Udah lama banget kayanya gak nulis musik. Padahal ada di tagline blog. Jadi di post kali ini , gue akan share beberapa track hiphop lokal yang menemani my struggle and hustle sepanjang pandemi ini.
Buat gue pribadi, track rap lokal itu pas banget buat menemani masa-masa diremehkan, struggling dan menghadapi masa depan yang nggak jelas. Anxiety is on record level in covid times so theres no better times to listen to these music. Gue lupa denger dimana, tapi Tuan 13 pernah ngasih statemen klo musisi rap di Indonesia itu gak ada duitnya. The struggle fuel the music. Dan musik-musik dibawah, beresonansi banget buat gue untuk tetap tegak berdiri di tengah badai pandemi.
Seperti dijabarkan di artikel business insider dan nytimes ini , mayoritas penikmat musik berhenti mencari hal baru untuk didengarkan di usia 30. Well, di tahun ini, usia saya tembus kepala tiga dan saya bisa mengerti sekali ketika teman teman seangkatan playlist spotifynya adalah album Appetite for Destruction atau Hybrid Theory yang diulang-ulang. Di tahun ini, secara karir (Alhamduillah) saya juga mengemban sebuah tanggung jawab baru yang membuat saya sibuk lebih dari sebelumnya (seriusan, mendengarkan musik di jam kerja pun susah).
Beruntungnya, masih ada sebuah kenikmatan kecil yang saya rasakan ketika menemukan band atau album baru yang lagu lagunya enak untuk didengar. Ketika ada waktu senggang di antara meeting, tab New Release dan Discover di Spotify adalah pilihan untuk rehat sejenak. Menemukan musik musik baru adalah hal yang menyenangkan sekaligus mungkin sebuah usaha perlawanan untuk menjadi tua dan membosankan.
Dan untuk membagikan perasaan itu, berikut album rilis 2018 yang menurut saya nikmat sekali untuk didengar. Mayoritas album di list ini bergenre hip-hop dan metal.
Been a while since i wrote something music related and i believe there are no better time than now. End of the year where many blog pick their best 2017 list and Spotify year-end summary is prevalent all over my friend pages in various social media.
I felt like i didnt listen to as many music as previous year. Bit of growing up (or getting old) probably. I seldom listen to music when im working now because it throw my focus out of the window. However as an effort to be, referring to Seringai’s credo, generasi menolak tua i still constantly and consciously explore new music regularly. I felt that it makes me more creative and keeps me from being boring. I dont want to be that guy in their 30s which still put Hybrid Theory on pedestal of great music and whine about kids these days.
2017 also the year i switch from free Deezer to premium Spotify. Mainly because the change of status from poor scholarship student into a salary man again. Spotify is great however Deezer often get overlook, the free version is better than spotify in my opinion. Protip: use Deezer web player and install adblock.
So without further due, here are my pick for great albums released this year. Click the header to listen the album on spotify. Also, i compile the tracks on the album and several other tracks i really enjoy this year in below spotify playlist. Listen to it while reading this for maximum experience!.
Sepertinya waktu luang saya akhir akhir lebih banyak dihabiskan dengan membaca buku, mengurus persiapan relokasi, bermain dengan Ghazidan tentu saja….menaikkan level kompetensi di Battlefield 4.
Tentunya jika diteruskan ini tidak baik. Menulis adalah skill penting yang harus diasah terus dari waktu ke waktu. Apalagi bulan depan saya kembali menjadi pelajar dan mulai mengenyam pendidikan pasca sarjana. Oleh karena itu, kali ini saya mereview beberapa album rilisan 2016 yang nikmat untuk didengar. Hitung hitung pemanasan sebelum menulis paper.
Tulisan ini terinspirasi dari postingan Ardi Wilda di facebook yang meminta untuk menuliskan album dan buku terbaik di 2015. Sebagai salah satu panutan dalam hal penulisan dan juga vokalis band folk paling hipster, tentunya undangan bung awe untuk berkomentar tidak dapat saya tolak. Namun hal ini ternyata membuat saya ingin menuliskan dengan lebih panjang apa saja rilisan musik yang mendefinisikan tahun 2015. Mainstream sih tapi sebodo amat.
Satu kata kunci yang bisa mendefinisikan konsumsi musik di tahun ini adalah Deezer. Situs streaming musik asal perancis ini satu satunya yang bisa diakses di kantor sehingga membuat saya menjadi pengguna setia. Selain itu, Deezer juga membawa band band indie Indonesia seperti sore dan silampukau dalam layanannya sehingga membuat saya semakin terjebak dengan aplikasi ini.
Cukup untuk basa-basinya mari kita mulai dari yang pertama. Oh ya, posting ini khusus berisi album album internasional. Untuk rilisan lokal akan saya tulis di tulisan berikutnya.
My plan for this mayday holiday was to be productive. Finish one or two unread books or maybe blogging about something smart. But due to unforeseen circumstance, the plan goes out to the window. I spent the whole afternoon watching youtube instead.
By unforeseen events, it was me discovering Black Book, a documentary about Indonesian hip hop created by Hiphopindo. Blackbook tell the chronicles hiphop movement since the release of Pesta Rap. It was so damn good, i spent entire evening checking most of the featured artist. Cant recommend it enough, go check it out.
Still in an attempt to be productive while being Blackbook still lingering in my mind, i created list of several dope local hip hop track which i think everyone should listen to.
Several weekends ago me and fiancee tried a Korean food joint called Mujigae. In that restaurant, while eating you will be blasted by non-stop Korean music video clips. I spent like an hour and half in the resto so that maybe like 30 ish songs. I realized that all of the songs ive heard sounds pretty much the same. Just like the facial features of Girls Generation’s member, i cannot recognized the difference from one to the other. Its all boys or girlsband dancing synchronously , singing pop vocals over dance beats. Superficial and manufactured.
As a staunch believer in music pluralist, I believe theres always good music in every genre. Case in point : Have you heard about Hindi Progressive Rock. Just for the sake of it, i started digging Korean music in Youtube in hope to find quality and non-formulaic Korean music. I found one in peculiar place which is in the most controversial movie this year, The Interview. The movie was in yet another controversy due to unlicensed use of one of the song, Pay Day by Yoon Mi Rae.
Well, i kinda glad that happened because i would never know Yoon Mi Rae . If you havent heard about her as well, youre in for a treat.
Yoon Mi Rae a.k.a Tasha is a half African American and half korean. She is regarded as the queen of korean hiphop. In Black Happiness video above, she rapped about being bullied because of her mixed identities. Man, thats a real gangsta conscious rapshit. Her husband, Tiger Jk is also hip hop musician. Together they formed hip hop collective My Fans are Better Than Yours (MFBTY) which sounds more EDM-ish. I prefer her old solo works which is more boombap style hiphop but some of the new song such as Sweet Dream is quite catchy.
Heres my personal pick of Yoon Mi Rae music that you should really check out
Sounds like : Old skool hardcore hiphop, now with more live instruments Must listen tracks : Ruckus in a B minor, A Better Tomorrow, Ron O Neal Recommendation : Listen now while youre reading this blog post. Go listen!
The legendary hip hop collective is back with new materials and once again it served as proof that they really aint nothing to fuck with. After 7 years without a release, Wu Tang Clan gathered again and came back hard with A Better Tomorrow.
Uplifting and fresh, A Better Tomorrow is the reason why i immediately want to write this blog post.
Several reasons why i think this release is solid. First, most of the track was using live instrument kinda like The Roots or Jay Z’s Death Of Autotune. I like this style of hip hop, sounds more organic and give my ear refreshing break in the era of rampant trap style drum machine. The next one is obvious, lyrics and flow. Combination of bad ass self braggadocio in Ruckus in B Minorand critics to the oppression of African American in A Better Tomorrow. Couldnt be more relevant in the lights what happened to Michael Brown and Eric Garner recently.
Looking at my camera memory card last night, i realized there are several untransferred pics from various gigs that i attend in the past years. I posted here so it didnt become digital leftovers. Photos are presented in reverse chronological order.
Sore
This is from last year’s JavaRockinland frontest row. My first Sore show and somehow it rolled around like a snowball. Up until today, Sore is the band ive watched the most. Somehow.
Efek Rumah Kaca
There are no shame if you watch ERK and cried in the middle of Hilang. Once they come to the part where names of kidnapped activist is announced one by one, all the chill in the world will creep out behind your neck.
Last weekend i went to the maiden event of Java Soundsfair 2014. The three day event featured with international artist such as the queen murderer of the dance floor, Sophie Ellis Baxtor, Skapara a.k.a Tokyo Ska Paradise, Asian Dub Foundation. Local musician was represented by the likes of Tulus, Maliq & D’essentials, The SIGIT , Mocca and Demajor’s gang such as Sore, The Brandals , Leonardo and the impeccable six and many more. Held in the main halls of JCC, It has staggeringly 9 stages with almost 30 bands playing each day.
Coming from the organizers who delivered Java Jazz, Java Rockinland and Java Soulnation, Soundsfair was touted as “mind-blowing modern entertainment at its best for young, urban, modern and creative people”. The concept was unclear for me. Lots of unheard of bands, the rock line up that wasnt really hard enough and theres also a small indoor dance stage set up like a club hazing with cigarette smoke (goddammit you ignorant people). Hipster maybe the word to summarize the concept of this year Soundsfair.
It was still fun nonetheless due to the performance of several amazing artist. So here are my highlights of Java Soundsfair 2014 from attending two out of three days.
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