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nergetic sounds from different kinds of rebana (tambourines) are played as the vocalist dances and jumps around the stage located at the Rolling Stone Cafe on Jl.Ampera, South Jakarta.

After a while, the front man blows a Bia shell — a traditional instrument from Papua made from a large shell. The audience enthusiastically clap their hands as they watch KunoKini play one of their songs.

KunoKini is composed of Bhisma (Bhismo), Astari Achiel (Bebi) and Akbar Nugraha (Akbar). The name was taken from the words uno and ini meaning “old” and “contemporary.

The name represents their music and philosophy as they play traditional instruments from across the country and blend it with other instruments from different countries and, then, mix them into a contemporary musical arrangement.After blowing the shell,which the Papuans usually do to announce wars or traditional ceremonies, Bhismo sang and hopped around to the beat.

The journey of the band began eight years ago, when they were still studying at Paramadina University. An offer to play at the Folk Lore Festival 2003 in Germany came from their campus. Seven youth males accepted it and flew to Europe. When the dancers were changing their costumes, the band was asked to play musical instruments to pass the time.

It turns out it had a good effect. Audiences really enjoyed it. When we got back to Jakarta, we think it would be cool if we continued[to instruments],”said Bebi.

He said that playing traditional instruments in KunoKini was his self-acclamation.

The seven youth then continued their journey to create the band. In the earliest formation, the band consisted of seven persons and called it “The Kuno’s”. Time went by, the band’s member quit one by one.

In 2005, they agreed to reform the band with four persons and named it “KunoKini”. They changed the name because they think “The Kuno’s” was too English, so they decided to choose a name that really showed Indonesian nationality. After beginning to establish themselves,one member quit, leaving them with only three: Bhismo, Bebi and Akbar.

The three-member KunoKini was usually assisted by several additional players. Billie the band manager usually helps them to play Kolintang, an instrument from Minahasa, North Sulawesi. Aside from Billie, they were also assisted by Darman to play tifa, a type of drum from Kalimantan or Papua. Darman often was an additional player for KunoKini for many shows.

It took years for them to explore every musical instrument they had. After nearly two years exploring sounds of every instrument, they found the perfect formula, applying instruments to contemporary arrangements. And with the process still going, they continue to use new instruments and explore differences.

“We have dozens of traditional instruments. We never count exactly, but it seems we use more than 20 instruments”, said Bhismo. His mother always told him to watch, learn and practice Gamelan and Javanese dances when he was still in elementary school. They secured instruments during their travels around Indonesia. When they came to an area and found an instrument, they research more about the instrument and learn to play it.

For the need of various sounds, we look for more instruments. Sometimes friends give us instruments from places, which we buy from them,” said Akbar, the last member to join KunoKini. He didn’t have a music background, but he really enjoyed being part of a band playing traditional instruments.

By playing traditional instruments, they have the to travel to places, home and abroad including cities in Java, Germany, Australia and Croatia. In June 2011, they were scheduled to visit Germany and the Netherlands, to accompany the students of Science and Culture University of Indonesia, presenting Indonesian culture.

Their first album Reinkarnasi (Reincarnation), released in March last year, mostly feature Javanese tunes. For the next album, they want to use tunes.

The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post