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"]
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The Jakarta-based indie band Hightime Rebellion was formed by Rendy (vocals/piano/guitar), Pulung (bass), Jason (guitar), and Reza(drums), in 2007, and later came the addition of Miyane (vocals) and Adji (guitar). With the mixture of Brit pop, funk, folk, and rock, they’re paving their way on the diversity of Indonesia’s music scene and gaining public attention as well. This year, they had the honour to rock the stages of huge music events in Indonesia such as Nylon Music Festival, Trax FM Terusik Traxkustik, Java Rockin’Land and Beatfest – such great opportunities came as a fruitage to their early experiences of performing at indie gigs in Jakarta and its neighbour, Bandung. Aside performing in big events, this year they’re also working on a debut album under FFWD Records.
Sail
Mines
Melody Taker
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.
I’ve always been fascinated with rhythm and it’s ability to create the illusion of motion. Rhythm is the source of the head bop, meditative in its repetition, disorienting you when it scatters, excite or lull you - it is the vehicle that takes you from the beginning to the end of a song. With this idea of rhythm and motion in mind, these are a selection of favorites from recent years that I feel put rhythm and its percussive quality in the spotlight. Enjoy.
01. Psychic Ills – East
02. Black Dice – Motorcycle
03. OOIOO – ATS
04. Islaja – Palaa Aurinkoon
05. Animal Collective – We Tigers
06. Nymph – Reeds of Osirion
07. Growing – Rave Pie Only
08. Dirty Projectors – I Sit on the Ridge at Dusk
09. Olaibi – 太陽
10. Gang Gang Dance – God’s Money V
11. Magik Markers – Brighton
It’s Independence Day month and our own Robin Hood is back! Yes I’m talking about Si Pitung and he returns with appearances in this rap flavoured Independence Day Mixtape. Why Si Pitung I hear you ask? Well because he’s a badass gangsta who fought and died struggling against the tyranny of colonial oppression, and if he were around today he’d probably some tough-as-nails emcee from somewhere in Senen, that’s why. So here are some angry rap tracks, happy rhymes, political rants, trivial hip-hopping as well as some things that aren’t rap at all but funky nonetheless.
01. Pitung Arrives
02. Homicide – Semiotika Rajatega
03. Iwa K – Tikus Got (Live)
04. Pitung Aint Dead
05. Ndeesaster – Those Days
06. Swerte, Young Vaughn & Serenada Iblis – The Recipe
07. Ronin (Intellek & Kenji) – Senapan Lirik
08. Dynomonk (Jedimonk & Danger Dope) – 02. Jangan Coba-Coba & Hallow Doggy
09. Pembalasan Si Pitung
10. Homicide – Puritan
11. Serenada Iblis & .Xceptional of Manifestone - The Illusion of Tolerance
12. Pitung Says F**k You
13. I Wayan Sadra – Bola Telah Lama Menggelinding
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"]
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Episode ketiga Loka Suara Live menampilkan rapper Matter Mos di mana ia bercerita tentang bagaimana ia berangkat dari vokalis band metalcore menjadi salah satu nama penting di skena hip-hop hari ini.
Memperkenalkan salah satu seri video terbaru di Whiteboard Journal, Loka Suara Live. Pengembangan dari channel W_Music yang kini lahir kembali dalam format video.
Polka Wars, which joined the dynamic Jakarta music scene in the beginning of 2010, is one of the bands that attempts to present something new. And though their music is not the kind that would be perfect to accompany you on a slow, Sunday afternoon, the volume of the combined sounds of guitars, drums, and recently, a saxophone, evokes strong emotions without draining your energy. Though they've been active for over two years, in 2012 the group consisting of principal members Karaeng Adjie, Giovanni Rahmadeva, Xandega Tahajuansya & Billy Saleh gained a lot of attention from the media, concert organizers and avid music goers.
We invited Polka Wars to perform at Studio Taman on a Sunday afternoon. Enlisting the help of noisemaker Sawi Lieu to play the synth and Gerinov to play the saxophone, Polka Wars performance brought a full and lively rendition of their momentum-driven music.
[featured caption="Setlist Vol.06: Polka Wars"]
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Influenced by The Who, The Beatles - among several other legends of the 1960s and 1970s - these two brothers are recognized in the independent music sphere of Indonesia for their brand of rock and roll. Perhaps the comfort of performing with someone you are tied to by blood has also impacted the way The Experience perform their songs, all of which are in English. The casual, but confident vibe of this two-man band is what makes their performances memorable. Their debut album, Summer of Love, was released in 2007 and their second album, Eye Contact, made it to the third rank on Rolling Stone's Top Ten Charts in 2011. We invited the duo to practice and recording space Studio Taman in Kemang a month ago and they showed us why they are a group that everybody has their eyes on.
[featured caption="Setlist Vol.05: The Experience Brothers"]
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