Crossing genres: Aksjan Sjuman is known as the drummer of Potret, as well as for his passion for jazz.

Drummer Aksan Sjuman has taken some time out of his currently less demanding schedule to answer his fans’ questions via livestream.

“So, the pandemic canceled all my current [gigs]. It’s like I’m ranting while I’m talking to myself, doesn’t it?” Aksan said on Wednesday afternoon.

Despite the rhetorical question seemingly addressed to himself, the renowned drummer of Potret was not speaking to himself, but rather responding to a member of his virtual audience during a Q&A session livestreamed on the Instagram account of Goethe-Institut Indonesien.

Aksan was this week’s host for the German cultural institute’s weekly discussion #MusicTalk, in which musicians talk to fans about their profession, music and anything else that comes up in the real-time comments thread.

The livestream sessions are part of this year’s “Alur Bunyi” (Flow of Sound), an annual concert series that was moved online in response to the nationwide stay-at-home policy. #MusicTalk has already featured vocalist Dalilektra in its first virtual edition on April 8, and will feature Puti Chitara on April 22.

Aksan, who curated the inaugural “Alur Bunyi” concert series in 2017, said that the content he was releasing now on Instagram was mainly about Potret and drumming practice, since live jamming sessions were ruled out amid the ongoing social restrictions.

“I really do think it’s important in times like this to have a hobby, because you’ll end up annoying others if you don’t have one. If you have a hobby, you can now get into it more, or [do] things you just haven’t had the chance to, really,” he said.

One viewer asked for Aksan’s advice on what to do when music grew beyond a hobby and into a career. The viewer said that he had nothing to turn to when he was stressed out, since his hobby was also his job.

Aksan said that one solution was to find an alternative way to release stress, saying that he could not play the drums well when he was stressed.

“If you enjoy going for a walk, do it,” he said. “To be honest, when I’m out of ideas for my music, I often go to the mall. Just take a walk, go people watching or go to the movies. It’s just until we’re not in that stressful [state] anymore.”

“As is often the case, sometimes all we need is a little bit of entertainment, whether it is going out with family or with your friends. It’s not a good thing to be too busy with yourself.”

Live chat: Potret drummer Aksan responds to fans during the #MusicTalk Q&A livestream session, which was moved online as part of the Goethe-Institut Indonesien’s “Alur Bunyi” concert series for 2020.

As for inspiration, it could come from anywhere. Aksan said that his upcoming piece, “Dunia Saat Mata Terpejam” (world with eyes closed), was inspired by the world, specifically his personal world.

He had even made a video of himself trying out funk drumming simply because he had always wanted to, said the drummer, who is known for his affinity with jazz.

Making the video then led to other things like video editing, Aksan said. He gradually learned to use advanced editing programs beyond the basics of iMovie as his ideas grew for producing more complex videos.

On his role as the “Alur Bunyi” curator three years ago, he said that the inaugural series focused on electronic music, although it also covered other genres that used electronic instruments as a new medium.

“I don’t really follow the development of electronic music, as I’m not into that field at the moment. I’m someone who simply cannot stick to one role, [even] in drumming,” he said.

According to Aksan, what inspires his creativity is his sense of not wanting to be stagnant.

“It comes from the feeling that we don’t want to do [whatever] we are doing now for longer than we want it to. That’s when we want to change,” he said. “For example, if you play pop music, [creativity] comes when you want to try a different style of pop. It is where you want to break out of your current situation.”

For example, Aksan noted, Potret was not trying to create music that was currently popular, and instead took their inspiration from the ‘80s and ‘90s simply because their creative efforts had led them there.

“Is idealism in music important?” he reiterated another question. “I think it is always important, but as ‘smart’ idealism. Not the kind of idealism that leads you to say ‘I will make music regardless of whether anyone is [listening] or not’. I think that’s stupid, to be honest,” he said.

He explained that there was no musician who did not want an audience or did not want to have their work appreciated, and that anyone who said otherwise was either lying or “spouting BS”.

“Art can only be said to have succeeded if the public is involved, as this means that the message of the work has come across,” he said. “Maybe it’s the idealism of the people of the old days who said that what’s important is that you do what you love or that it’s OK to have a small audience as long as you keep evolving.”

He said that it was important to be “smart”, in that when your music was rather “difficult”, you must have an effective way to promote it and get your message across.

One example of being “smart”, Aksan said, was the late American composer John Cage, who was known for his experimental approach to music. Cage wrote Silence: Lectures and Writings, and the people who read the book grew to understand his music.

“So [Cage] made an effort. He didn’t just create music that was contemporary that many people were unable to enjoyed, but he wrote down his ideas and idealism in a book as a companion piece to his music,” he said.

— Photos courtesy of Goethe-Institut Indonesien