'I.K.T.S' music video a fruition of local talents

KARACOMA or a band previously known as Senjakala made a milestone in Brunei entertainment industry when they launched their first music video entitled "I.K.T.S" which was released for online viewers on YouTube and Facebook last week.

The video was created in collaboration with Visual Dimensions Production and Easyorange Advertising.

"I.K.T.S" is one out of the 11 songs from Karacoma's album which is scheduled to be released in December, this year.

The music video was directed and produced by Adam Groves of Visual Dimensions Production and locations for the shootings was provided by Easyorange Advertising.

The music video is another medium for Karacoma to showcase their work locally and globally with hopes that future music videos will be produced.

Visual Dimensions Production was founded by Adam Groves since 2007. One of the earliest works done by Adam Groves was two horror short-films entitled 'The Suicide' & 'The Apartment'.

Adam said that the video clip that he edited was a new creation with different angles than what he had done before. The filming and production was from his own team's effort using equipments such as video camera, softwares and others.

This sentiment was then echoed by his partner, Faizal Rosli who runs Easyorange. Faizal said that venturing to do video editing was another milestone that they were glad to be part of.

He said that their services are not only limited to making music video but they are also looking forward for customers who wish to make a commercial video clip, wedding video, advertisements video and among others.

Like any other "film-buff", Adam Groves takes his interest in film very seriously hence the creation of his two short films that was done in 2008 which he considered was part of his self-learning process in the film industry as well as gaining experience and knowledge along the way.

Between 2008 to present, he ventured further in other genres of film such as wedding cinematography and corporate functions as well as event coverage for various companies.

In early 2009, he also produced, directed and wrote two episodes of a local comedy "The Jo & Jul Show" that took online viewers of youtube.com by storm. With the success of The "Jo & Jul Show" the local radio station Pilihan FM called Adam in for a live interview by DJ Allen.

On the other hand, local horror fans flock to the net to view Adam's work. Besides his popular horror short-films "The Suicide" & "The Apartment", that was filmed this year, there are also two other films entitled "The Awakening" and "The Shape".

Local online viewers were fascinated by the style and storylines portrayed in each short film that Adam created. Some have commented that his work is unique in terms of shots taken, interesting in terms of editing skills and stylish in terms of presentation.

Before founding Visual Dimensions Production, in 2006, Adam was also involved in the production of a music video of his own band - Not Famous with their song entitled 'Second Song'. Not only does Adam have experience in the film industry but he also has a keen interest in the music scene.

With all his experiences in producing short films and his understanding of music, his fame captured Karacoma a local band's attention where the band approached him to produce and direct their first music video entitled "I.K.T.S".

Karacoma is aware of Adam's creative eye in producing films and requested that their music video would have hints of Adam's short film uniqueness embedded in their music video.

Therefore "I.K.T.S" is the first locally produced and directed music video and both Karacoma and Adam Groves of Visual Dimensions Production hopes that the music video is a success and would make a niche in the film and music industry of Brunei.

Karacoma formerly known as Senjakala, started out as a side project due to creative tension in the band during the recording of Senjakala's album.

Senjakala was a well-known local band that had released a few songs in 2003 and in the midst of the tension that arose in the recording of Senjakala's album, Mawi the original guitarist and founder of Senjakala ventured out to form Karacoma with Jaz of Krematory and Adi of WanLongKok/Senjakala in search for creative freedom.

As Karacoma progressed, Sam join in later on as she feels that a few of her songs were not suited for Senjakala . Finally in 2008, Wayne join in as their bassist and with that the gap within the circle of Karacoma was closed.

Karacoma's first single Paranoia went straight to number 4 on Kristal FM charts that year however the band was unable to fire full cylinders and capitalise at that time because Sam had to further her studies in Melbourne, Australia.

Karacoma made several failed attempts to record a full length album till 2008, where they decided to record on their own home recording studio which started from April to September 2008.

As the album recording was nearing to its completion, everything was recorded except for some of the bass tracks. Due to dissatisfaction with the bass tracks cause by the lack of equipment, some of the bass tracks was done in Germany by Yenz Leonhardt who plays for Iron Savior, Savage Circus, Stormwarrior, and the touring bassist for Lacrimosa .

In April 2009, the album was mixed at Chapel Studio, Lincolnshire, UK, by Simon Efemey who is most noted for his work with metal and hard rock groups, including Napalm Death, Paradise Lost, Amorphis, and The Wildhearts. Chapel Studios is a well-known studio whose clients include MachineHead, Bullet for My Valentine, Cradle of Filth, the Darkness, Arctic Monkeys, Lamb of God, and many more.

The mastering dates will be announced later possibily at Foel Studio in Wales with Chris Fielding .

The album's target release date would be December entitled "Shattered Mirrors" which consist of 11 tracks such as IKTS, Paranoia, December Snow, Fire Conspiracy, and Bittersweet Symphony.

Currently, Sam and Wayne are in the process of designing and conceptualising the album cover for Karacoma. Contact 2454885 or visit their websites at adam-groves.blogspot.com.

The Brunei Times