You Don't Have To Fit The Mould; with Rara Sekar
Rara Sekar, Sandrayati, Ugoran Prasad, Rully Shabara discuss music and social change
This week, Music Life features Indonesian musicians who are dominating the worlds of rock, folk and experimental music.
Rara Sekar hosts this episode; her career in music began as the vocalist for folk group, Banda Neira, as well as a member of Daramuda. In 2020 she began her solo project hara, in which she creates a musical fusion inspired by folk, ambient and post-rock music. As well as a musician she is also an anthropologist, having completed a master鈥檚 degree in Cultural Anthropology from Victoria University of Wellington.
Talking to her is a Filipino-American singer who grew up in Java and Bali, whose music explores the pain and beauty of uprooting and planting yourself somewhere else. She possess a light, dream-like singing voice and has recently released 鈥楽afe Ground鈥�, an album created in Iceland alongside Olafur Arnalds. It鈥檚 Sandrayati.
Ugoran Prasad is a renowned Indonesian fictionist, dramaturg and musician who is perhaps best known for fronting modern rock band Majelis Lidah Berduri. Their restless, exciting sound has made them one of Indonesia鈥檚 most important indie bands over the last few decades, and they are currently working on their fourth studio album.
And finally, an Indonesian artist and vocalist whose main musical interest lies in exploring the human voice as a medium of creation. He鈥檚 a genre-bending musician whose duo Senyawa are pushing the boundaries of experimental music in Indonesia. It鈥檚 Rully Shabara.
Together they鈥檒l be talking about music and social change, trying to thrive as musicians in the age of social media, and whether or not all musicians have an equal opportunity to succeed.
In part 2 of the show, Sandrayati will be taking us through a playlist she鈥檚 called 鈥楢bout Landscapes鈥�, an immersive collection of tracks inspired by the great outdoors, featuring Joni Mitchell, Adrianne Lenker, Jon Hopkins, plus many more.
