1. It was actually fun to experience an all-indoor festival
Call us a coward or whatever, but when it comes to an air-conditioned room, we can’t help it. It turns out that Java Soundsfair Festival is the all indoor art and music festival in Indonesia. And we are sure, that many of you must be very happy for this all indoor concept, because you guys didn’t end up having sweat patch all over your shirts.

2. RAN’s stage act was such a joy to watch

We overheard some people decided to skip RAN’s show and some even said that they are boring. However, we decided to give it a go to see RAN. And those people who said that RAN is boring, well, it’s either they are the ones who are boring or they are the ones who are totally boring. Because from what we saw, RAN gave a simply nice set and they even had dancers who pumped up the excitement to singalong to their pop hits. We are a stan for RAN now.

3. Sophie Ellis-Bextor doesn’t age. The same thing goes to her music.

When we found out that the inhuman beauty, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, would be one of the line-ups, we knew we were not going to miss it. The first thing crossed our mind when she came out the stage is she doesn’t age. Okay, now we sound like a fan boy. Ms.Ellis-Bextor performed her infamous ‘Take Me Home’ and a groovy medley from Modjo’s ‘Lady’ to Moloko’s ‘Sing It Back’. Her performance was completed beautifully with her disco dance in an emerald sheer dress which gives a peek of her bedazzling underwear. Combo.

4. You should see Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra for once in your life

Yes, you should see Tokyo Ska Paradise for once in your life. All we can say is they did it in a f***ing legendary way in a serious classy act. We expected that their set would be mindblowing but when we finished seeing them, it was like you just finished seeing the Godfather banging their instruments. The point is if you missed their show, you missed out big time. (See how mindblowing their set was : here)

5. Magic weren’t rude

The canadian reggae fusion band were the headliners on the first day of the festival. Nasri, Mark Pellizzer, Alex Tanas, and Ben Spivak performed songs ‘Don’t Kill The Magic’, ‘No Evil’, ‘Let Your Hair Down’, ‘Paradise’. Then they closed the night with their world-wide known song, ‘Rude’, which invited the whole crowd (and we are sure 80% of the crowd know them from that song) to do a massive karaoke. FYI, the band were not surprisingly rude. Enough said.

6. There was no bad hair day

Well, if you went to the fest, we could assure you that there were no bad hair on that day! At the Assembly Hall 2 (it’s where some cool paintings and art installations were put), they even had this pop-up barber shop where you can get a seriously cool hair cut. Getting dandy comes in handy.

7. So many good things to capture, included the art installations

If you are a fan of art and cool paintings or whatever that sounds artsy, you must be very glad with the art installations at the fest. Just FYI, the art installations were curated by some of the cities’ best curators.

8. Cody Simpson shook his hips like Elvis

It turns out that Cody Simpson (who happens being a bestie of Justin Biebs) could pull of Elvis’ on stage. Before Cody Simpson hit the stage, we saw a bunch of teenagers has already lined up infront of the gate just to make sure they can secure a great view to witness him, or maybe his dapper look. Well, what we can say is, Cody Simpson’s show was cool enough. Might be even better than Justin’s.

9. Hail to the line-ups at Demajor’s Merak Stage

We just can’t even (insert a dramatical GIF) at the performers at Demajor’s Merak Stage. From day one to day three, we were pleased!

8. It takes two to tango, but Poolside might need three to make us dance

We love the daytime disco sounds of Poolside, we always dance to their blissed-out and bass-grooving songs. However, that night their set felt a tad bit blant and that was just it. Maybe that was just us, but we will always put them in our disco daytime playlist!

10. Coldplay karaoke session with Yamaha Special Project

This is definitely one of the best highlights from Java Soundsfair Festival 2014. Yamaha Special Project brought some great vocalists (and also the current guitar maestro, Jubing) to perform some of Coldplay’s notable hits. From Payung Teduh’s Is to Sandhy Sandoro, they all succeeded the crowd to experience a local sensation of tribute to Coldplay.

11.       Scouted talented up and comers at Soundsfair’s lobby

Soundsfair’s Lobby stage was definitely the easiest stage to see since it’s located right after the entrance gate. The cool thing is it felt like the live-music enthusiasts were welcomed by some of the best new bands once they entered the hall. From Singapore’s Weish to the latest MERAH Music from Jakarta (interesting fact : right after MERAH Music performed, a synth band from China RED was scheduled to play next. MERAH is RED in bahasa Indonesia, in case you are wondering why this is interesting)

12. Roosevelt fed the depressing indie music fans to dance

As how they describe their music “dance music for people who are too depressed to dance. It was really good to finally have some great indie bands to come to Jakarta after a long hiatus from Indonesian promoters for not making indie bands’ concerts. Cheers to the amazing time circa 2010 – 2012.

13. The Walking Dead was brought into the fest
There were not only art installations at the festival, but also Zombies! We thought someone was hammered after walking frantically, but we realized it was still pretty early to get boozed. When we got closer, they were zombies. A fan of the Walking Dead should be making a parade if they saw this!

13. Yuna was undeniably lovely

“Jakarta~” Yuna melodically greeted the crowd who’ve been waiting for her at the plenary hall. With her looking pretty in her turban and flowing dress, Yuna performed her hits such as ‘Falling’, ‘Gadis Semasa’, and also her Pharrell-produced chart topper song ‘Live Your Life’. Yuna also showed off her ukulele playing skill, and once again, it was a great rendition accompanied by her smooth as silk vocals. Oh, what do Indonesians and Yuna have in common? A fan of Indonesian Meatballs, BAKSO. Hell Yeah.

14. Tulus gave an “elephant size” of a sweet performance

Do you guys remember the long lines at Java Jazz Festival when Tulus was about to perform? Yes, that happened again when Tulus became the festival closer at the Plenary main stage. It was easy to say that Tulus successfully made the love birds to singalong to his romantic songs such as ‘Jangan Cintai Aku Apa Adanya’, ‘Sewindu’, and ‘1000 Tahun Lamanya’.

15. With extra sugar and extra salt, Cibo Matto were solid

The New York-based band were just totally solid. With their high musicality, the crowd were swayed with songs like ‘Sci-fi Wasabi’, ‘Birthday Cake’, and even their rad bossa cover of ‘Águas de Março’. Evethough the hall was quite empty, Yuka and Miho managed to blast their ambient music to make the numerous crowd to dance. (Shout out to the front liners crowd, included to the Indonesian designer, Kleting.)

16. Long live the King, long live The Jacksons

The Jacksons are definitely the king of all the line-ups from the festival. Looking like a total legend, they showed up dramatically and walked through the gunsmoke in a bad ass style to open their show. They performed an effortless yet sublime show with songs like ‘Can You Feel It’ and the all-time dance favorite ‘Blame It On The Boogie’. Eventhough one of the jacksons had departed, The remaining brothers still remain being a supreme group. That night was filled with the soundtracks most of everyone’s lives, and we all know they have become wiser with age, they were still able to give a dynamic and amazing fresh moves like it was their first time to perform. It was a priceless experience for us to finally be able seeing the legends live.

17. We need a round two of Java Soundsfair Festival

You heard it, once is never enough. Let’s have another round of Java Soundsfair Festival because we need more festival experience. Cheers to Java Festival Production and the whole team for the event!

(Photos : Maria Anastasia/Alcander Alonzo/Gilang Bimar)

The name Tulus has been quite a buzz this year. Starting with hit single “Sewindu” (Eight Years), the soul singer has just released his second album which also marked his steadier steps in the industry. We got a chance to have a short chitchat with him about bits and pieces of the album, “Gajah”.

Hi, Tulus! Your second album is finally out, how was that for you?
Hello! The process of making the album was not that long; it’s actually been done since last year. However, I had to postpone the launching due to concert and tour schedule. So it’s really been a great relieve it’s finally out. This second album is more personal for me, because here I share stories about my childhood, my family. I also try to explore more diverse topic such as holidays and spirit of creativity, whereas in the first album was almost solely about love. “Sepatu” (Shoes) was the first song that we worked on in “Gajah” (Elephant). As soon as it’s done, we published it digitally via iTunes and aired it on the radio. Because the span between first and second album was quite long, I would like to present “Sepatu” as a teaser for the second album. A hook to keep the enthusiasm. This second album also sounds more cheerful, maybe because that’s how I was feeling throughout that one year back.

What is Gajah, anyway?
The name Gajah has a very personal meaning to me. So here I would like to express my gratitude for all the appreciation and support I have received by letting them know who I am, who I was.

That’s a nice gesture. Afterall, you can only love better when you know better, am I right? Now about love, where do you mostly get your inspiration for your love songs? Is there any best timing to write?
Well, inspiration is always something that is hard to explain. It could came out of thin air. There is no exact best timing to write a song, but it’s usually way easier when I’m savoring the highs and lows of my emotion. The fastest song I created was “Tuan Nona Kesepian” (Lonely Mr. and Ms.), it only took 15 minutes! That was the kind of emotional moment I meant before.

About the song “Jangan Cintai Aku Apa Adanya” ( Don’t Love Me The Way I Am), could it also mean universally, like from fans to their favorite artist?
Well, it’s really up to the listener on how to interpretate the relationship, but I personally wrote it based on my own story. I was in a relationship where I was loved for whatever I do, without critics nor demand. At first it was nice and smooth but as we went on, I felt like we’re going nowhere. We didn’t make each other better. So I want to tell you all that: don’t just love someone the way he/she is. Critic and demand which intended for improvement are essential, so that we could move forward and be better.

How do you compose the music for the lyrics you’ve wrote, can you play any musical instruments?
Not really, the tunes in my head are more like mere intuition and I get help from my friends. I collaborated with most of the musicians from my first album in the music arrangement.

This is very cliche, but how do you define your music? Is there any particular idols you look up to?
I would call my music ecletic, because in the album you can find jazz, soul, rnb, pop, anything! Haha. It doesn’t really matter, though. I listen to a wide range of music, from Amy Winehouse to Mark Ronson. No particular idols, cause it’s too hard to decide!

Do you plan to have another solo concert like the one you had in Bandung last year?
Yes, I do have that plan. The most exciting part about solo concert is the energy I received. In a big concert with several line-ups, the attention was of course divided and unfocused. While in a solo concert, all the efforts and excitement of people who want to see me perform –like how you queue for tickets and come all the way to the venue, I can feel it. I’m feeling your affection, and it becomes my fuel to always give my best.

You really value your listener.
Indeed. I have this fanbase named TemanTulus which has just had their second anniversary, congratulations! I hope they will always have the energy to support me, because it means a lot. It really does. I can only give my best to show them how grateful I am. To put into an analogy, it’s like I am the CD and they are the CD player; I can’t play without them.

How are you going to spend the year 2014?
I am planning to make a music video, do concert tour throughout Indonesia, join music festival, and there are also plans about going across country to introduce my music. Maybe that’s that, not too much so I would still have the time to play! Haha.

Tulus was talking to Dinda Kharisha

Saturday, Feb 22 marked the newborn festival in Bandung presented by Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis Universitas Padjajaran. Abbreviated from the title Padjajaran Music, Festival, and Culture, PASIFIC aimed to combine music festival and cultural awareness. The biggest temptation from this event came from the line-ups which consisted of several Indonesian most prominent artists. Up first was HiVi! While the weather might not be all sunshine when it started, HiVi! performance had successfully warmed up the drizzled afternoon. Dea and Ilham, the vocal duo, always eagerly inviting the crowd to sing along, such a signature gesture from HiVi! Of course it’s hard to refuse their catchy songs like Curi-Curi, Orang Ketiga, or Mata ke Hati. The quartet’s rendition of The Groove’s Khayalan was also a good throw for people who had just seen them for the first time.

Raindrops were still falling when Tulus stepped on stage. The pop jazz soloist who had just recently released his second album, “Gajah”, greeted the audience with his trademark greeting, “Halo, perkenalkan nama saya Tulus…” With some brief story-telling about each songs he’s about to perform, Tulus delivered Kisah Sebentar, Diorama, Sewindu, Teman Hidup, Jatuh Cinta, and few numbers from “Gajah” album: Sepatu and Bumerang. His baritone crooning never failed to melt ones heart. We just can tell, for most of the audience were girls looking smitten, singing along wholeheartedly.

After the first two performances, we were given down time to enjoy surroundings: trying out Bandung’s culinary from the food tenants, meeting friends, or lining-up for a toilet break. The venue was getting even more crowded by the evening as the rain finally had stopped. Filling your tummy may not be a problem; the food tenants varied from the good ol’ nasi goreng to the hipster-ish all kinds of tea. But in such a cold and damp weather, toilet is a necessity, which was kind of insufficient in number it might burst your bladder.

Around 4 pm we shifted to the main stage where Project Pop scheduled to perform. Dressed in red and white attire, the six of them energetically entertained the audience with their comedic bits. Sundanese jokes are well received; an advantage as a Bandung based group in their own hometown. Other than songs like Pacarku Superstar, Gara-Gara Kahitna, and Metal vs Dugem, they parodied a currently popular dangdut song, Kereta Malam. After all the fun, Ingatlah Hari Ini made a memorable closing.

Tulus and HiVi! had been a feast for the girls, now it’s time for the boys and their awaited garage-rock band lead by Rekti, The SIGIT! Too bad there was some technical problems with Rekti’s microphone for several songs including No Hook and Clove Dopper, quite a bummer. For the next performance, the crowd automatically switched; front rows were filled with girls who then went screaming for Afgan’s name. It goes wilder when Afgan finally showed up, being all charming when greeting the audience. Even if you don’t really listen to his songs, you might found yourselves mouthing the words as Afgan sings, because it’s just impossible not to recognize his hit singles like Sadis, Bawalah Cintaku, Jodoh Pasti Bertemu, and Bukan Cinta Biasa. Whenever he bow down closer to the audience, high pitch screams will fill the air. He is indeed a real charmer.

The hysterical screaming did not stop there, for the next perfomance was the most awaited band from Yogyakarta, Sheila on 7. Existing since 1996, most of the audience grew up with their songs since the year of “Sheila on 7″ self-titled album. They seemed to understand our expectation, so the song lists mostly included singles from their early years such as Seberapa Pantas, Saat Aku Lanjut Usia, and Pria Kesepian. Duta never sang alone as the crowd known every words and all singing loud. The best part, of course, was Melompat Lebih Tinggi. This single from OST 30 Hari Mencari Cinta shook the venue as the audience literally jumping higher in accordance to the lyrics.

It might be exhausting after all the jumping and singing, but NAIF was definitely not to be missed. Continuing our nostalgia to the 90’s, NAIF started off with Mobil Balap, Televisi, and Posesif. Then, David the vocalist allowed the audience to request the next songs. The requests fulfilled were Air dan Api, Karena Kamu Cuma Satu, Benci Untuk Mencinta, and the one with the longest title, Dia Adalah Pusaka Sejuta Umat Manusia Yang Ada di Seluruh Dunia. Before the show ended, David took off his clothes and threw it off, triggering more scream from the girls. “Thank you!” David said as he’s leaving the stage, with last strum and stomp from Jarwo the guitarist, Emil the bassist, and Pepeng the drummer. As for the final performance, we could finally chill down a bit with songs from Glenn Fredly. The festival ended romantically with songs like You’re My Everything and Malaikat Juga Tahu.

PASIFIC has compiled a fully-satisfying set of artists with generous setlists as well. They are really what made the ticket price worth it. If only the concept of music, festival, and culture had been more elaborated and implemented, it would have the chance to distinct itself from other festivals alike. There are still several rooms of improvement that need to be taken care of before it’s able to make its way as a festival to be remembered. We believe it’ll only get better from here!

Article by Annisa Karnesyia

Photos by Dinda Kharisha