Gede Robi Supriyanto combines being a touring rock musician with being a hardcore environmental activist and a farmer. He formed ‘green grunge’ band Navicula in 1996, and 19 years later they are one of the leading grunge rock bands in the country, using their influence to fervently protest against the destruction of the environment.
Gedi Robi recently passed through Hanoi, where he rocked an acoustic set at CAMA ATK and shared his picks of the best punk rock in Indonesia.
Artist: Seringai
Track: Mengadili Persepsi (Bermain Tuhan)
Place: Jakarta
Heavy metal rockers with hi-octane attitude, Seringai put on an awesome live show strongly influenced by ‘old skool’ Motorhead and stoner metal. In Indonesia, music has to be live, it’s part of life, and these guys went five years without releasing any recordings. Dedication to creating power driven metal with lyrics that address social themes makes them anthemic heroes of Indonesia’s live music scene. Today they’ve already released 2 full studio albums and 1 video documentary.
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Artist: Superman is Dead
Track: Jika Kami Bersama
Place: Bali
These guys pretty much single-handedly changed the live music scene, bringing punk rock into Indonesia’s music mainstream. They burst into their own style of psycho-billy rock in the early nineties, when other bands were forced to do covers in order to get live gigs. They’ve toured US and Australia and are now one of the biggest, most
influential bands in Indonesia.
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Artist: Navicula
Track: Orangutan
Place: Bali
Of course I have to include the band I’m in, mixing punk, metal, blues, folk, funk, and psychedelia. We’re well known as a pioneer band in the Indonesia music industry that combines activism with rock music. We have toured and recorded in the States in The Record Plants studio in Hollywood with legendary alternative rock producer Alain Johannes. We’ve played gigs in Canada and Australia and are now returning home to release our latest and 8th album, Tatap Muka – Face to Face, something new again. This track is inspired and filmed from our Borneo rainforest trip.
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Artist: Marjinal
Track: Negri Ngeri
Place: Jakarta
Marjinal are seminal Indonesia punk music, 100% committed to the independent spirit of raw, loud and real. Punks are often condemned in Indonesia, and Marjinal make a point of educating as well as entertaining. They are famous for their art propaganda movement and wood-cut printing style, representing the DIY spirit they provoke.
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Artist: Endank Soekamti
Track: Luar Biasa
Place: Yogyakarta
Check out the crazy high energy ska beats of Endank Soekamti. I think the band is named after a teacher they all loved to hate at school, at least that’s what my drummer says. They are into making wildly addictive rhythmic music that captures the frenzy of Indonesia. They have a strong engagement with their loyal fan-base through their self-initiated broadcasting systems.
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CAMA’s Eliza Lomas is on a mission to find a huge array of great Asian music, digging through different times, countries and genres, with a regular monthly selection.
