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Dancing kings: DJ duo Diskoria talks ruling club and streaming airwaves
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Dancing kings: Diskoria is a DJ duo consisting of Merdi Simanjuntak (left) and Fadli Aat (Photo Courtesy of Suara Disko) (Personal collection/Photo Courtesy of Suara Disko)
T
he year 2021 was a high mark for Diskoria thanks to its recent disco hits and wins at this year's Anugerah Musik Indonesia (AMI) Awards. The DJ duo shared its journey so far.
There is no such thing as “too old” when it comes to music. Such is the spirit that Diskoria — a DJ duo consisting of 46-year-old Fadli Aat and 40-year-old Merdi Simanjuntak — seemed to represent after bringing home two AMI Awards on Nov. 15 for "C.H.R.I.S.Y.E.", a disco anthem whose sound and lyrics hark back to the 1970s. The members of Diskoria did not hold back during their in-person conversation with The Jakarta Post on Nov. 20.
"This is a movement. What we have been doing since day one is a movement," declared Fadli with confidence.
Dancing kings
Fadli and Merdi had been friends before the birth of Diskoria. Both of them had been active as DJs in local nightclubs while maintaining their respective day jobs: Fadli worked at a hospital whereas Merdi worked as the operations manager for Aksara Bookstore in Kemang, South Jakarta. They teamed up for the first time in January 2015 — both were asked to DJ at a party organized by musical collective Suara Disko (disco voice). "They wanted to throw a party, but the whole setlist had to be Indonesian songs," Fadli reminisced.
