W_Music Series Vol.04: White Shoes & The Couples Company

Formed in 2002 by Rio, Sari, Saleh, Mela, Ricky, and John—then students at IKJ (Art Institute of Jakarta) White Shoes & The Couples Company's self-described "Chamber Pop" brought a new and exciting style to then the current Indonesian music landscape. The band launched their self-titled debut album in 2005 under Aksara Records. In 2007 White Shoes and The Couples Company released an EP (Skenario Masa Muda) as a joint effort with Kineforum (Jakarta Arts Council's Fim Committee) and Sinematek Indonesia (Indonesian Movie Archives) to raise awareness as well as fund for the preservation of Indonesian old movie archives. Gaining worldwide recognition, their lively performances has been enjoyed not only by their fans in Indonesia but also overseas. The album, distributed by Minty Fresh Records, is also sold in Canada, Mexico, Australia, and Japan. After recently releasing their second full-length, Album Vakansi, W_Music had the privilege to talk to them about the album and travelling in general. Enjoy! [featured caption="W_Music Series Vol.04: White Shoes & The Couples Company"] [/featured]

W_Music Series Vol.05: Indra Lesmana

Son of another Indonesian great, multi-instrumentalist-Jack Lesmana, Indra Lesmana is a child prodigy who learned how to master the keys at a young age, with his first performances done at the age of ten to an audience of hundreds and thousands, and his first album released when he was 12 years old. From child to adulthood, Indra Lesmana has dedicated his life to music. With currently over 50 albums released, his musical endeavors are not restricted to jazz, Indra Lesmana has also released a multitude of critically acclaimed pop records, winning a BASF Award for his meaningful pop numbers. Currently busy promoting the first LLW record, LLW being his modern jazz trio with bassist-Barry Likumahuwa and drummer-Sandy Winarta, Indra Lesmana spared some time our of his busy schedule to talk to W_Music about some highlights from his three decade-long career, LLW, and leaves the viewers and aspiring musicians some words of wisdom. Enjoy! [featured caption="W_Music Series Vol.05: Indra Lesmana"] [/featured]

In partnership with Nike

Setlist Vol.01: Hightime Rebellion

With the mixture of Brit pop, funk, folk, and rock, Hightime Rebellion paving their way on the diversity of Indonesia's music scene and gaining public attention as well.

W_Music Series Vol.03: Notorious MSG

baddest Founded by ringleader, Hong Kong Fever, the "Yellow Gigolo", Down-Lo Mein, and latest third member, Hunan Bomb, the monosodium glutamate-named group has now been schooling planet earth and beyond with their Asian American gangster-ness for 9 years. With their latest offering, Heavy Ghetto, soon hitting a store near you (May 24th), the group shared some insights into their Notoriously MSG lives including their how they became so brollic, their crazy day to day activities, and the mysterious Angus Wong. This third installment of W_Music Series is produced personally by the group and their friends, so sit back as they (as their myspace bio says) "rip your asses in half with their high-sodium beats." [featured caption="W_Music Series Vol.03: Notorious MSG"] [/featured]

W_Music Series Vol.02: Endah N Rhesa

The W_Music Series team experienced it first hand as the group performed a couple of songs for us; the two's joyful charisma infectious right off the bat, and their instrument proficiency thoroughly impressed us. Right off the heels of their second Demajors-distributed full-length, Look What We've Found, Endah N Rhesa sat with W_Music at Demajors' headquarters and explained a bit about the group's background, how storytelling influence their performances, Endah's involvement in developing a music braille program, and how intrinsic music is to their daily lives. Enjoy the interview, and be sure to pick up their albums, Nowhere to Go and Look What We've Found, at a record store near you. [featured caption="W_Music Series Vol.02: Endah N Rhesa"] [/featured]

W_Music Series Vol.01: Ras Muhamad

of While paying his dues in the New York City music scene, his interest in reggae inspired him to dig deeper into this music culture of Jamaican origin. Soon he found himself in love with the music, and upon his return to Indonesia dedicated himself to spread reggae's message of positivity throughout his homeland. He took some time out of his busy schedule to talk W_Music and explains his experiences in New York, his love for lyricism, and why he calls himself the Reggae Ambassador. [featured caption="W_Music Series Vol.01: Ras Muhamad"] [/featured]