SOUND

This duo features Yennu Ariendra and J. Mo’ong Santoso Pribadi, two Indonesian artists who otherwise work as producers, DJs, and instrument builders. As Raja Kirik, they draw inspiration from the rich cultural traditions of Java and its history of struggle against colonial oppression. Their music is rooted in the sound of shamanic trance dances, especially the Jaranan or Jathilan, Hindu-Buddhist dances from the 11th century. They are symbolic of how the common people were able to surmount their rulers through evasion and agility. Raja Kirik runs the traditional percussion through electronic distortion and filters until it sounds like hardcore techno: their means to transfer trance as a centuries-old musical resistance strategy into the present.

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