Kimung, a historian, academician, music practitioner, and even a journalist, has a very essential zine collection experience. He gathers zines, whether knowingly or unwittingly, to sustain his numerous writing efforts for the various books he is working on, such as Ujung Berung Rebels, Bandung Bawah Tanah, and many other works that have a single source in the form of zines. This demonstrates how Kimung’s hobby of collecting zines becomes an activity that does not end or simply becomes a hoarder of old documents. He gathered them for the reason, understanding that the zines he gathered would serve as a record of the times.

Kimung’s collection of zines, on the other hand, does not end with what he has made. He has also amassed a large collection of works that will aid in the writing of history, which he does as desired. As a result, after the death of Ivan Scumbag in 2005-2006, Kimung started to gather information about the Bandung Bawah Tanah. Kimung did more than just collect zines from the Ujung Berung scene. He also collected zines from outside the Bandung metal scene in other cities or even other countries that focused on metal phenomena that occurred in Bandung.

The relationship between Kimung and the zine as a medium is very close. Particularly Kimung’s involvement with the metal scene’s zine movement. Starting with participating in the development of the REVOGRAM zine, to being able to form a trade relationship, to reframing the face of metal music that had been tarnished by the mass media with its zine Minor Bacaan Kecil.

Kimung first became acquainted with zines in the early 1990s as a result of his hobby of ordering physical releases and products that he enjoys, such as Punk, Hardcore, and Metal. Ordering physical releases wasn’t as easy back then as it is now. Kimung has to go through a process of correspondence with the physical release store VSP (Valentine Sound Production) in Malaysia or directly contact foreign labels in America, Europe and beyond to get the music he likes, such as Earache Records, Nuclear Blast Records, Lost N Found Records, etc. In that process, the physical release or merchandise he orders usually has a zine included in the contents of the merchandise package. This activity also introduced Kimung to the function of zines as a media. He always collects zines from correspondence activities. Then, in 1994, Kimung discovered a SWIRL print magazine created by the skateboarding community at the time. The content of SWIRL itself piqued Kimung’s interest. The explanation for this is that the first issue of SWIRL contains a wealth of knowledge about the worlds of skateboarding, music, and others. In the presentation of urban matters, there was undoubtedly a moment that was both inspiring and refreshing at the time. As a result, with his romanticism, SWIRL magazine is one of Kimung’s important collections.

Kimung and his friends in Ujung Berung Rebels were motivated to produce a zine that embodied the music he plays after the introduction of SWIRL and the music zines he had previously received. Then, in 1995, he began to create his own media, REVOGRAM, with other Ujung Berung mates. This zine covers a wide range of musical events in the Ujung Berung metal scene. When Kimung and his friends from Ujung Berung Rebels started REVOGRAM, they also started a collective called Extreme Music Grinding. They came up with the idea that the metal music scene needs to be influenced by three significant ecosystems. First, they formed their own festival, which evolved into Bandung Berisik. Second, they created their own media, which eventually evolved into the REVOGRAM zine. Finally, form your own recording team called the Homeless crew.

There is no excuse for a Kimung not to hold the REVOGRAM zine, given its enormous movement and purpose. This is also a watershed moment in his understanding of the importance of preserving these zines. This zine was compiled as research material for books related to the metal music scene in Ujung Berung, in addition to being a personal archive as a marker of what he has done in life.

Kimung’s journey of gathering and making zines didn’t last long in the beginning. This was due to his hectic musical practices with Sonic Torment and Burgerkill at the time. Kimung’s writing process was more focused on the field of music. Kimung then wrote more about current histories after joining the History department in 1996. While Kimung did not collect zines for a while, friends who are members of Ujung Berung Rebels still hold the zine quite neatly. The zine is held in several rooms where Ujung Berung Rebels mates meet, including Addy Gembel’s house, Ivan Scumbag’s (RIP) house, Sule Restless, Agus Yoewono Sacrilegious, Yayan, and other Ujung Berung mates.

Kimung returned to making a zine named Minor Bacaan Kecil in 2002 after being vacuumed in the concrete literacy campaign from 1996 to 2002. When making and collecting zines, this also reminded Kimung of past romanticism. Then, in 2006, when he was planning to write a book about Ivan Scumbag called My Self Scumbag Beyond Life and Death, he accelerated the zine compilation process once more. Kimung positioned himself as a researcher at the time by collecting zines that centered on the world of Bandung Bawah Tanah. As a consequence, from 2006 to the present, Kimung has often placed himself as a researcher compiling zines, which necessitates his neutrality in order to write objective historical essays. Despite collecting many zines, Kimung’s attention from 2006 was on writing the history he worked on in the book Bandung Bawah Tanah, rather than archiving zines as documentation and archives. Kimung is also thankful that he has friends who are committed to the zine storage process, making it easier for him to acquire the zine he needs for his study.

With this system of collecting what he needs, the process of collecting zines that he is living is very essential. Kimung collected zines made around Ujung Berung Rebels and published from the Ujung Berung Rebels scene, such as REVOGRAM, Ujung Berung Update, Loud and Freaks, Crypt of the Abyss, The Ending Sun, New Noise, Pointless newsletter, Minor Bacaan Kecil, Total Lokal, and zines outside Ujung Berung Rebels which focus on Ujung Berung Rebels, such as the 13 zines written by Arian13 and Ucok who are members of it, when he wrote about Ujung Berung Rebels from 2008 until its release in 2013. This type of work is still being done in his other projects, which focus on the central theme of Bandung Bawah Tanah.

According to Kimung, the zine library’s role in this regard is also critical. Given that zines are not widely known among the general public. The zine library will eventually become a zine information center, making it easier for researchers like him to find the zines they require, as well as the general public who wants to learn about the information contained in the zines themselves.

TOP 5

Everyone who collects something usually has the best item that he considers to be extremely valuable and has his own romance. Similarly, Kimung has zine releases that he thinks are acceptable. Because Kimung is a researcher and must remain objective, he mentioned some good releases based on his era’s turmoil.

According to Kimung, the first acceptable zine is REVOGRAM. Because the existence of REVOGRAM has triggered a collaborative network between three cities: Bandung with the Extreme Noise Grinding community, Malang with the Total Suffer Community, and Surabaya with the HR production room. The network of these three cities eventually formed Total Noise Merchandising, the first metal trading joint venture. It also confirms the media’s true function. Whereas the media does not only convey information, it must also be capable of establishing a network that fosters a vibrant music ecosystem.

Minor Bacaan Kecil is the second zine. Despite Kimung’s presence in the Minor Bacaan Kecil, the zine struggled to the fullest during the AACC tragedy in 2008. At the time, Minor Bacaan Kecil served as a form of resistance to the mainstream media, which had labeled metal music as the sole culprit in the AACC tragedy. Kimung believes that the only way to combat the media is to be or become media. Since the media in his circle at the time was Minor Bacaan Kecil, Minor’s role was maximized to being a media that opposed the mainstream media’s view, which was very cornering.

Kimung and his friends discuss the underground music ecosystem and the creative economy in Minor Bacaan Kecil. The explanation for this is that one year before the AACC incident, in 2007, Ujung Berung had become the roots or main room of the creative economy. Then, through Minor, Kimung and his friends attempted to transform Bandung into a creative city. This has proven to be successful, as evidenced by media opinion, which has led to the fact that metal music and its ecosystem are the roots of Bandung’s creative economy as the source of their news.

The third zine is Total Lokal made by Pey from the Adik Kaka Foundation. This zine discusses a lot of discourses raised by Minor as well.

Ucok Homicide’s Membakar Batas is the fourth zine. This zine contains a great deal of ideological content and movements. This ideological zine has also emerged as a new face of the evolution of zines, which previously focused on music and its ecosystem, to include zines that focus on ideological, political, and practical movements. The existence of ideological zines like this is also extremely important to Kimung. Because this will have an impact on the evolution of zines in the next era.

Extreme Moshpit is the last zine Kimung considers to be among the top five. Extreme Moshpit has evolved into a webzine that collects extreme music and is gradually becoming a very comprehensive medium for extreme music with all of its movements. This media is also very serious about managing its activities, as evidenced by its ability to cover Wacken Open Air and the recent creation of an award for extreme music in Indonesia.

Written by Tegar Pratama,  2021