Saturday (15/03) marked the 5th episode of Music Gallery, a local music festival which was organized by BSO Band FEUI. With significant improvements of quality in each year, Music Gallery –or known as Mugall, is gradually making its way as the local festival to look forward to. The tickets were selling out so fast at some point it became hard to find, all because of the enticingly hard-to-resist line of performers. The 5th Mugall invited Jirapah, MMS, Monkey To Millionaire, Ramayana Soul, Banda Neira, Payung Teduh, and NAIF. And beside the selection of incredible local talents, this year Mugall added an international act, the France-based indie-pop band Tahiti 80. Another intriguing part laid on the setlist that there were SORE, Mondo Gascaro, The Trees and the Wild, and BARASUARA. We couldn’t help but wonder how’s the reunion going in the backstage.

Shifting spot from the usual Upper Room Annex Building to a more southern part of Jakarta, the 5th Mugall took place in Gandaria City. Around 2pm the Bookstore Club, Selimut Cokelat, Circarama, and Jirapah warmed up the Pertamina Stage on Skeeno Hall, while Solace, Fourtwnty, Bageurs, and Monkey2Millionaire entertained passersby from the Piazza Stage. While we were around the Piazza, we could gaze and contemplate upon the art installations of Synaesthesia: Tasting Words, Seeing Sounds, Hearing Colors.

With the separated venues located on different levels –3rd floor and ground floor, one would have to choose the more desirable stage. Not really a pleasant options, then We decided to start at Pertamina Stage to see BARASUARA. Iga Massardi, the lead vocalist, shared the fact that he’s about to be a father before he continued to rock the stage. Within their 8 songs, the constant sing-a-long and the perfectly synchronized lighting boosted up their already powerful performance.

The huge venue was starting to feel packed around the time for The Trees and The Wild, and the entrance queue had just become really long. Whereas people who needed outdoor air would likely choose to hang out in Piazza Stage as Mondo Gascaro soothed the ambiance with “Our Day Will Come” and “Naked”. Along with Mian Tiara, they sang the rendition of Chrisye’s “Serasa”, followed by “Komorebi” which attracted the audience to come closer.

Banda Neira was scheduled to perform almost in time for Tahiti 80, but the audience in Piazza Stage grew larger. They brought melancholy to a historical level with the song “Mawar” –titled from the name of an army squad responsible for kidnapping activists in New Order era, and “Tini dan Yanti” which lyrics were adopted from writings on a prison wall. “La historia me absolvera, history will absolve me”, Rara Sekar (vocal) explained the excerpt of the song.

Upstairs at the Pertamina Stage, Xavier Boyer greetings of “Halo Jakarta, senang bisa bertemu kembali!” responded with loud cheering. It’s their third visit to Indonesia and they haven’t lost their charm. Boyer (vocal, keyboard), Pedro Resende (bass), Mederic Gontier (guitar), Raphael Leger (synth, percussion) and Sylvain Marchand (drum) were excited to be back. Though they were sweating because of the heat, that did not stop them from being energetic on stage. With songs from their latest album, Ballroom,  Boyer lead the audience to sing along. After about 12 songs, Tahiti 80 signed out without “Heartbeat”. Of course that’s a cue to request an encore. So they went back on stage and served the most awaited line: Can you feel my heartbeat when I’m close to you?

It’s almost midnight, but the audiences stayed for NAIF and Payung Teduh. NAIF songs never fails to please the crowd for a classic karaoke session, from “Air dan Api” to the classic hit “Piknik 72″. It is an admirable decision to put NAIF as closing act; a gesture of staying committed to Music Gallery’s main purpose of showcasing great local bands.

More photos: The 5th Music Gallery 2015 on Facebook

Youth are often related to being free, vibrant, wild, and fun. It is the time where we are filled with enthusiasm and curiosity to explore this bizarrely enticing giant playground called life. Until it finally phased out into the post-adolescent era: adulthood. Bedchamber, a Jakarta-based band consisting Ratta (vocals/guitar), Abi (guitar), Smita (bass), and Ariel (drums), expresses their doubts and worries in their newly released single “Youth”. Bedchamber brings out the mixture of happiness and melancholy of growing up in this introductory number. “This song puts us in a limbo,” Smita remarks, “between ages and different feelings while facing the close of teenagehood.”

After the recording session on July-August 2014, “Youth” becomes the first released single from bedchamber’s debut EP, Perennial. The track is available to download on bedchamber’s soundcloud page, while the EP will be launched by the end of September 2014 under Kolibri Rekords in both CD and digital format.

SEMAKBELUKAR has just started to steal the spotlight of local music scene when all of sudden they announced their break up. The attention then shifted to the question, “Who is Semakbelukar and why did they call it quit?” Those who haven’t heard of them then will seek (which we highly recommend to) and find themselves hooked in the tunes. “Semoga Kita Mati Dalam Iman”, “Mawar Mewangi”, and “Drohaka” were the three EPs they launched during the band’s five years of experiment in fusing ethnic beat with all kinds of genre. Originally based from Palembang, South Sumatera, Semakbelukar orchestration came from a set of mandolin, accordeon, gendang Melayu, mini gong, and jimbana which set Malayan music in the main frame.

As Indonesian, our comprehension of Malayan music might have changed these last few years. It has been beaten down to crapload of cheesy, not-at-all thoughtful kind of lyrics knotted to boring sets of chords, while the original Malayan music was not so popular to the youth. Semakbelukar came with a fresh twist; perhaps because David Hersya, Ariansyah Long, Ricky Zulman, Mahesa Agung, and Angger Nugroho came from different backgrounds in music it creates interesting fusion of taste. Their latest and last composition was presented in “Terlahir dan Terasingkan: Antologi SEMAK BELUKAR 2009-2013”, an anthology of the band’s work since 2009. From EPs to unreleased recordings, the album consists of two CDs which then divided into the part of “Belukaria Orkestar”, “Semakbelukar”, and “David
Hersya”. From 32 of the songs, we are going to pick five of our favorite tracks:

1. Belukaria Orkestar – Salam
“Salam untuk kalian, semoga kita semua mendapat kebaikan.”
(Greetings to you, may we all be blessed in goodness).
The song fits perfectly as an opening track; it simply welcomes you with warm greeting and the joyful beat of gendang.

2. Belukaria Orkestar – Hikmah
“Sesungguhnya setelah kesulitan datang kemudahan. Ada hikmah di balik cerita tentang seorang yang terus mencoba untuk bisa menjadi lebih baik dan berguna.”
(Verily, after hardship comes ease. There is wisdom behind the story of a man who kept trying to be better.)
One of the characteristic of art from western Indonesia is the lyrics, talking about local wisdom and often influenced by religious view, particularly Islam, as seen in “Verily, after hardship comes ease” which was a verse from the Quran. The mandolin strums and David Hersya’s vocal become a peaceful serenade.

3. Semakbelukar – Be(re)ncana
“Karena sempurna itu hanya sebuah rencana, karena sempurna itu hanya sebuah bencana.”
(Because perfection is only a plan, because perfection is only a disaster.)
The accordeon and the staccato beat created a gloomy, heavy ambiance. Like when we hold grunge we’re unable to let go.

4. David Hersya – #1
“Sesuatu di dalam sini, jauh di dalam sepi. Sesuatu pada akhirnya mati, tinggalkan mimpi.”
(Something in here, deep inside quiet. In the end things will die, leaving just dream)
It stands out from other songs because of the solo trumpet intro. For a second it’s like we skipped track to different album, until at 00:21 the rhythym filled in. Not only the trumpet, David also sings in a different, more pop-ish way.

5. Semakbelukar – Seloka Beruk
“Semenjak beruk menjadi pemimpin, halal dan haram pun dimakan. O, malangnya, digila beruk berayun.”
This track resembles the original Malayan song, both the beat and the diction used in its lyrics. Catchy and playful.

The band might have called it a quit, but good music will continue to echo.

Living in a big city is not only exhausting but also emotionally draining. Having to commute daily, being too busy to even be able grab a quick lunch, dealing with mountain of tasks or irritating colleagues. Man, life is indeed hard.

Now put on your headset and listen to the voice of Danilla.

Her pick in wordings combined with the sweet tunes of bossa nova, swing, and all that jazz will soothe your tensed nerve. Most of her lyrics from the recently released album “Telisik” were written in Indonesia in a modest yet poetic manner.

Lihatlah senja
Tertegun terpikat oleh dirimu
Malam pun terang benderang cahayakan hadirmu
Buaian
Menerpa merasuki jiwa yang tengah disentuh
(Danilla – Buaian)

Tenggelam aku di rupamu
Ke palung rindu yang tersemu
Tak ada ruang yang tersisa dalam sendu
Tersimpan batas saat sayu mengadu
Kuingin kepadamu

(Danilla – Terpaut Oleh Waktu)

Nothing can sugarcoat traffic madness like good music, so make sure this stays on your playlist. May you have a pleasant day ahead.

Follow Danilla on twitter and listen to her music on soundcloud

Consistently providing a delightful option to enjoy local music pride, Music Gallery is now hitting 4th year with “Sense the Vibe” as its theme. The S.I.G.I.T, White Shoes and The Couples Company, TIKA and the Dissidents, SORE, Adhitia Sofyan, L’alphalpha, Morfem, Sunmantra, Fuzzy Cats, Andre Harihandoyo and The Sonic People, Knees and Toes, Parisude, Orkes PMR, Glovves, Tokyolite, Blue N Berry, and BSO band; the list of performers were surely hard to be missed.

The afternoon started out easy. Some were hanging out while puffing cigs and listening to bands at the Propaganda stage which was located outside; some other were catching up with their friends at the Upper Room –the Auto2000 stage. To our observation, we saw quite a number of attendees wearing SORE’s “Sorealist” tees or Insurgent Army logo embedded to their attire. It was when SORE’s performance the audience really crowded up. The cheering went louder when Tigapagi’s very own Sigit joined the stage. And oh, the flying freebies! It’s hard not to get jealous of those who got to catch the“Sorealist” umbrellas thrown to the crowd as giveaways. Throughout the show we heard people whispering “Ssst..” loudly, as if telling to quiet down, when it’s actually a request for SORE’s newest single. Look around and you would find some confused or perhaps annoyed faces, not understanding what the shushing’s about. So cute.

An outdoor stage was a good point, so we would still get to watch bands while we’re doing things that are not allowed to do inside (eating, drinking, smoking, etc). Though that night, the hot and humid air of Jakarta combined with the bar-like cigarette smokes don’t really make people want to stick around longer. The bands who’s got to perform there had better be extra catchy to grab the attention. Or at least had been quite well-known, like Adhitia Sofyan, who most girls deliberately came to see, not only because they had to go outside.

The name Sense the Vibe was working out well, especially the background which screened different theme for each bands. Like the dreamy Aurora Borealis and shooting stars on L’alphalpha’s set, or the quirky slides for TIKA and the Dissident’s set. Sponsors were given special place on both big screens beside the stage; mutually beneficial yet way better than spreading logos as background. For the price of IDR 65000, you could even make profit by winning Mugall generous giveaways, such as Bratpack worth IDR 1,500,000. Other than the undeniably good music, numerous freebies, and enjoyable decoration, the strategic and convenient location of the venue was also a winning factor. It’s their 4th year and it definitely gets better. Way to go, Music Gallery!

More photos here

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

Music Gallery is now entering their 4th year of delivering the local’s genuine tunes on stage. Be ready to “Sense the Vibe”, as BSO Band Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Indonesia will prepare different concept for each performers to captivate your senses. There will be The S.I.G.I.T, White Shoes and The Couples Company, Tika and The Dissidents, SORE, L’Alphalpha, Adhitia Sofyan, Glovvess, Andre Harihandoyo and The Sonic People, and the list still goes on. Make sure you don’t miss this, so quick take a note!

4th Music Gallery 2014
Date: Saturday, March 15th 2014
Place: Upper Room, Annex Building
Ticket Price: Presale Rp 50.000 (Feb 5 – March 12), Normal price Rp 65.000

For more info, follow Twitter @4thMusicGallery, Instagram @4thMusicGallery, or subscribe to Youtube channel www.youtube.com/4thmusicgallery

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

You probably have heard the name of The Experience Brothers. Formed in 2001, this Bekasi-based band has widen their expansion in South East Asia in recent years. Delivering modern psychedelic rock blues with only a set of drums and a lead guitar, the duo of Bram and Daud have been invited to Malaysia and Singapore for several gigs. No wonder, their performance on stage has always been excitingly vibrant. The guitar riffs and the drum patterns thickly resemble 60s-70s music vibes, and the conjoined melodies will get your heart thump along the beat.

If you are looking for songs to include in your morning playlist, this is the answer. Or you know, when you’re on a road trip with your friends and looking for an album to keep you up and sing out loud. There are three albums you can pick: Summer of Love (2008), Eye Contact (2010), or The Deepest Growl (2013).

Yes, be ready for PASIFIC –Padjajaran Music, Festival, and Culture! There will be Tulus and The SIGIT who have just released their new albums, Hivi, Afgan, Glenn Fredly, NAIF, and if you’re a 90s kid, of course your heart will find its way back to Sheila on 7 and Project Pop! Presented by BEM Kema FEB UNPAD, this festival is set to kick-off at Unpad Dipatiukur, Bandung on Saturday, Feb 22. Chop chop, it’s four more days to go! Check out they’re Twitter at @PASIFIC_FEB about the presale price. Last time we checked it’s still on, so you better hurry and save your spot for IDR 145.000!

PASIFIC (Padjajaran Music, Festival, and Culture)
Saturday, Feb 22 2014 @ Unpad Dipatiukur, Bandung
On the spot ticket: IDR 200.000
Purchase your ticket online: www.pasificfebunpad.com/tiket.php

Written on the audience booklet, “Joyland Festival is a two-day outdoor music festival located in a breezy park. It will be full of music, fun, happiness, and entertainment.” More people were coming in after the sun has set, just in time for White Shoes and the Couples Company (WSATCC). This year we have watched WSATCC shows every so often. It definitely goes at the very top on the list of Bands-We-Have-Seen-in-2013, yet it has never been boring. This night they played clips from Indonesian old movies, Tiga Dara (1956) and Ambisi (1973). If you felt familiar with the dialogues, it’s because those are the ones they covered in Skenario Masa Muda album: “…Siapa yang Salah-”, “…Foto Siapa-”, and “…Kenapa Melarang Kesenangan Saya-”. The crowd clamored when Nona Sari’s scream led to an intense outro of “Tam Tam Buku”. After WSATCC left the stage then we’re sure an encore is not gonna happen, we followed the crowd shifting to stage B. The indie-pop duo, Bandaneira, was already on stage singing songs from their first EP, Berjalan Lebih Jauh. Later they invited a fellow musician from Jogja, Gardika Gigih, adding pianica in collaboration of their guitar and glocks tunes.

Beside music gigs there were also movie screening. Hulahoop Soundings, a short movie by Edwin starring Ladya Cheryl and Nicholas Saputra, was catching audience with the dialogues of a phone-sex operator. The movie screening also gives a down time for the audience to enjoy the festival surrounding or fill our tummy. The night went on with more performance: Luky Annash with a pair of fury black wings, looking like a raven, playing gorgeous notes from his piano; Rock ‘N Roll Mafia getting us dancing shoes; and Dialog Dini Hari inducing harmonious choir of the longing crowd, as we don’t get to see them often here in Jakarta.

The Trees and The Wild (TTATW) was last to perform. It’s been a while since their latest gig. Without too much talking (even no talking at all), they brought out numbers from their upcoming album: “Serangan”, “ Tuah Sebak”, “Saija”, “Nyiur”, and “Empati Tamako”. No more Irish Girl or Fight the Future, TTATW new materials were shaped as long haul of each instruments building melodious suspense. Lyrics are set to minimum, mostly repetitive. Combined with the harmony of Remedy’s thin yet deep vocal and Tami’s powerful, high-pitched tone, TTATW delivers a hauntingly beautiful performance. By hearing this whole new package live hopefully means the album release is just around the corner.

On day 2 of the festival (08/12/13), the venue seemed to be brighter with all the little colorful lamps turned on. It started out with drizzle when Sajama Cut performed. That didn’t stop the audience from enjoying the day; what’s more romantic than watching your favorite band play while singing along under the umbrella with your loved one, right? Or, well, dancing under the rain has been proven to release serotonin that makes you happier. Seriously. So we get on our dancing shoes to the playful tunes of Sentimental Moods, continued with Bing and Polka Wars.

Later on Stage B, TigaPagi enchanted the audience with its live version of Roekmana’s Repertoire. The show’s gotten even more fulfilling when Ade Paloh joined in for the song “Alang-Alang” and Pita for “Nada Fiksi”. We thought the festival could not be more exciting than this but there were still three of the big guns for the night. Like a pingpong ball, the crowd then moved to stage A for Tika and the Dissidents. Other than “Red Red Cabaret” and “Mayday”, Tika and the Dissidents is in a mission to familiarize us with their upcoming album. It’s interesting that she narrated what’s the song about each time before they played it out. An oration delivered in the most contagious form: music. Each of the song has powerful message intertwined with blues-rock beats.

Float was up next. Meng (vocal) warmly greeted the audience and started the show with “3 Hari Untuk Selamanya”. It’s like a joyful rekindle with a long-lost friend. Catching up stories, singing it all out. Especially in the song “Sementara” which everyone always wholeheartedly sings. The set feels too short as it’s been very enjoyable. On stage A before SORE went on stage as the final act of Joyland Festival, there was short videos compilation, then Reza (guitar) revealed some of SORE’s new album material. Seems like there’ll be a lot of anticipated album for 2014!

The crowd cheered when finally SORE showed up on stage, but it was incomplete without Awan (bass, vocal). Right after the first song Awan joined the band, apparently all the whatnots before was to buy more time waiting for him to arrive. We did not mind at all, for the band gave the most numbers on setlist which included “No Fruits for Today”, “Mata Berdebu”, “Merintih Perih”, “Lihat”, “Setengah Lima”, “Essensimo”, “Karolina”, “Etalase”, “Pergi Tanpa Pesan”, “Ssst…”, and last for encore “Funk the Hole”. If the festival was a full course dinner, then this is the perfect dessert for a delightful treat.

Joyland Festival has brought local music festival to a whole new level and it’s definitely on the lead. With its interesting concept, jaw-dropping line-up, quirky-thematic decoration, reasonable ticket price, pleasant choice of venue, and the on-time schedule; everything was satisfyingly well organized. If you did not get to come to this year festival, our condolences to you because it really is an awesome weekend and you missed out a lot!

More photos here!

(Photos by Andriani, Andhika Budi, Satya Adiluhung, and Popomangun)

We hurried our way upstairs as we heard melodious brass instruments playing: Sentimental Moods was up. The rooftop was already filled with attendees, most have taken sitting down position. Too bad since the venue had been perfect for a dance floor and the music was so catchy. This Jakarta-based ska band pulled an all-out, lively performance to get us dancing. Everybody should have taken off their shoes and danced along, but it was a rather laid-back crowd. Still, Sentimental Moods has set the night to a good start. Up next was Racun Kota, and the tune changed drastically 180°. A techno guy with Macbook controlling the beat, a casual looking guy doing rap, and a shirtless guy with a bottle of Anggur Merah dominating the microphone with raging vocal, made some digital-absurd-noise-hardcore concept of music. The stage was set as provoking riot of which the audience seemed too startled to respond. Hightime Rebellion ended the rooftop session with their mixture of danceable pop-funk.

Downstairs in front of Salihara Theater, lines of people were already formed, waiting to get in. Most of today’s attendees were presumably WSATCC’s devotee. “No need to line-up now, if you already have the ticket you will get a seat,” said one of the organizer to the eager crowd, yet they were unmoved. Once everyone’s comfortable in their seats, the lamps dimmed and spotlights on. WSATCC warmed the stage with three songs back-to-back before greeting the audiences. What interesting was the interactive stage designs where lamps and properties were played to enhance the ambiance of the show. The glamorous disco ball lighting up the room somehow made it feel like the 80’s school dances, and if it were not a full seat theater maybe we could all finally move our feet and dance like Sari did.

Everything was great until “Lembe-Lembe” was pronounced as the last song on setlist, then the room went lightless. Almost too dark for a show, not even spotlights to the band. We thought it was another stage setup as we saw all the little bulbs behind them were taken away, but that was it until the end of the song. It felt like you were in a restaurant, still eating but the waiter had already cleaning up the table. Kind of a bummer.

After WSATCC, the white backdrop was pulled away, revealing a mystical set for Kelelawar Malam. As a horror-punk band, Kelelawar Malam has known for the theatrical-horror stage act; sometimes they even came with people dressing as Indonesia ghosts. Sadly we had to miss the last show of this “Hiburan Malam Minggu” event. This whole night was supposed to be a dance party with all this dance-able beat but perhaps it’s just not our thing here? If you like the beat you should dance to it, alright! Nevertheless, it has been an enjoyable night and we do hope there will be more of this in the upcoming year.