At a glimpse: Music from the decades | The Jakarta Post

At a glimpse: Music from the decades | The Jakarta Post

After two successful years, Djakarta Artmosphere’s performances are now available on DVD. The DVD captures just how good Indonesian music can be.

The idea of putting musical acts from two different generations on one stage is brilliant. 

Did you ever imagine Navicula, a group of grunge gentlemen from Bali, playing back to back with God Bless, the legendary rock band, who seem like they could be Navicula’s grandfathers?

Or, even Sylvia Saartje’s long-missed act, which made Gugun and the Blues Shelter even better performing as her backup band?

Well, for those who missed last year’s Djakarta Artmosphere, those performances are available on DVD.

“It’s evidence that Indonesian music rules on its own soil. We make sure there are independent bands worth checking out as well as seniors like God Bless who are still around and kicking. The mainstream media sometimes thinks that these bands are not industry darlings. We at Djakarta Artmosphere believe that variety does exist in the industry. There’s a movement,” Djakarta Artmosphere producer Ferry Dermawan said.

The DVD itself contains sweet moments from the gig that took place in November last year. The show also featured Utha Likumahuwa, who performed with Leonardo Ringo and Oddie Agam, creating a magnificent foursome with Mocca, Bonita and HUSband plus The Trees and the Wild.

“You’re able to see a music DVD with God Bless’ performance on it now,” Ferry said.

As an effort to document Indonesia’s music history, this DVD deserves two thumbs up. 

“If you watch this 10 or 20 years from now, you’ll probably appreciate the performances of God Bless or even The Trees and the Wild. They were the youngest last year but we all don’t know how big they are in 2020, right?” Ferry asked.

This record is a good addition to the documentation of the Indonesian music scene, a small artifact that lets us all see — in pictures — how magic can be delivered through collaboration.

“Too bad until the very last minute we couldn’t get the permit from Jockie Soeryoprayogo to put God Bless’ ‘Kehidupan’ [Life] and ‘Semut Hitam’ [Black Ant] on the DVD. He was the one who wrote them,” says Ferry.

More info about this project can be found at djakartartmosphere.com, including a trailer. Plus, get ready, another round of the gig will happen in October.