ANGGA DWIMAS SASONGKO
Movie Director, Activist
What music are you into at the moment?
LMNOP by Jamie Aditya Graham
What was the first record you bought—any interesting story behind it?
U2’s Achtung Baby was my first record. I bought the cassette when I was just 12 years old. My cousin introduced me to it. I instantly fell in love with U2. (My friends thought I was weird.) That album forced me to start learning English so that I could understand the lyrics.
What is your all-time favourite album? Why?
Achtung Baby. Not only because it’s the first album I have ever bought, I seriously think it’s U2’s masterpiece. Even though lots of people think U2’s Joshua Tree is better, to me Achtung Baby is their ultimate album. It has the most complex repertoire, arrangement wise; plus their electronic, avant-garde exploration. Dark. Intense. Seductive. The most effective collaboration between U2 and Brian Eno.
What was the worst record you ever purchased?
Scorpion. Forgot which album. I bought it out of curiosity. But even from the first track I didn’t like it. Maybe that’s why I don’t remember what the album was. It refuses to stay in my brain. Hehe.
Who do you want to be, other than yourself, next time you reincarnate?
A bird.
What book are you reading now and what’s the score (1-10)?
Nelson Mandela: Conversation With Myself. Score? Hmm… I think the book is very inspiring. I’m more concerned about wishing a leader like Mandela could materialise in Indonesia and save this country.
What new movie should people see? Why?
Soegija. Not because of the theme or the story. But more about the approach Garin Nugroho takes. He uses cinema almost like a diorama. That’s naughty. As a film director, it makes me wonder how Garin was able to convince other people—people with complex interests and big expectation, to be precise—to invest. And then he treated the movie, the investment, in a rather “unserious” way via the diorama approach. It really bothers me. Hahaha…
What song do you choose to start your weekend?
“Pots of Gold” by Mamas Gun.
And song you choose to end your weekend?
“Tubuhmu Membiru, Tragis” by Efek Rumah Kaca
While busy directing videoclips for the bands that he’s hooked on (for free), lately he’s been involved supporting Faisal-Biem, the independent, non-party contestants, that join Jakarta’s recent governor election—he made a special promo movie for them.
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*This interview was firstly published on The Beat (Jakarta) #68, JuL 29-Aug 05, 2012
