TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Last round of ILMU Festival groove and beats in Jakarta
Yogyakarta’s ILMU Festival of hip-hop and electronic music is heading to Jakarta tonight for the final gig at the Ruang Rupa artspace
Change Size
Yogyakarta’s ILMU Festival of hip-hop and electronic music is heading to Jakarta tonight for the final gig at the Ruang Rupa artspace.
Organizers estimate the festival attracted over a thousand spectators to the Jogjakarta National Museum over the weekend, with local and international acts drawing out the big crowds of Yogyakarta’s underground hip-hop scene on Saturday night.
The festival brought together Indonesian and Australian artists for a weekend of collaborative gigs and workshops, including discussions on the art of rapping, turntablism, music production and indie music business skills.
This way please: The ILMU Festival, held last weekend in Yogyakarta and in Jakarta tonight, brings together Australian and Indonesian hip-hop artists in collaborative performances. JP/Catriona Richards
The workshops gave established and aspiring artists the chance to discuss all aspects of hip-hop and electronic music, from cultural influences to self-expression, street slang to classical literature.
Despite differences in language and culture, participants found ways to connect through their music, creating new sounds through the collaboration of rhymes and beats.
Yogyakarta electronic artist Kill the DJ from the Jogja Hip Hop Foundation says he’s aware that language can become an issue when performing for an international audience.
“That’s why we strive to please our audience with a more energetic groove and beat — that’s what we [Jogja Hip Hop Foundation] do when we perform abroad.”
Friday night’s warm-up gig at the SURVIVE!garage artspace was a platform for spontaneous collaboration between local and international artists, with MCs freestyling for an intimate crowd at the small gallery in Yogyakarta’s southwest.
Saturday night’s gig drew a much larger crowd, with big-name Australian hip-hop artists Urthboy and Ozi Batla performing alongside local acts Nova Ruth and the Jogja Hip Hop Foundation at the Jogjakarta National Museum.
Fans stormed the stage for the headlining acts, joining old-school favorites such as Jahanam and Kill the DJ live onstage at the Museum’s open pavilion.
The festivities continued on Sunday night with electronic acts such as Australia’s Hermitude and Unkle Ho from the independent label Elefant Traks performing with local artists Danger Dope and Pink Cobra for the festival’s final set in Yogyakarta.
Australian MC Ozi Batla says the vibe at Saturday night’s gig came as a big surprise to the visiting hip-hop artists.
“I’ve never seen a show like that,” he says. “The crowd response, the energy — it was completely insane.”
It is hoped the weekend’s collaboration will have a lasting impact on the connection between the Indonesian and Australian hip-hop scenes.
“I’ve made some really good friends in Yogyakarta over the past week, exchanged details and made connections,” says Ozi. “I definitely think there will be a lasting relationship coming out of this festival [between Australian and Indonesian hip-hop].”
Local MC Nova Ruth says she’s been a long-time fan of Australian hip-hop.
“I’ve listened to music from Elefant Traks a lot,” she says. “It was really great to see them live, it gave me goosebumps.”
Indonesian acts Love Hate Love and the Jogja Hip Hop Foundation are rumored to be visiting Australia in the coming months, with a post-festival online forum to be set up to facilitate ongoing collaboration between the Australian and Indonesian hip-hop communities.
Organizers hope that the debut festival’s success will be the start of longer-term collaboration between Australian and Indonesian hip-hop and electronic artists.
“The long-term goal is to develop the festival and bring it back to Australia,” says festival co-director and electronic artist Kaho Cheung.
Visiting Australian hip-hop and electronic artists Urthboy, Ozi Batla and Hermitude will be performing the final public gig of their Indonesian tour at Ruang Rupa in Jakarta’s south on Tuesday night, joining local acts Kunokini, Indobeatbox and Australian-Indonesian collective Jalan Surabaya to end the weekend’s festivities.
ILMU Festival’s final gig will be held at the Ruang Rupa artspace at Jl. Tebet Timur Dalam Raya
No. 6, South Jakarta, Tuesday Sept. 21, 8 p.m.-11 p.m.
