About Nusasonic at CTM Festival
Nusasonic presented a large number of musicians and projects from Southeast Asia in the CTM 2019 program.
Best known for his powerful vocals as part of duo Senyawa, Rully Shabara appeared with his new project, Setabuhan. Comprised solely of percussion (drummers Ramberto Agozalie and Caesarking), and Shabara’s voice, the project is a modern reinvention of tribal trance.
Rully Shabara is also part of Kombo, a DIY platform that aims to facilitate and develop a dialogue between local and international improv music scenes. Researching and testing alternative sonic and compositional methods, Kombo was started in 2014 by Shabara and Satya Prapanca. Experimental musician Bhakti Prasetyo, percussionists Cheryl Ong and Ramberto Agozalie, experimental vocalist Kok Siew-Wai, improvisor Yuen Chee Wai, and Berlin-based musicians came together for a night of spontaneous music.
Experimental punk band Zoo began in 2005, and were initially known for noisy, fast-paced music. In recent years, they have begun fusing traditional, tribal elements to create a new strain of rock music.
Gabber Modus Operandi is the accidental project born out of Kasimyn and Ican Harem’s celebrations of anarchic cultures, from folk to street, and past to present. Shared, healthy obsessions with jathilan, gabber, dangdut koplo, Chicago footwork, grindcore, and noise form the foundation of Gabber Modus Operandi’s exuberant digital sarcasm and singular take on high-energy sounds.
Turbulent snarls, polyrhythmic beats, and warm breaks coalesce in the work of Manila-born Caliph8. Active in the city’s visual and sound art scenes for close to twenty years, Caliph8 has released on Dub Temple Records (Brisbane) and SVBKVLT (Shanghai), among others, and counts the likes of Keiji Haino, Otomo Yoshihide, and Yuen Chee Wai as collaborators. He was joined by sonic experimenter and DJ Nonplus, whose work with sound is a globally scaled montage of past sensibilities, and strange tonal and rhythmic vocabularies that result in new cultural hybrids and intentional sonic anomalies.
Sound and performance artists Nguyễn + Transitory (Nguyễn Baly and Tara Transitory) presented work-in-progress Bird Bird, Touch Touch, Sing Sing, an immersive site-specific performance initially developed at HAU Hebbel Am Ufer. Together they explored Southeast Asian and diasporic queer histories; and (de)colonial approaches to sound, synthesis, noise, and rhythm.
Thai artist Pisitakun grapples with political speculation and frustration. His work marks a break from that of many of his peers; not content with offering palliatives, nor with simply decrying corruption, Pisitakun interrogates fundamental values within a tumultuous and challenging climate. In his album Black Country, heavyweight techno and acidic noise offer a means of “expressing ideas and feelings which would otherwise be too dangerous to utter.” (The Quietus)
Tarawangsawelas joined Rabih Beaini for the opening concert. The duo, who hail from Bandung, Indonesia, perform a contemporary take on Tarawangsa, the sacred music from Sundanese West Java – as heard on Wanci, their 2017 record released on Morphine. The minimalist, cosmic album offers a careful contemporary interpretation of one of the most mystical and spiritual genres in Indonesia.
Dark ambient project Sarana utilise both electronic and acoustic elements to explore self-healing strategies through noise. The group, based in Samarinda, Indonesia, are known for fashioning jarring textural experiments.
Due to the central place of noise music cultures within many parts of Southeast Asia, a screeching noise program at Berghain Säule united a range of artists from the region with noise colleagues from Europe. Performing were Vietnamese composer, producer, and experimental multi-instrumentalist Nguyen Hong Giang; Manila-based instrument builder and noise artist Rambo; and Indonesian harsh noise act pioneer Sodadosa, one of the driving forces behind Jogja Noise Bombing (JNB), an open community for noise artists from around the city of Yogyakarta. Inspired by graffiti bombing, JNB keep the city’s noise pulse strong by organising guerilla gigs in the street all the way to multi-day festivals and workshops. Synth builder and experimentalist Lintang Radittya and DIWO artist-activist Andreas Siagian also joined, together with Peter Kirn. The trio co-facilitated the 2019 MusicMakers Hacklab under the experiment-driven Adaptation title.
Best known for his powerful vocals as part of duo Senyawa, Rully Shabara appeared with his new project, Setabuhan. Comprised solely of percussion (drummers Ramberto Agozalie and Caesarking), and Shabara’s voice, the project is a modern reinvention of tribal trance.
Rully Shabara is also part of Kombo, a DIY platform that aims to facilitate and develop a dialogue between local and international improv music scenes. Researching and testing alternative sonic and compositional methods, Kombo was started in 2014 by Shabara and Satya Prapanca. Experimental musician Bhakti Prasetyo, percussionists Cheryl Ong and Ramberto Agozalie, experimental vocalist Kok Siew-Wai, improvisor Yuen Chee Wai, and Berlin-based musicians came together for a night of spontaneous music.
Experimental punk band Zoo began in 2005, and were initially known for noisy, fast-paced music. In recent years, they have begun fusing traditional, tribal elements to create a new strain of rock music.
Gabber Modus Operandi is the accidental project born out of Kasimyn and Ican Harem’s celebrations of anarchic cultures, from folk to street, and past to present. Shared, healthy obsessions with jathilan, gabber, dangdut koplo, Chicago footwork, grindcore, and noise form the foundation of Gabber Modus Operandi’s exuberant digital sarcasm and singular take on high-energy sounds.
Turbulent snarls, polyrhythmic beats, and warm breaks coalesce in the work of Manila-born Caliph8. Active in the city’s visual and sound art scenes for close to twenty years, Caliph8 has released on Dub Temple Records (Brisbane) and SVBKVLT (Shanghai), among others, and counts the likes of Keiji Haino, Otomo Yoshihide, and Yuen Chee Wai as collaborators. He was joined by sonic experimenter and DJ Nonplus, whose work with sound is a globally scaled montage of past sensibilities, and strange tonal and rhythmic vocabularies that result in new cultural hybrids and intentional sonic anomalies.
Sound and performance artists Nguyễn + Transitory (Nguyễn Baly and Tara Transitory) presented work-in-progress Bird Bird, Touch Touch, Sing Sing, an immersive site-specific performance initially developed at HAU Hebbel Am Ufer. Together they explored Southeast Asian and diasporic queer histories; and (de)colonial approaches to sound, synthesis, noise, and rhythm.
Thai artist Pisitakun grapples with political speculation and frustration. His work marks a break from that of many of his peers; not content with offering palliatives, nor with simply decrying corruption, Pisitakun interrogates fundamental values within a tumultuous and challenging climate. In his album Black Country, heavyweight techno and acidic noise offer a means of “expressing ideas and feelings which would otherwise be too dangerous to utter.” (The Quietus)
Tarawangsawelas joined Rabih Beaini for the opening concert. The duo, who hail from Bandung, Indonesia, perform a contemporary take on Tarawangsa, the sacred music from Sundanese West Java – as heard on Wanci, their 2017 record released on Morphine. The minimalist, cosmic album offers a careful contemporary interpretation of one of the most mystical and spiritual genres in Indonesia.
Dark ambient project Sarana utilise both electronic and acoustic elements to explore self-healing strategies through noise. The group, based in Samarinda, Indonesia, are known for fashioning jarring textural experiments.
Due to the central place of noise music cultures within many parts of Southeast Asia, a screeching noise program at Berghain Säule united a range of artists from the region with noise colleagues from Europe. Performing were Vietnamese composer, producer, and experimental multi-instrumentalist Nguyen Hong Giang; Manila-based instrument builder and noise artist Rambo; and Indonesian harsh noise act pioneer Sodadosa, one of the driving forces behind Jogja Noise Bombing (JNB), an open community for noise artists from around the city of Yogyakarta. Inspired by graffiti bombing, JNB keep the city’s noise pulse strong by organising guerilla gigs in the street all the way to multi-day festivals and workshops. Synth builder and experimentalist Lintang Radittya and DIWO artist-activist Andreas Siagian also joined, together with Peter Kirn. The trio co-facilitated the 2019 MusicMakers Hacklab under the experiment-driven Adaptation title.
