'Beat Fest': Now for something completely different

Nick Perry ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 11/29/2008 11:30 AM  |  Entertainment

For those of you out there scratching your heads and wondering how mash-up electro artist DJ Steve Aoki and mellow Euro-indie hipsters The Whitest Boy Alive will go down headlining together this Saturday night at Bengkel Night Park, don't worry -- you're not alone.

"Beat Fest" will this weekend play host to the unlikely combination of Aoki (the hedonistic founder of the Dim Mak record label, brash electro DJ extraordinaire, fashion entrepreneur and unabashed socialite) and The Whitest Boy Alive (a German-based quartet of quiet, cardigan-wearing nerds known for their smooth breed of *ber-cool indie rock) in what will either be a brilliant mix of eclectic beats or a confusing struggle of disparate genres.

Thankfully, this is a calculated risk, and far more seemingly disastrous line-ups have worked wonders in the past (take hip-hop legend Jay-Z headlining the Glastonbury international rock festival for example).

There is method in the madness, explains "Beat Fest" head promoter Hanin Sidharta, who says the scene in Jakarta is ripe for a performance by these two prolific artists.

"We wanted to do something new and different, and bring out some cross-genre acts that our indie scene supports", Hanin said.

"Aksara Records presses The Whitest Boy Alive albums here in Indonesia, and have sold thousands of copies, while Steve Aoki is infamous in the electro music scene, which is a growing culture here."

Growing culture may be a bit of an understatement. Jakarta is currently experiencing the electro wave that has swept through clubs the world over, dominating dance floors with digitalized basslines and endless resampling of material from indie/alternative groups, hip-hop artists, new rave, glam-rock, punk and literally everything in between.

Riding that wave from somewhere on high is DJ Steve Aoki. At present, there are not many DJs and producers with a name for themselves like Aoki: he doesn't exactly hide in the shadows.

Renowned for his crowd surfing, diverse musical experience and immaculate mixing, Aoki is a Hollywood nightclub institution -- the face of an entire scene. His parties are notorious for unbridled debauchery, loud beats and cameos from LA's rich, hip and famous.

His shoulder-length hair, bright sneakers, psychedelic singlets, Japanese-American looks and extroverted persona ensure he never goes unnoticed.

His debut album, Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles, while largely containing remixes of other infamous electro artists like Justice and MSTRKRFT, encompasses his broad of range of influences with samples from Duran Duran, Franz Ferdinand and Does It Offend You, Yeah?.

"Steve Aoki has a rock star persona, and the sneaker-wearing, designer T-shirt-buying partiers love his style," Hanin says.

Strip away the glitz, chaotic digitalism and extravagant fashion, and you are left with four pale, non-assuming, geeky lads in square glasses and skinny jeans.

They are The Whitest Boy Alive, whose debut album Dreams contains 10 of the smoothest, up-tempo, minimal indie tunes around.

The band kicked off in 2003 when lead singer, Erlend Oye -- one half of Norwegian folk-pop duo Kings of Convenience -- paired up with bassist Marcin to make dance music. Jaded by the overwhelming opportunities music technology provided, but unable to make anything materialize, they recruited drummer Sebastian Maschat and synth player Daniel Nentwig and created an entirely live instrumental group.

"The (electronic) music is already programmed. You are really just playing along to a computer, and it is not really going to change in any significant way. That is not really live," Oye said in an online interview.

The Whitest Boy Alive blend driving basslines with sharp drumming, giving every tune an unwavering backbeat pulse and dance-like electricity. The synth throws in mellow, open chords while the guitar raps out syncopated chords: picture 4 rhythms, none overpowering the other, working as one hip unit.

Never fear, all you Kings of Convenience fans, Oye may be fronting a different group, but the enigmatic lyrics and warm, lucid tone synonymous with the duo is still very much alive.

The last thing punters want after buying a festival ticket is to be bombarded with homogeneous, repetitive dance tracks when they could simply have gone to any one of Jakarta's nightclubs.

Those in search of something fresh and diverse, look no further: The promoters at "Beat Fest" have ensured this Saturday night will be anything but ordinary.

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