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Indonesian, Japanese musicians collaborate in contemporary roadshow
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Music group Chikuyusha performs traditional Japanese musical instruments, namely "shakuhachi" and "shamisen". (JP/Stefanus Ajie)
A
collaborative music event titled “When the Differences Meet” was held in three cities, namely Yogyakarta, Surakarta and Semarang from March 1 until 3.
Featuring local music group Swara Nusa and Japanese group Chikuyusa, the roadshow presented contemporary music from two countries on one stage.
On Friday, the performance was held in Rumah Banjarsari, Surakarta, and it opened with Pagandrang, a type of traditional Sulawesi music. The performers, who came from Makassar, South Sulawesi, kicked off the show with lively gandrang (traditional drum) and serunai (flute) melodies.
It was then followed by Chikuyusa. The musicians, Kousuke Kumaki and Fuka Mariwo, performed two traditional instruments, namely shakuhachi (Japanese end-blown flute) and shamisen (three-stringed traditional Japanese instrument). Presenting soft yet lively melodies, the music hypnotized the audiences.
The mood changed as Swara Nusa came up on stage, performing rindik Bali (Balinese gamelan). The calming gamelan sound was accompanied by other musical instruments coming from across archipelago, such as Padang, West Sumatra, and Banyuwangi, East Java.
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The show then ended with a collaboration between Chikuyusa and Swara Nusa.
The collaborative performance featured the Balinese flute, saluang (Minangkabau traditional flute), kecapi (Sundanese musical instrument) as well as sakhuhachi and shamisen. Using the Phrygian scale, the different instruments formed a new, beautiful melody.
The collaborative roadshow was organized by Yuli Agung Widodo and M. Bastian Noor.
Bastian said people from different places might face challenges when they had to communicate and collaborate to produce artwork. However, a similar goal could help to overcome the challenges.
Bastian expressed his hopes that the roadshow could be a reminder for Indonesian people, who come from different tribes, languages and religions, to work together for the good of the nation. (jes/kes)
