photos by: Ade Sulistioputra
article by: Athina Ibrahim
With the rise of creative outlets in Jakarta – ranging from coffee shops, online media, or letterpress studio – created by former Indonesian students’ from Australia, it was only a matter of time an event would be created to bring these young creatives into one room.
Last Wednesday night, the entertainment agency, Prasavana – which brought Mac DeMarco to Jakarta – organized a celebration of Australian Alumni’s in the event G’Day Mate. With the support from the Australian Embassy, the spacious arena of Empirica was transformed into a concert hall where we first noticed a number of fresh graduates blending with the Australian expatriates in Jakarta.
The first performance to take the stage was Elephant Kind, a four-member band where vocalist Bam Mastro first started his musical project in Australia before returning with new band members, Dewa Pratama (Synth), John Paul Patton (Bass), and Bayu Adisapoetra (Drums). Whether it is through slow tempo built up or quick introductory rhythms, Elephant Kind manages to draw people in through Bam’s soulful voice. They also covered a classic 80s Australian track in their set.
“Perth inspired me to where I am today,” shares vocalist of Neonomora, Ratih Suryahutamy, second up in line, as she talks about the infectious music diversity she was exposed to then. Mesmerizing the crowd with the collected stage presence and her vocals that easily switch between dreamy whispers to strong long-range vocals, Neonomora has been listed on countless local and international media for her strong vocals and ability to explore creative mediums into her art. That night, she performed the set from her latest album “Seeds” and also the song “You Want My Love,” which set her to where she is today.
Last to perform was the anticipated Australian band The Jungle Giants with their humorous and friendly persona as frontman and guitarist Sam Hales interacted with the crowd with his understanding of Indonesian slang as “gokil” and “alay.” They gave a good end to the night as we enjoyed songs accompanied by screams of fan girls shouting their admiration towards Andrew Dooris (Bassist) and Cesira Aitken (guitarist). Just as it is sunny and warm down under in Australia, this Australian bunch proved to bring the fun and good-natured hospitality on stage and to the crowd. 
