UrbanFest 2007 (Part 1)

My bad. I’ve been craving to jot yet another post for the last eight months or so since the last time, but it’s only now that I can finally manage to pull it off. Well, commitment isn’t really my middle name to tell the truth, though I really despise the fact and have personally done a considerable effort (or haven’t I?) to break the spell off. But it’s just me and I still couldn’t help it – at least yet. Anyway, let’s just cut the crap and proceed right away to what I had to say about the splendid event I and my friends attended just yesterday: the Urban Fest 2007; the event for today’s teenager urban lifestyle which propped up the existence of independent (indie) music in Indonesia. But if you know me well enough, you must know that I won’t give in easily and get into the main story at once, will I?

Well, for background’s sake, I’ve been listening to some indie music (ie. the non major-label bands) for some time now. During this electrifying “indie journey” of mine, I’ve personally developed huge affections toward some of the so-called indie bands such as SORE, White Shoes and the Couples Company, The Adams – and just recently: Tika (and the band) and Vox. That’s when I realized one worth-mentioning fact for starters; all of the names I just listed are bands under the same renowned indie record among indie-goers in Indonesia: AKSARA Records. Now here’s the thing, if you’re not much of an indie music listener (at least you’ve heard any between Mocca, the Brandals, Ten2Five, the S.I.G.I.T., Souljah, Float, or the indie-tunred-major bands like the Upstairs or Maliq n d’essentials, haven’t you?), then I’d suggest you to taste them music for I can’t stress you enough how appealing indie music could be for your ears. At the very least, they can provide you with some fresh and ingenious numbers that might release you from the dullness of today’s droning domestic major-label bands whose music are mostly revolving around the black-and-white theme of love and hate with the same lackluster pattern of music.

This is where the indie bands might cross the threshold and play their part in reviving and enlivening the music industry in the country – or perhaps even redefining the course of music history in Indonesia for good; seeing as they possess a very powerful potential to do so. What differs the indie bands (or singers) from their counterparts in the major label, which also puts them in a much better position IMHO, is their privilege to create their own style of music regardless of the prevailing market demand. In fact, indie records were created in the first place to accommodate bands who have high fidelity (and consistency) to their music and do not want to be dictated to adjust their music to the more market-oriented ones by the major labels. The players in the indie music industry believe that as long as they enjoy composing and doing their music as they like without any force, they could establish their own fan base in due course. That’s why indie music have more various kinds of songs compared to those of the majors’, despite the limited fan base – at least yet. So, events such as IndieFest or yesterday’s UrbanFest 2007 must be highly appreciated and taken into our utmost consideration as a turning point for the Rise of the Indie.

UrbanFest 2007 was co-held by IKJ and Kompas-Gramedia from August 25 – 27, 2007 at Carnaval Beach, Ancol, North Jakarta. Besides the so-called X-Over (cross over) Indie Music performances, there were also fashion design performances, harajuku and cosplay contest (for the Japanese Freak like my sister I suppose ^^), sexy dancers, futsal competition, photography challenge, graphical design contest, and many other performances and booths and stalls which corresponded to the modern urban lifestyle among teenagers in the country. So I and my friends (who’re largely responsible for introducing me to the whole indie society that I’d never regret): Nanta, Dico, Billy and Redja, went there at the final day in the pursuit of happyness. It turned out even better.

We got there around 4 pm, and the first band performance that we saw was a rock band called “Pendulum” or something. Since none of us really knew the band (even Nanta, the Mr. Know-it-all, didn’t cast a comment ;P), we just enjoyed the atmosphere while trying to make out the many spots and point-of-interests in the venue. That’s when we realized that the next performance was a not-to-be-missed one: Tika!!

I’ve known Tika and her tuneful, sweet voice from her number in Mesin Waktu – a tribute album to NAIF performed by the most notable indie performances in the country – through a song called “Dia Adalah Pusaka Sejuta Umat Manusia yang Ada di Seluruh Dunia” (ok, it’s a long title, so said MURI, the Indonesian version of Guinness’ Book of Records). The next time I heard her songs from her album, Defrosted Love Songs, was about a couple of weeks ago at Dico’s car. Her voice is indeed unique and compelling, and there’s an air of jazzy tunes with startling beats and thumps and sudden screams, shouts, and laughs in a shockingly enjoyable ways throughout her songs. And her performance yesterday was no exception. If you’re there, you’d unanimously agree with me that she really put all of her soul and might to every single song that she sang – and she did it, come what may, in the most enjoyable fashion that could lure you in. Well, at least that’s what I saw from the hundreds of people who’re there at the time. I’ve also heard that she’s once the backing vocal of Lauren Hill @ Seattle back then. How cool is that? Am looking forward to buy the original copy of her album from Aksara.

After Magrib break (which was about 6.30 pm), we approached the stage again for a performance from Vox, a renowned band in its hometown, Surabaya, who’s trying to break the Greater Jakarta market. Well, seeing their extraordinary performance yesterday (we’re very lucky to stand just in front of the stage), I couldn’t see how they wouldn’t, cause (I believe) they would, and when it happens, they would sky-rocket like never before. Seriously, I couldn’t stress you enough how their stage performance has way exceeded my expectation that they could be compared to Maliq n d’essentials – the best Indonesian stage performers I’ve ever known to date – for Vox has a very distinctive and smart way to interact with their audience. Their rocking yet pleasant-sounding music was no exception, and their lyrics are very brilliant for local standard. It’s as if they’ve been on the industry for good. All of the band’s members are the vocalist, and they have their own unique way of expressing themselves. Vega, the supposed lead vocalist and the rhythm guitarist, was very entertaining and full of surprises. But so was there rest of the gang. They even had some surprising choreographies on stage that was mostly enjoyable for everyone. So there goes another must-have album, Vox's Pada Awalnya, that I’m going to buy from Aksara Records.

Ooopss…guess I’ve written too much already. I think I’ll continue my story tomorrow, for now I’m going to the nearby theatre to watch two movies simultaneously: Rattatouile and Rush Hour 3; making the most out of “Nomat”, a promotional price-cut program every Weekday @ WTC 21 ^o^.

Labels: Events