Bromo, 16-21 July 2024
5 hari menemani Bromo Jazz Camp, kelompok musisi muda keren dan mentor ahli latihan hingga tampil di panggung utama. Pagi sampai malam diisi dengan putaran lagu-lagu jazz standards yang diulang-ulang sampai hafal segala progresi dan motifnya. Sedingin apapun mereka tetap latihan dengan membawa semangat Udin Petot (Udara Dingin Pengen Totalitas). Walhasil ketika tampil semua musisi kemasukan khodam Clifford Brown, Ray Brown, Miles, sampai Sarah Vaughan yang lagu-lagunya mereka bawakan dengan gaya mereka.
Romanticizing @omahsedan.jog
Hari-hari rumah ini ditinggali oleh dua orang laki-laki umur 20 an yang susah bangun pagi. Rumah ini jarang rapih, tapi rumah ini selalu nyaman dan kadang bikin tidak produktif soalnya bikin ngantuk.
Banyak sekali memori yang tertanam di rumah ini. Tidak hanya dari orang yang tinggal didalamnya, namun juga dari yang hanya singgah sementara.
The Singing Ladies of Wandos
We were ready to go back to our post after a fun afternoon at a local crafts exhibition held at a church in Sorendoweri when a group of churchgoers asked if they could ride with our pickup truck to their village, Wandos. Wandos is located northeast of Waryesi and just in the border of Supiori regency and Biak regency. The group turns out to be the village church's servants and were showcasing their crafts at the exhibition. One of them brought a traditional ukulele and as soon as the truck departs, she started to strum her ukulele and others would immediately sing.
It all happened in such spontaneous manner that I forgot to set our audio recorder and just instantly recorded them singing. Hence, the noisy and bad audio quality. Still, I felt like this recording is subsequent towards my previous text on music cultures in Papua. Music plays a huge role as tool of expression in communal interactions. Here, they're singing a goodbye hymn as they were going home to their village. With an emphasis towards the feelings that is implied in every farewell, the ladies were expressing their hope and goodwill that they will meet again in another endeavor.
I feel like even though this footage and recordings were not put anywhere in our official release, this recordings deserve to be published. It reminded me of the warmth and happiness that is sitting on top of a pickup truck and singing together creating special bonds one would love to relive.
Harmony and Music Cultures on Coastal Papua
On a breezy Tuesday morning the village of Waryesi has already been busy since dawn. People from around the village gathered sympathetically towards the church. At the back of the church, a humble house for the church’s priest is turned upside down as they prepared to depart to move towards a new home. It has reached the end of the church’s leader tenure of service towards the village and on to a different church located at the west part of the regency, just a 30 minute ride from Waryesi village to Fanjur.
One may expect a farewell to be a somber occasion was turned lively and enthuastic with music blasting through the speakers placed on top of a truck. Women from around the village sang “Tambatkan Cinta” while they began packing and moving belongings to the truck. Just by listening to the women from the village singing to the song that reeks with message of love, good will, and passion that I began to realize how music has become a way of the village to express their feelings in the occasion.
As we disembark at Fanjur village, men from the village bring out a series of instruments from guitars, sitembas (nylon basses), and ukuleles. They started to gather and set their assigned instruments as Pak Karel began to tune his guitar. As soon as Pak Karel strung the first note of his guitar, others immediately joined to play their instrument.
There are no records of the origin of these string bands and how they are embedded as local cultures in this island. Yet, writings from ethnomusicologist Michael Webb on string bands from Papua New Guinea may give insights on how string bands were influence of missionary practices that assimilate christian hymnody towards the practice of music making and singing. Along with the circulation of Hawaiian ukuleles and songs through the Pacific shipping lines, this type of string bands now could be found around the Cendrawasih Bay.
{More in the comments}
Salah satu item komunikasi @ngejazzrek yang sengaja dibuat untuk mengakomodasi pengunjung yang hobi mirror selfie.
Idenya muncul ketika sedang berjalan di city center Utrecht sewaktu exchange. Ada satu toko yang memasang signage bercermin di depan toko. Beberapa kali saya berhenti didepan cermin untuk sekedar melihat penampilan diri sembari jalan menuju kampus. Tak jarang pun juga ambil mirror selfie di signage itu. Dari perilaku itu muncul ide untuk membuat signage serupa sebagai taktik komunikasi di gelaran festival @ngejazzrek
Hasilnya lumayan banyak orang yang memperhatikan signage yang sudah dipasang beberapa hari sebelum acara itu. Banyak yang terhenti melihat cerminannya dan membaca informasi festival yang tertera dan banyak juga yang foto selfie lalu mencantumkan akun sosial festival.
Terkadang memang perlu kita pahami bahwa eksistensi diri dan refleksi tubuh merupakan pemancing perhatian yang paling manjur yang bisa dikapitalisasi secara komunikatif.
Kumpulan beberapa rekaman udara yang saya rekam dua minggu pertama ketika tinggal di Supiori untuk KKN. Mustahil rasanya untuk bisa melupakan keindahan lanskap dan uniknya kearifan lokal yang kami temui di Papua.
Lagu "Matahari" dari @wsatcc terasa sangat pas menyuarakan apa yang ditunjukkan rekaman diatas. Mendengarkan lagu tersebut seolah-olah ditarik kembali ke Papua untuk merawat ingat keindahan matahari terbenam di Pantai Doiadori dan Tebing Neri yang cantiknya "no pura-pura". Kebahagiaan yang tergapai saat senja bersama anak anak yang lihai bermain sepak bola. Ritme lagu ini yang serupa dengan lagu-lagu lokal mengingatkan pada kultur yang kental pada kehangatan masyarakatnya.
Di Papua saya menemukan autentisitas masyarakat papua yang mengajarkan kadang hidup jangan kebanyakan pretensi. Lagu ini mengajak pendengarnya menikmati indahnya alam, kehangatan pada kebersamaan, dan mengekspresikan kultur dengan apa adanya. Semua ini terrealisasikan dan saya temukan di Papua.
Seperti kata-kata legend Bapak Dasem,
Supiori! Su Pasti Rindu!
