Category: Articles

  • Review : Senyawa Konser Tanah Air

    Review : Senyawa Konser Tanah Air

    Dari siang grup-grup chat pertemanan musik saya tidak habis memunculkan notifikasinya. Mereka semua memiliki rasa penasaran yang sama, suguhan apa saja yang akan diberikan Senyawa di konser bertajuk “Tanah Air”? Belum lagi chat personal dari kerabat-kerabat terdekat tentang pemilihan tempat duduk. Ada yang takut kehabisan ataupun dapat namun takut tak sesuai keinginan. Berangkat dari timur Jakarta menggunakan Transjakarta di sore hari menuju Gedung Kesenian Jakarta (GKJ) bukanlah hal mudah yang bisa ditempuh. Baik jarak dan waktu harus melewati beberapa titik kemacetan sedangkan opening gate’nya saja jam 7 malam.

    Adalah Rully Shabara Herman dengan tehnik vokal murni yang beragam frekuensi melebur secara dinamis bersama instrumen-instrumen swadaya ciptaan Wukir Suryadi menjadi satu kesatuan bernama Senyawa. Hasilnya pelbagai musik eksperimental yang modern, intens, dan sangat primal! Ini bukan kali pertama saya menyaksikan mereka, pernah di ruang terbuka seperti pelataran luar Taman Ismail Marzuki. Pernah juga ruang kecil tertutup seperti di Tokove, Kemang (yang kini berganti menjadi Borneo Beerhouse). Sejak 2011, Senyawa banyak tampil di berbagai festival besar Internasional. Dan konser malam itu, tanggal 22 Desember 2016, merupakan pertunjukan kepulangan mereka. Yang kalau boleh mengutip perkataan Kristi Monfries selaku creative producer konser ini sebagai “persembahan dari Senyawa terhadap negara yang selalu menjadi panduan bagi perjalanan musik mereka dan sumber bagi segala yang telah mereka capai selama tujuh tahun terakhir ini”. Gong dipukul penanda pertunjukan akan dimulai. Acara yang terbilang tepat waktu memang sudah menjadi ciri khas Adi Adriandi (show director) di pertunjukan-pertunjukan manapun yang pernah ia buat. Dia pun juga sempat mewanti-wanti apabila bawa earplug sebaiknya digunakan. Tapi malam itu saya tidak membawanya. Dua kuping telanjang saya pun sudah dirasa cukup siap menikmati konser ini, sambil diiringi lagu anak-anak mengademkan sejenak sebelum digempur habis-habisan.

    Dibuka oleh Patrick Hartono yang duduk diatas meja dan perangkatnya mengkombinasikan visual art dengan bebunyian liar nan intens pendukung visual. Sehabis sesi Hartono selesai, Wok The Rock mengiringi kita untuk menyambut Senyawa. Bertengger layar besar sewaktu tirai utama terbuka. Seketika lampu menyorot dari belakang Rully dan Wukir membentuk siluet raksasa. Lampu dimainkan sesuai ritme suara Rully dan instrumen bambuwukir gubahan Sugeng Utomo. Kalau suasananya syahdu lampu memanjakan mata, namun apabila suasana murka penuh kegeraman lampu akan berwarna kontras. Layar sebesar itu tidak hanya disia-siakan untuk permainan lampu saja, kadang diselingi video-video tentang alam sekitar. Layaknya seperti video Vincent Moon ‘Calling New Gods’ di Yogyakarta, sewaktu “Kereta Tak Berhenti Lama” kembali Senyawa mengajak kita sama-sama seolah masuk ke dalam gerbong kereta api. Ditambahi gimmick beberapa tukang jajanan makanan/minuman instan melewati para penonton. Layar terangkat ke atas dan kita pun akhirnya melihat rupa mereka dibalut tarikan suara Rully memekakan telinga. Menyudahi sesi pertama tanpa cacat cela.

    Kita pun sudah tahu bahwa Rully dan Wukir banyak diulas media luar negeri seperti The Quietus salah satunya. Mengisi berbagai festival international bergengsi yang diisi nama-nama besar seperti Bon Iver, Death Grips, hingga Swans. Tapi kalau boleh saya jujur, pengalaman malam itu di GKJ mungkin tidak bisa didapatkan dimanapun. Ditambah, akan membuat menyesal bagi siapapun yang melewatkannya.

    “Yuk masuk yuk. Nonton ben-benan lagi” ujar Adi Adriandi atau yang akrab dipanggil mas Gufi itu memberi arahan penonton untuk segera masuk karena sesi kedua akan dimulai. Pencahayaan sengaja dibuat gelap. Suara Rully memecah kesunyian sambil berjalan menuju panggung. Diatas panggung sudah terdapat instrumen berbentuk bajak modifikasi Wukir yang diberi nama ‘Garu’. Soal kualitas suara tidak usah diragukan lagi. ‘Garu’ menghasilkan suara yang unik seperti suara cello baik digunakan secara disayat, dipetik ataupun dipukul. Alat ini sebelumnya sudah ditampilkan di Lockstock #2 di Jogja. Tak ketinggalan ‘Suthil’ juga ikut dibawa. Instrumen dari spatula yang ditambahkan senar mempunyai karakter suara yang kering. Kalau boleh saya ibaratkan seperti sound gitar black metal era Burzum dan Mayhem awal. Merdunya duo ini saat menunjukan kebolehanya meng-cover salah satu tembang dari Semenanjung Balkan berlatarkan penggalan sinetron Indonesia ditumpuk footage video demo 4 November kemarin.  Klimaksnya pas ‘Tadulako’ dengan nada repetitif dimainkan oleh Wukir sampai jatuh dan kejang. Hingga di samping saya mengira dia kesurupan. Padahal hanya sekedar aksi panggung.

    Standing applause dari seluruh penonton dengan tampang puas bukti bahwa konser ini sukses digelar. Terima kasih juga ditujukan untuk G Production dan tim dibalik layar konser Tanah Air yang tak habis-habisnya memunculkan decap kagum penonton dari awal sampai akhir pertunjukan. Atas kinerja mereka, 2016 ditutup oleh konser fenomenal yang tidak bisa dilupakan bagi siapapun yang hadir malam itu.

  • Where There’s Jack, There’s Music

    Jack and Music Connection Dates Back to 1892, Continues Today.

    When you hear good music, there’s a good chance you’ll find Jack Daniel’s nearby, after all Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey and music have long gone hand in hand. From the nights when Mr. Jack himself would entertain guests with his grand piano to today’s favorite bands and musicians toasting the evening with Jack, there is a strong connection between Jack Daniel’s and music.

    You could say that bond was formed early on in the life of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey. You see, founder Jack Daniel always had a thing for music. He loved it so much that once his whiskey became well known, he built an upstairs ballroom in his home complete with a Steinway grand piano. He even spent $277.70 in 1892 (a tidy sum back then) to order instruments to outfit the town band–appropriately named the Jack Daniel’s Silver Cornet Band.

    The band drew crowds to the Lynchburg Square and to his two saloons–the White Rabbit and the Red
    Dog. I guess you could say he was the first band backer and promoter in Lynchburg. The Silver Cornet Band even played the campaigns wings of presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan and Tennessee gubernatorial candidate Robe Love Taylor.

    Now these thirteen “musicians” who made up the band weren’t technically musicians at all–they were towns people from Lynchburg. Despite their lack of experience, the band was good–and known and loved throughout the region. The band disbanded when World War I began and most of the men in
    Lynchburg volunteered for service. Even though their music came to an end, their story lives on.

    Today, Jack Daniel’s continues to support Mr. Jack’s love of music with programs throughout the world. From the JD Set in Europe, Australia and Africa to Studio No.7 in Northland South America, the Jack Daniel’s and music connection is celebrated at outdoor concerts, intimate small performances and eclectic jam sessions. Numerous up-and-coming artists, as well as established music superstars, have joined Jack Daniel’s in sharing the music around the world.

    Matter of fact, Jack can often be found with the musicians backstage (and sometimes on stage)–from the group starting out at the local pub to the stadium size concerts put on by the world’s most well-known rock bands. Some of Jack’s biggest and most well known fans are musicians, you probably know of a few yourself.

    So no matter if your taste runs from country or hip-hop, to rock-n-roll, techno, or the yet-to-be-named genre, you can be sure that Jack Daniel’s isn’t too far from the music scene. It’s just apart of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, thanks to our founder Mr. Jack.

    Officially registered by the U.S. Government in 1866, the Jack Daniel Distillery, Lem Motlow,
    proprietor, is the oldest registered distillery in the United States and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Based in Lynchburg, Tenn., the Jack Daniel Distillery is the maker of the world famous Jack Daniel’s Old No.7 Tennessee Whiskey, Gentleman Jack Rare Tennessee Whiskey, Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Tennessee Whiskey and Jack Daniel’s Country Cocktails.

    For fans of the world famous Tennessee whiskey, Jack Daniel’s Indonesia seeks to provide its fans a virtual hang out and a place where they can see upcoming events and information. Join us now at http://www.facebook.com/JackDanielsJackLivesHereIndonesia

  • Behind the scenes of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

    We all have to agree by now that Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is one of the best albums of 2009. One and half year later, when everybody thought the hype of the album had died down, these Frenchmen made sure that it didn’t. Just a while ago Phoenix announced that they would be posting an in-studio, behind-the-scene documentary about the making of the album. The documentary is broken down into nine parts, one part for each track on Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. This documentary will let you get an inside look on how the triumphant album was made, be complete with commentary by the band themselves and producer Phillipe Zdar. And, even though they did the commentary in French, it got subtitles so you wouldn’t miss a single word.

  • The Secret Agents

    We’ve been taking pictures of secret places everywhere. From places we’ve visited, physically and imaginary. We share our secret places through photographs and stories. The story could be true, but it could be fiction or just a dream. – The Secret Agents

    The Secret Agents is Indra Ameng and Keke Tumbuan, two young artists who actively explore the medium of music, photography and video. For me collaboration Indra Ameng and Keke Tumbuan in The Secret Agents is not just an art project with the final results of an exhibition at the gallery.
    Superbad, is one of the many art projects that they both make. Superbad is a regular monthly music event held at the Jaya Pub, Jakarta, exciting music events with the concept of inviting emerging bands with rich musical quality.

    The uniqueness of their collaboration both in The Secret Agent is a balanced blend between the presence of a variety of mediums, from early music has become the foundation of this project, then video, photography and art itself. The most interesting was when they were invited to participate in the Jakarta Biennale 2009, an international event with the theme of interaction between art and the problems of the city, where they both make a work titled “The Secret Lobby.” This work presents the new spatial experience for the audiences. They are both turning a room into a secret place where visitors can spy on each other.

    “Click here for more detail”

  • Vienna Vegetable Orchestra

    The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra has been playing anything you can buy at your local farmer’s market and has even released a couple of albums since 1998. The Austrian alt-music getup performs music solely on instruments made of vegetables. Using carrot flutes, pumpkin basses, leek violins, leek-zucchini-vibrators, cucumberophones and celery bongos, the orchestra creates its own extraordinary and vegetabile sound universe. The ensemble overcomes preserved and marinated sound conceptions or tirelessly re-stewed listening habits, putting its focus on expanding the variety of vegetable instruments, developing novel musical ideas and exploring fresh vegetable sound gardens.

    Based in Vienna, the Vegetable Orchestra plays concerts in all over the world. There are no musical boundaries for the Vegetable Orchestra. The most diverse music styles fuse here – contemporary music, beat-oriented House tracks, experimental Electronic, Free Jazz, Noise, Dub, Clicks’n’Cuts – the musical scope of the ensemble expands consistently, and recently developed vegetable instruments and their inherent sounds often determine the direction. Worldwide one of a kind, and going green, literally.

    To read more log on to www.vegetableorchestra.org

    “Click here for more detail”