As a part of Jakarta’s brisk contemporary art world, the brand “Studiorama” will almost certainly rings a bell to the people who are still keeping pace with the scene. Started in the year 2011, this collective built their spurs by fusing the carefully picked often-unheard an obscure musician with a dense sense of contemporary art for an intimate live show.

After being inactive for a couple of years, on this very weekend, Studiorama will finally be back on their feet again to put their mark in the music scene. We had the chance to talk with the team and here is what transpired from our short conversation:

What is the grand idea of Studiorama?
To build a bridge for the performers, both for the musicians and/or artists who qualified, but yet to have a proper exposure in the arena of popular culture in the country.

What is the process of curating bands & artists from Studiorama for each event?

It’s always done freely, responsibly, with a blended variety of disciplines that merge into the background of the individuals involved in Studiorama collective- a deliberation to reach a conclusion. Each of us lives, and celebrate the music scene that is happening. By observing what is happening around us, we try to gather the relevant entities to perform at our event.

How does Studiorama see the Indonesian independent music scene now?

Interesting. Almost the same feeling when we look at what happens in football, from the first World Cup in 1930 until the 2014 World Cup – there is a progress in the “ball” design process. The design of the previous ball had a concussion risk for anyone who headed it, in contrast to the current design that is much more secure, thanks to the technology applied. Security is what makes music acts become too complacent with what they have done. In fact, for us, it will work best if they do it like the ethic of stockbrokers: high risk high return.

Is “Studiorama” some kind of attempt to “fix” the independent music scene?

If what we do is based on the tendency to fix something, then it will give limits to what we want to accomplish. With no expectancies, our freedom to choose the work and showcases will stays broad.

In an interview with Jakartabeat, Studiorama said that Indonesian independent music scene is now arriving at a stagnant spot, due to the wide spread of the scene, it’s no longer centralized. Doesn’t it a positive thing? Because it would somehow indicate that the development of independent music more now are more balanced…

It’s not the spreading that causes the stagnation. The fact is, with this kind dispersion, the scene has not been able to grow as well. For instance, today, many bands utilize the wide open access to release an album full of singles that still has a strong smell of conventional approaches, so that the works fails to capture the spirit of the generation. That kind of treatment causes such works to be forgotten easily by the listeners. The essence of potentially profound impression of nostalgia slowly erodes. Simply put, the quality of the work is not proportional to the quantity of available releases. As evidence, the exemption of the full album released by the current musical entities continue to decline in numbers.

What is lacking/missing from the independent scene right now?

Patience. The process is no longer important for the current generation. Everything seems so easy because of the freedom of access and instant culture. On the one hand, important elements such as the concept of the album, mixing, mastering, or other sound details are no longer a priority for the musicians. They want to quickly be heard by the audience. However, the audience now has too many options so that the meaning of the work cannot be consumed in appropriate levels and times. You gotta dig it!

Studiorama #5
Saturday, 18 October 2014
18:00 – End
Rossi Musik
Jl. RS Fatmawati No. 30B
Cipete Utara
Kebayoran Baru
Jakarta Selatan

On this fifth installation of Studiorama, the performers are:
Ramayana Soul with Aras and Aya
Voyagers of Icarie with Isha Hening and Endira
Future Collective with Duto Hardono

http://studiorama.net/