In supersized font, the event organizer’s name “Lokananta” flashed on screen during its presentation of the music festival held last weekend.

For many, the reveal was the culmination of a years-long promise to bring back one of Indonesia’s most storied cultural institutions.

“M Bloc wouldn’t exist without Lokananta,” Handoko Hendroyono, cofounder and president director of PT Radar Ruang Riang (M Bloc Group), said at the event, asserting that all of the creative space’s music-oriented aspects were inspired by the renowned music label and recording studio.

Founded in 1956 in Surakarta, Central Java, Lokananta was considered among the first of its kind in the country.

Housing the works of many legendary recording artists from Gesang to Titiek Puspa, the music establishment was treasured for its priceless archives consisting of 5,670 master recordings and 53,000 vinyl records.

Over the last few decades since the 1990s, a good few years after its heyday, however, it infamously fell into extreme disrepair, its soundproofed walls crumbling slowly, its roof leaking in streams and its vinyl pressings gathering layers of dust.

“It got to the point where, if you asked the kids from the surrounding area, they only knew Lokananta as a futsal field,” said Wendi Putranto, a senior music and media professional who is also CEO of Lokananta Bloc, the newest offering from M Bloc Group.

Following a slow start and bureaucratic slog to bring the studio back from the brink of extinction, revitalization efforts picked up in 2022 to culminate in the comeback of the famed Lokananta Festival, a decade after it was held for the first and only time in 2013.

A visitor on June 2 looks at old music equipment on display, including a phonograph, at the Lokananta Museum in Surakarta, Central Java, on June 2, 2023. (Antara/Mohammad Ayudha)

Cult revival

For their part, the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry and the National Asset Management Company (PPA) sought a management company that could not only bring the studio back to life, but also turn it into a cultural hot spot.

Their search led them to M Bloc Group, the parent company of a nationwide roster of creative spaces like M Bloc Space and Posbloc.

“Initially, everyone pitched for this project to manage Lokananta. Among the competitors, M Bloc [Group] was chosen, maybe because of our business model and approach,” Wendi told The Jakarta Post ahead of the Lokananta Festival, which ran from June 3 to 4.

M Bloc Space was established in 2019 on the former site of state-owned securities printing and banknote minting company Peruri, and is now a lively melting pot of creative and commercial businesses, complete with art galleries, shops and community spaces.

“Our approach has always been about the creative economy, which we thought would be the best way to bridge the commercial and the creative, because we want it to be self-sustaining,” Wendi explained, which were also among the aims of newly refurbished Lokananta.

Renovations have been made to overhaul Lokananta’s facilities and premises. Gone are the leaky and termite-ridden walls, and its studio has been installed with new recording equipment.

Its spatial layout is similar to the studio of old once frequented by the icons of Indonesian music, just a bit more modern.

“It’s gotten really cool! Audio-wise, the recordings sounded really good and the equipment there is top-notch,” said Safina Nadisa of musical duo Jungkat-Jungkit, which performed at last weekend’s festival.

“We did a live recording of two of our songs that we never released officially. We feel like all musicians who use this studio in the future will be pleased,” she added.

Prominent rock band God Bless is expected to record new songs in the renovated studio, while legendary singer-songwriter Fariz RM is very keen to follow suit after performing at the festival.

“I’ve never recorded my albums in Lokananta, but I’ve been witness to the big ones that were recorded there”, such as the music catalog of queen Waldjinah, Fariz told the Post.

“That’s why I’m planning to record my music there as well. I’m just looking for a date now,” he added.

Cestya Parahita Widagdo, a 25-year-old social media officer at music archiving collective Irama Nusantara, marveled at the revamped studio when she took a look prior to the festival’s opening night.

“The archives, which used to be dusty, are now presented very well,” she said. “As for the gallery, they packaged it in a way that narrates their musical history, and it should be very appealing to the public.”

Even so, Cestya admitted that during her interaction with festival volunteers, it was clear that many were oblivious to the studio’s legacy.

“My hope is that [...] younger generations can get to know more about Lokananta and its releases,” she told the Post.

State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Erick Thohir (second left) accompanies Surakarta Deputy Mayor Teguh Prakosa (right) and a roster of top musicians, including legend singer Titiek Puspa (center), celebrate during the opening night of the newly revamped Lokananta music label and recording studio in Surakarta, Central Java, on June 3, 2023. Along with the studio space, Lokananta now has a dedicated museum that houses its storied collection. (Antara/Mohammad Ayudha)

Enduring legacy

With fresh paint and more spaces for sightseeing and community activities, Lokananta Bloc officially opened on June 3 to coincide with the eponymous music festival.

“The festival serves as a celebration for a place that [preserves] arts and culture, which can hopefully give back to musicians and local communities,” Wendi said.

The two-day festival featured 21 chart-toppers spanning decades of Indonesian music, from Kla Project and Vina Panduwinata to Pamungkas and White Shoes & the Couples Company.

For music historian and Irama Nusantara cofounder David Tarigan, the festival was also a celebration of the studio’s rich history, from its time as a facility that duplicated state broadcasts to its eventual commercial success.

David observed many attempts to revive the recording studio, including books written to preserve its history and self-made shows organized by the persistent efforts of the Friends of Lokananta collective to promote it.

“People see Lokananta as a record label for traditional songs, especially Javanese music,” he told the Post.

“If anything, this revitalization goes to show how the state sees Indonesian music and how important it is that, up until today, it is well documented, its stories are written and spread via social media,” he added.

Its renovation complete, others also hope that the studio will become an even bigger cultural landmark than it once was.

“For me, Lokananta is our Abbey Road,” Fariz said, referring to the legendary London studio that recorded most of The Beatles’ works.

“This is even more so, knowing that it’s the studio that recorded [first president] Sukarno’s 1945 Proclamation of Independence and [national anthem] ‘Indonesia Raya’ for the very first time, so it really is a historic place,” he added.

Frequent visitors to the studio, including 29-year-old Tri Antoro from Sukoharjo, Central Java, said that even when it was in a state of near-abandonment, many were still drawn to visit Lokananta.

“I first went there during the launch of White Shoes & the Couples Company’s EP Menyanyikan Lagu-Lagu Daerah in 2013. And I also went there in 2021 to see the tribute show for [singer-songwriter] Didi Kempot. [That event] was held on a field in the studio grounds, surrounded by old buildings,” Tri told the Post.

“It was a lovely night, but I’m hoping to see and take a look around the renewed Lokananta soon,” he said.