When Betawi meets jazz

The article first appeared in Indonesia Jazz Review, 2 May 2015

International Jazz Day with Lantun Orchestra live in @america, Jakarta, 30 April 2015

From swing to bebop, acid, and the further rapid evolution of jazz when the western world brought it on board of the trade ships to meet Indonesian vernacular music in the 20s, Lantun Orchestra played their repertoire based on a timeline that tells about each period of the constantly-altering musical genre. Their live performance When Betawi Meets Jazz in @america, Jakarta, 30 April, started with the 1929 song Ain’t Misbehavin by Fats Waller, before moving to another era of bebop which was popularized by the 30s era trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.

Continue reading “When Betawi meets jazz”

think archipelago2 May, 201511 July, 2021Leave a comment

Arts, Indonesia Jazz Review

The sum of Stefano Bollani’s tenacity

The article first appeared on Indonesia Jazz Review, 29 April 2015.

Stefano Bollani simultaneously plays with two piano instruments.

In 1996 Stefano Bollani chose to drop all he has worked for in pop since he first took a professional path at his teenage years, and in his solo concert at Usmar Ismail Hall, Jakarta, 28 April, the Italian pianist showed his aptitude, more of nurtured than inherent, after over 15 years of dedication in jazz. He left traces of his childhood aspiration to become a singer by singing a couple of songs in melancholy for Jakarta audience, meanwhile he was sure not to let them miss the anticipation having him played out one of his best talents: swing, especially after his last performance in Jakarta seven years ago.

Continue reading “The sum of Stefano Bollani’s tenacity”

think archipelago29 April, 201511 July, 2021Leave a comment

Architecture, Arts

Thamrin Nine Project 1

UOB Plaza high-rise building took shape over a decade after the 1997 Asian monetary crisis, when it stood in agony with bare pillars and storeys, behing the giant banner displaying The Westin hotel, a supposedly main tenant hadn’t the crisis brought the construction to a halt. Continue reading Thamrin Nine Project 1

think archipelago20 April, 201521 June, 2019Leave a comment

Architecture, Arts

BRI towers at twilight

When dusk fell, workers swarmed the lobbies of BRI 1 and the adjacent BRI 2 Tower, and went out through multiple exit doors which lead to restaurants alley, the famous BRI garden complex, or simply to Sudirman street. Continue reading BRI towers at twilight

think archipelago18 April, 201521 June, 2019Leave a comment

Arts

University of rest and relax, Liem Keng Sien in retropsective

Liem Keng Sien (1954 – 2014) called his home cum studio the university of rest and relax, a creative place that goes unsupported by government, and unrecognized by public. Less serious in nature, perhaps it is this aphorism “Art is long, life is short” where Keng Sien took an inspiration to create his final art series, interestingly, in the shape of many laughing expressions based … Continue reading University of rest and relax, Liem Keng Sien in retropsective

think archipelago14 April, 201521 June, 2019Leave a comment

Environment

TEAK FOREST OF WEST JAVA

The three-meters-wide dirt road that spans 20 kilometers deep into the forest in Central Java has existed since early 90s when loggers began exploiting the area. The hidden activity increases during summer as the road mostly turn muddy in wet season, thus obstructing trucks transporting the lumber. The fact that the plain, green area of a hundred hectares in total size is labeled a non-productive forest, coupled with the Land Protection Act issued by the Forestry Department, have little effect on preventing illegal logging. The locals told that logging culminated between 2001 and 2003. Continue reading “TEAK FOREST OF WEST JAVA”

think archipelago13 April, 201514 July, 2015Leave a comment

Environment

A LOOK BACK AT 2012 JAKARTA ZONING DETAIL AND PLANS

Jakarta is now home to rapidly increasing numbers of skyscrapers. Office building projects are now dominated by over thirty stories high. Having reached its peak momentum in 1997 and suddenly collapsed due to severe economic crisis, Jakarta is in the past two years on the faster track to expand its high-rise property market, and much taller. Continue reading “A LOOK BACK AT 2012 JAKARTA ZONING DETAIL AND PLANS”

think archipelago10 April, 201521 June, 2019Leave a comment

Arts

The Opera of the White Snake Legend

Producing a Chinese folklore by means of Indonesian culture and provincial idiosyncracies is the task taken by Teater Koma in Opera Ular Putih, an adaptation of the 6th century Tang dynasty fiction the Legend of the White Snake, with three months of rehearsal and preparation. Continue reading The Opera of the White Snake Legend

think archipelago7 April, 201528 December, 2017Leave a comment

Environment

MENAPAKI JEJAK PURBAKALA BANDUNG

TEKS DAN FOTO I YOSEA RIYADI PERMANA

Artikel ini muncul pertama kali di yoseapermana.wordpress.com

Yosea Riyadi Permana menyajkan lanskap lokasi wisata Pasir Pawon atau lebih dikenal dengan Stone Garden dan Gua Pawon.

Tak dapat dipungkiri bahwa perkembangan dan penggunaan media sosial saat ini sangat mempengaruhi aspek apapun. Setelah beberapa waktu lalu Tebing Keraton menjadi trend di media sosial, kini giliran Pasir Pawon (sekarang lebih dikenal sebagai Stone Garden atauTaman Batu) yang menjadi primadona. Kebiasaan user media sosial seperti Facebook, Twitter, Instagram dan Path yang mengupload mengenai foto-foto dan informasi mengenai lokasi ini membuat banyak orang berbondong-bondong ke Stone Garden, entah itu untuk mencari tahu mengenai sejarah maupun hanya sekedar berfoto saja. Media sosial juga yang membantu saya untuk bisa hadir ke tempat ini.

Tujuh bulan sudah sejak Agustus 2014 Stone Garden di serbu oleh para wisatawan. Sebelumnya lokasi ini hanyalah sebuah dataran tinggi gunung karst yang berada diantara formasi gunung-gunung karst lainnya di daerah Citatah, Padalarang. Susunan batu yang membentuk formasi unik di Stone Garden lah yang menjadi daya tarik bagi wisatawan untuk datang kemari. Menurut warga sekitar, beberapa bulan sebelum lokasi ini menjadi primadona hampir tak ada orang yang datang ke Stone Garden, hanya beberapa arkeolog yang sudah sejak tahun 1999 lah yang datang untuk meneliti lokasi ini. Di lokasi ini juga terdapat situs lain, Gua Pawon. Gua yang menjadi situs arkeologi pra-sejarah ini berada tepat dibawah Stone Garden. Continue reading “MENAPAKI JEJAK PURBAKALA BANDUNG”

think archipelago1 April, 20156 October, 2015Leave a comment