This band from Bandung came together back in 1996 when more and more Indonesian bands came under the spell of grunge. CUPUMANIK spent years playing covers of Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden until deciding that it was time to start writing their own music. By 1999 they had put together enough material to start playing shows around their hometown in West Java. After enough rave reviews from fans the band went into the studio in 2003. A year later they had signed a deal with Aquarius and 2005 saw the release of their self-titled debut album. The sound is polished but still rough enough to recall those glory days of old when shredded jeans and alpaca sweaters dominated the stages of the northwestern United States. The sound and attitude live on and these five guys make a solid contribution to keeping the memory of Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley alive and well on the other side of the world.