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'World's fanciest prison': Lomba Sihir debuts with 'magical' rendition of Jakarta's bittersweet realities
Lomba Sihir is the latest "it" band on Indonesia's indie scene, with a debut album that explores the realities of life in Jakarta through a magical mix of musical genres.
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Lomba Sihir is a supergroup formed of six indie musicians (clockwise from left): Wisnu Ikhsantama, Rayhan Noor, Enrico Octaviano, Natasha Udu, Tristan Juliano and Baskara Putra (center), who also has a solo career under the stage name "Hindia". (Lomba Sihir documentation/Mikael Aldo)
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t was a pleasant surprise when indie label Sun Eater announced the debut album release of Lomba Sihir at the beginning of the year. The band is something of a supergroup of experienced indie musicians and comprises Natasha Udu and Baskara Putra, both vocalists, with the latter also playing synthesizers and known for heading popular rock band .Feast and solo projects under his stage name “Hindia”, guitarist-vocalist Rayhan Noor, bass player Wisnu Ikhsantama, keyboardist Tristan Juliano and drummer Enrico Octaviano.
The band spoke about their beginnings and how their debut album Selamat Datang di Ujung Dunia (Welcome to the edge of the world) reflects their complicated relationship with Jakarta.
Question: How did Lomba Sihir form?
Answer, Baskara Putra: Lomba Sihir was formed back in mid-2019 as a backing band for my solo projects as Hindia. But there were times when I found having the spotlight all to myself pretty jarring. I wanted everyone to receive the recognition they deserved because ultimately, no matter who wrote the song, we always played it together as a band.
Why did you name the group Lomba Sihir?
Rayhan Noor: The name came from Baskara. Back in college, he formed a band called Lembaga Lomba Sihir, so we took it off of that. The way we see it, music is just like magic that can amaze listeners. But we were worried that the word “sihir” [alone] might be too dark or something [for its association with witchcraft and sorcery], so we reworked it as Lomba Sihir [magic contest or contest of magic].
Tristan Juliano: I feel like when we perform, every single one of us is racing to do [some] magic to make the audience happy. And when our audience is happy, so are we (laughs).
