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Colorful Sounds: From alternative metal to art pop, Indonesia's got it all
Whether it’s veteran musicians or the hungry young guns, Indonesia’s music scene keeps getting richer and more diverse.
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90's comeback: Surabaya's Timeless brings a mature sound of alternative rock. (Courtesy of Timeless).
(Instagram/Courtesy of Timeless)
F
or those wanting to explore some of the freshest musical talents from Indonesia or simply in need of adding new tracks to your playlist, we have you covered. From alternative metal to romantic psychedelic pop, post-hardcore anthems and dark electronic pop, here are some recent tunes from Indonesia worth listening to.
Filler - "Crippled Zone"
On their debut number “Crippled Zone”, Yogyakarta’s Filler sings, or rather yells, about the pain of alienation that comes with living in rural areas of Indonesia and possibly the lack of attention that it gets compared to the big cities. Filled with sorrow and anger, “Crippled Zone” is a rocking post-hardcore anthem that is not afraid to slow it down, giving room to clean, melodic guitar lines to shine. Consisting of members of sidestream Yogyakarta groups such as MDAE, Cloudburst and YK//DK, Filler has concocted a sound that may appeal to both old punk-heads and the more contemporary indie-rockers.
Tender Shoots - "Alive Again"
A new project of singer/songwriter Omar Prazhari (ATSEA) and Jugo Djarot (Circarama), Tender Shoots invokes a sense of nostalgia and let’s-grow-old-together kind of romantic love on its first single “Alive Again”. Released on Jakarta’s indie pop label, Kolibri Records, the duo produces a throwback to the classic 70s psychedelic sound filtered through modern indie pop songwriting, a style that has been popular for the last couple of years thanks to artists such as US indie rocker Mac DeMarco. Light and floaty, “Alive Again” is a song you would want to listen to as you’re holding hands with your significant other at 5 in the morning.
Bilal Indrajaya - "Niscaya"
On “Niscaya” (Undoubtedly), South Tangerang-based soloist Bilal Indrajaya sounds poppier than he has ever been, in the best way possible. From the strings, the funky bass to the memorable falsettos in the chorus, everything about the song screams a hit, like many classic Indonesian pop songs that used to dominate the airwaves in the 90s and 2000s. Lyrically, it’s not a far departure from Bilal’s previous songs, as it expresses one’s fear of leaving a relationship even though it might be the right thing to do.
Timeless - "Dominasi Ambisi"
The 90s alternative rock sound has been making a comeback. What Surabaya’s Timeless has cleverly done is to mix the slightly grittier aspect of the genre with the catchyness of early 2000’s emo that was prevalent from bands such as Taking Back Sunday and Jimmy Eat World, lending “Dominasi Ambisi” (Ambition Domination) a more mature sound, which is also reflected by the theme of the lyrics of one’s struggle with ambition.
Neurova - "Shred"
Let’s get the obvious thing out of the way: Majalengka’s Neurova sounds a lot like US rock band Deftones, especially on their second album Around The Fur. From the big chunky down-tuned riffs, the atmospheric clean guitars to the dramatic, half whisper half singing thing that Deftones’ singer Chino Moreno does, everything is executed very well by Neurova. The talent and the knack for songwriting is there, and hopefully the band will expand its sound and carve its own alternative metal niche. But in the meantime, if you can get past the similarity with their obvious influence, you might find yourself headbanging to the song, because, well, it shreds.
Rayssa Dynta - "Cards"
Young singer-songwriter Rayssa Dynta goes art-pop with her new single “Cards.” Produced by Aryo Adhianto of Space System / A Fine Tuning Creation fame, the track has a slightly dark and ominous atmosphere from the get go, which not coincidentally goes well with the lyrics about twisted power-play in a relationship. Mid-song, “Cards” also has this instrumental break where the massive sub-bass/beat switches up a few times. It’s a nice adventurous touch to an already mesmerizing electronic number.
Mr. Jarwo - "Anti Rebahan"
After a rather unfortunate end to one of Indonesia’s biggest pop bands Naif, the band’s guitarist Fajar Endra Taruna Mangkudisastro, or simply Jarwo, produced something that his former band’s fan base can smile about. His debut single “Anti Rebahan” (Anti Lying Around) still channels the same spirit as his previous project: simple, grounded lyrics that everyone can relate to accompanied by catchy pop rock tunes full of lightly harmonized vocals. As you listen to the words “No use in procrastinating / Get yourself ready / To experience a beautiful day / Although yesterday you were tired / Believe that things are going to be better / Cheer up!”, it seems as though Jarwo is singing to himself as much as he is singing to us.
