is quite dynamic in formation, I don’t remember what formation I was in. What is clear is that this band has never lost a bullet in spawning its work.
From what I can see (correct me, if I am wrong), the beginning of Criminal Vagina dates to 1998. I love to hear stories about bands’ beginnings…so, obviously, I can’t miss this opportunity to ask – how did you, guys, meet?
It was more or less that year. I don’t remember clearly the founding of this band. I happened to not be in this band from the early years of their formation, I was in if I’m not mistaken from 2009 – 2011. I was the youngest personnel in that era. I was offered to join by the late Simon Tam as the leader in the band to fill the band’s vacancy. I was happy. I learnt a lot of valuable lessons.
Interestingly enough, Criminal Vagina is one of the few Indonesian bands I know whose lyrics deal with the extreme topics (definitely extreme for Indonesia, I guess), quoting Encyclopaedia Metallum, “Porn, Gore, Rape”. Not many bands in Indonesia goes to such an extreme, have you ever had any problems because of the lyrics or artworks?
Hahaha, some problems occur, especially with t-shirts. A lot of weird and cynical looks when I wear a Criminal Vagina t-shirt. It is not uncommon for the t-shirts I wear to be thrown away by my parents. But I’m still always there. Haha. I think the themes voiced by bands do tend to be unique and vulgar, with that theme going naturally to get pros and cons from viewers. And I think Criminal Vagina is still the best band in this theme.
I am noticing a few big gaps in the history of the band…the first album, “In Cunt We Trust” was released 5 years into the band’s existence (although I have to add, I am aware of some previous releases, like “Gangbang Girl”, “Live Fuck Show” and “Sick Porno Grind”, which, I assume, are demos and live recording, am I correct?) , then the next one, “In Gore We Blast”, had to wait even longer…8 years, till 2011! Luckily, the third album, “In Pussy We Rot” was released in 2013, but after that…nothing…what is the cause for such long breaks (and I see you are not the only band from Indonesia to with such long breaks or periods of inactivity)?
To my knowledge they did via live track early in their career, after that probably using a direct recording system but never using VST drums. The long break after several albums was most likely due to the busy work of their respective personnel. It’s common knowledge that the realm of extreme music never compensates a lot of money, while players already have to be busy with family work and others. The priority scale will change at this position. I think that’s the reason some bands take long breaks or even break up.
What is the status of Criminal Vagina now? Do you plan any new release? If so, what label do you co-operate with and when we can expect the new material to be relased?
I did not follow their progress, the information I got after the passing of the late Simon Tam, the baton of the band was continued by his son.
Who’s the main music composer and lyric maker for the band?
Music composers are always composed by guitarists, Yanto and Pepenk are the main writers on music. The lyricist was the late Simon Tam.
I almost forgot to ask – for most of the bands the live performance is very important. Do you play often? Which gig would you single out as the best for Criminal Vagina?
I played quite a lot in the period 2009-2011. All the shows are always interesting, the exciting part of this extreme music scene is always meeting new people and bands to become friends.
Before we move to your other bands/projects – from those three full-length albums by Criminal Vagina, which one is your most favourite and why? For those who want some introduction, which song do you think represents the band in the best light?
My favorites on the album “Criminal Vagina – In Gore We Blast” on the songs “Infeksi Liang Senggama” and “ku sodomi kau”. A lot of interesting guitar riffs on the song, groove beats that invite you to headbang, and a lot of downstrokes that make the right hand sore, hahaha. For new listeners it may be possible to start on this album.
The second band you are member of is interestingly named band called Thirteen O’ Clock. How did you come with such a name and what’s the significance – or meaning – behind it? How different is from Criminal Vagina? Are you playing in the same genre?
Yes a name that is not metal at all, haha. But what is the meaning of a name. There is no serious meaning. Very different, in Thirteen Oclock we played in the Death Metal genre, and in Criminal Vagina tended to Grindcore with its various alternatives.
I see the current line up consists of 4 people, but I also see pictures with 3 guys as band members, and also with 5 persons – so, to solve this mystery, what’s the current line-up of Thirteen O’ Clock?
Yes, we made several personnel changes. But after we launched the album at the end of 2020, we decided there were 5 people in the band formation (by adding 1 guitarist).
From what I could find, you put out a few demos, one EP and one album, this one back in 2020 titled “Bring Back the Black”. Can you guide us through your releases and tell us a bit more about them?
If I’m not mistaken, our EP came out in 2013, an album in 2020 and a single in 2021. Regarding the theme of the lyrics has not changed much, we only write what we know in the surrounding environment, whether it’s books, web, media and community. In its development as I explained earlier, life challenges make personnel not focused enough to work on new material, so they may sleep first for some time. But I never stopped making extreme music, whether for this band or my new band later.
We’ve mentioned your 2020 album, “Bring Back the Black”. That was 3 years ago, so – obviously – I can’t but ask, do you have any new release ready to go? Or any plans for the new album in the near future?
As I explained in the previous question, it seems that we need a break in the near future.
Do you play live with 13OC?
Yes.
Interestingly, you also have an instrumental grind project under your own name, that is, NURIL TELULAS. How did you come with the idea of doing this kind of solo stuff, what was the reason for going solo as well as playing in other – above mentioned – bands?
Yes, guitar solos are always an interesting project. I can satisfy my ego here. Voicing a lot of things that I couldn’t put on the band’s music. Solo and band are equally fun. What’s interesting about that I’m always busy in music, and that keeps me from other unimportant activities.
Instrumental grind is not so common…do you think about adding a vocal, either yours or some other vocalist?
No, just leave it like that.
Back in 2017 you released a demo “Grind to Nature”. What reactions did it receive from its listeners?
The reaction was quite positive. Several emails came asking for permission to use the songs on the album for their needs.
Do you plan to continue with this project to the future? If so, when do you plan to release some new material?
Like grind to nature? I do not think so. I made this album just to fill my free time, because at that time my band was on hiatus for a while. but it’s also quite fun if you repeat it. We will see later.
Moving from the those bands/projects we’ve discussed so far, are there any others we might not be aware of?
There is. I have a new metal band called “Unfeared”. I try to play with new colors from what I have done before. I just play light riffs that were adopted from my references when I was at school. Slayer and Metallica contribute quite a bit to my mind. pretty fun. So far we have 5 songs for our EP. I hope all goes well.
Jember scene…what can you tell us about it? What bands would you recommend for our readers to check? Any interesting local events worth of mentioning?
In my opinion, so far Jember has not changed. still fun. Currently, I happen to very rarely communicate with the community, we only communicate individually. I don’t think I’m the right person to ask for band recommendations here. because I didn’t update enough to know the progress. Yes, there are indeed several new bands, but I haven’t heard their songs yet.
Quite a few albums you’ve played on are sold out long ago. Are there any efforts for re-issuing, for example, Criminal Vagina albums? Or are they still available somewhere?
You should get in touch with Pepenk (Criminal Vagina guitarist) who has been in the band longer. I was in the band for a short time and I didn’t see my friends from Criminal Vagina for a long time.
For those interested in getting in touch, where do they find you?
I’m still active on several social media accounts, just search and you’ll find me.
Coming to the end of the interview – any final message to the readers of this interview?
Of course, the older we get, the more we have other responsibilities besides our passion. but keep playing music, and stop when you die. At least that quote is what I still do and believe to this day.
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