HMGNC (a

disemvoweling Disemvoweling, disemvowelling (British and Commonwealth English), or disemvowelment is writing a piece of text with all the vowel letters removed. Disemvoweling is often used in band and company names. It used to be a common feature of SMS langua ...

of their former name, Homogenic) is an Indonesian

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

and

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

band from

Bandung Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...

West Java West Java (, ) is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten and the country's capital region of Jakarta to t ...

. Named after Icelandic singer

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

’s 1997 album ''

Homogenic ''Homogenic'' is the third studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. It was released on 22 September 1997 by One Little Indian Records. Produced by Björk, Mark Bell (British musician), Mark Bell, Guy Sigsworth, Howie B, and Markus Dra ...

'', the band was formed in 2002 and changed the original band name to its present name in 2015. Original members are Risa Saraswati (vocals; replaced by Amandia Syachridar in 2009), Dina Dellyana (keyboards, synth, programming) and Grahadea Kusuf (synth, programming). HMGNC perform songs in both

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and have produced four

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

s: ''

Epic Symphony HMGNC (a disemvoweling of their former name, Homogenic) is an Indonesian electronic music, electronic and synth-pop band from Bandung, West Java. Named after Icelandic singer Björk’s 1997 album ''Homogenic'', the band was formed in 2002 and ...

'' (2004), '' Echoes of the Universe'' (2006), '' Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom'' (2010), '' HMGNC'' (2017) and one EP: ''Let's Talk'' (2012).

Career

The band formed in 2002 in

, Indonesia, with initial members consisting of Risa Saraswati on lead vocals, Dina Dellyana on keyboards, and Grahadea Kusuf on synth and programming. The band name was derived from Icelandic pop singer

's 1997 album of the same title. Although they admired Björk in high school, they avoided trying to resemble her music. Homogenic signed with Indonesian indie label FFWD Records and later released their debut album, ''Epic Symphony'' in March 2004. The album mixed

trip hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...

and

downbeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

with angelic vocals during the rise of

electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

(EDM) scene in Indonesia. Two singles released from the album: "Kekal" and "Taste of Harmony". On April 2, 2006, the band released their second album, ''Echoes of the Universe'', which marks the beginning of electronic and indie-pop influence in their musical style. "Utopia", "Untukmu, Duniaku" and "Unfolding Sympathy" were released as singles. Their songs were featured on the original soundtrack of the Indonesian indie film ''Cin(T)a'', which was the first collaboration between the band and writer/director , which would continue to other projects and enable the band to perform in London, Birmingham, Newcastle and Manchester. It went on to become their last album with Saraswati. In October 2009, Saraswati announced her resignation as the lead singer to pursue her solo career and formed her own band, Sarasvati. Homogenic released their third studio album, ''Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom'', on April 17, 2010. This became the band's first studio album without Saraswati as well as their first album with new lead vocalist, Amandia Syachridar. The album also saw the band focus more on English songs rather than their native Indonesian. Two singles were released from this album: "Seringan Awan" and "Happy Without You". ''Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom'' would be the last studio album Homogenic released under FFWD. In 2012, the band signed a contract with UNKL347 and released their first EP, '' Let's Talk'' containing five tracks. Homogenic reunited with Sammaria Simanjutak to produce the soundtrack for the film '' Demi Ucok'' for which they contributed its music score; "Get Up and Go" was the first single on the EP and was also featured on the Organic Records compilation ''Radio Killed the TV Star''. It was followed by a second single, "Takkan Berhenti Disini", which gained rave responses from Indonesian junglist and drum bass scenes. Despite its Indonesian lyrics, the song swept three main awards at the Voice Independent Music Awards (VIMA) 2013, landing the Best Electronic Dance Song, Best Electro Dance Act and Thank You for Existing Awards. In 2015, the band changed their original name from Homogenic to HMGNC by removing the letters O, E and I. They later signed with Papermoon Records and released two new singles, "Today and Forever", released in April 2015 and "Memories That Last a Dream", released in September 2015. HMGNC later released their third single, "This Too Shall Pass" featuring Agung, lead guitarist of

Burgerkill Burgerkill is an Indonesian heavy metal band, originally from Bandung, the capital city of West Java. The band is named after the fast food restaurant Burger King as a prank. The band was founded in May 1995 by Aries Tanto a.k.a. Eben, someti ...

. In October 2017, the band released their fourth studio album, which is

self-titled An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

and the first to adopt their present name since the band changes their original name two years earlier. The album saw the band reunite with Saraswati. In September 2018, HMGNC headlined a tour in Japan from 6 to 14 September. The band released their new single, "When Love Awaits" on 15 November 2019.Windy Eka Pramudya (22 November 2019)
HMGNC Rilis Single When Love Awaits
Pikiran Rakyat. Retrieved on 20 March 2020.

Band members

* Risa Saraswati - vocals (2002–2009) * Dina Dellyana - keyboards, vocoder, programming (2002–2021) * Grahadea Kusuf - synth, programming (2002–2021) * Amanda Syachridar - vocals (2009–2021)

Discography

Studio albums

EP

Singles

Filmography

TV commercials

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official websitearchived
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 2002 Indonesian pop music groups 2002 establishments in Indonesia Indonesian musical trios English-language musical groups from Indonesia Indonesian electronic music groups