Jogjakarta’s Senyawa embodies the aural elements of traditional Indonesian music while exploring the framework of experimental music practice, pushing the boundaries of both traditions. Their music strikes a perfect balance between their avant-garde influences and cultural heritage to create truly contemporary Indonesian new music. Their sound is comprised of Rully Shabara’s deft extended vocal techniques punctuating the frenetic sounds of instrument builder Wukir Suryadi’s modern-primitive instrumentation, includging inventions like his handcrafted “Bamboo Spear,” a thick stem of bamboo strung up with percussive strips of the animal skin along side steel strings. Amplified, it fuses elements of traditional Indonesian instrumentation with garage guitar distortion. Sonically dynamic, the instrument can be rhythmically percussive on one side while being melodically bowed and plucked on the other.
They have collaborated and performed with many notable musicians, such as Yoshida Tatsuya, Otomo Yoshide, Lucas Abela, KK Null, Keiji Haino, Rabih Beiani, Trevor Dunn, Greg Fox, Sophia Jernberg, Arrington De Dionysus, Melt Banana, Jon Sass, Damo Suzuki, Jerome Cooper, Oren Ambarchi, David Shea, and Kazu Ushihashi.
Photo taken from Cyclic Defrost.
Zoom link to attend: https://zoom.us/join ; Meeting ID = 486 644 6744.
