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We Hum set for 'Humming Mad' concert
Courtesy of We HumThe creative collective named We Hum has put on regular shows for a few years now
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Courtesy of We Hum
The creative collective named We Hum has put on regular shows for a few years now.
Next month, on Nov. 7, the group is set for its latest extravaganza, staging the 10th annual 'Humming Mad' concert, which, as always, features some of the countries less celebrated talent.
This time, musicians will include alternative bands Saturday Night Karaoke, Barefood, Laguna Bang Bang, Fuzzy I and Much.
Previously holding their shows at concert venues and cafes around the city, this edition of We Hum will take place at a 'house party', a long-existing Western trend that has made its way into the lexicon of hip urbanites.
Nevertheless, the choice of venue is a matter of practicality rather than trend hopping. Simply put, it had become too challenging and expensive to pull of shows in the usual places.
'This tenth installment is a kind of pilot project to see if we can pull off a proper house gig because we can no longer afford the venues available in Jakarta,' laughed Tomo Hartono, who heads the collective.
Having co-founded We Hum with some of his best friends in 2011, Tomo says that the idea was to rebuild what he felt was an independent scene on a downward slope.
Those with talent but no connection to the right scenesters had practically no chance of performing, let alone growing their band, something that Tomo and his friends felt had to change.
He recalls the day when he and his friends came up with the concept for We Hum.
'We were just sitting at 7-11, sipping watery, overpriced coffee talking about how boring our scene had been lately. People stick to their own circle like there is an invisible wall between us,' he said.
'Potential newer bands have a hard time finding gigs because they know practically nobody in the scene. You keep seeing the same faces at almost every show within each respective circle because there's no regeneration in the scene. Just the same old people making different kinds of music.'
That was the scene they wanted to change.
'We want to incite regeneration in the scene, destroy the wall between circles and motivate the younger kids to participate ' book a show, create a zine, form a band ' whatever, really,' he elaborates.
There was also an element of creativity that the collective wanted to re-inject into the scene, something that would refresh the staleness of what was once a vibrant movement between independent artists.
'We want people to be free to create whatever they want to create. We want them to be independent. We want the DIY culture to thrive again because we think that is what makes this scene fun and vibrant in the first place. So, we just decided to do it. That is how we.hum collective was founded.'
It hasn't been easy and Tomo has found that concertgoers here are often reluctant to shell out even modest amounts for tickets and drinks.
'What we have learned: Organizing an event is very difficult without the support of the people. Not to mention how venue and sound system rental fees keep skyrocketing over the years and how scarce and limited the public space is in Jakarta,' he said.
'So we really, really appreciate people who come to our show and buy tickets and our official merchandise because it really helps us a lot. It seems we have to think of some kind of a workaround about this if we want to keep running.'
So far, We Hum runs two kinds of events: Escape and Humming Mad. The first being more of an intimate, minimalistic acoustic session ('It's basically an 'escape' from everyday routine') and Humming Mad, which is described by Tomo as being 'more ambitious [...] We want to people to interact freely and intimately in Humming Mad. We want them to participate ' sing along, grabs the mic, initiate a pit, go crowd-surfing ' anything, really.'
'We want the audience to be part of the party instead of just treating the band as a mere spectacle,' Tomo concluded.
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Humming Mad #10: Free entry, starts at 7 p.m.
Location: http://bit.ly/SarangKucing (in the Bintaro area), South Jakarta
