Mama Aminah is the last Dendang Jawi singer left on the island of Buru. A retired religion teacher, she inherited the repertoire through a dream in which her ancestors appeared, allowing her to sing. It is this mysterious relationship between reality and myth, history and folklore, art and mysticism that underpins Dendang Jawi.

Once, the four kingdoms of the spice islands vied against one another in a tense stand-off. After years of cold war, the kingdoms of Ternate, Tidore, Bacan and Jailolo came to respect each other's presence as inevitable. In a gesture of reconciliation, a phrase was coined to describe the four kingdoms in unison, inspired by their shared seafaring history and their close relationship with the four volcanoes that tower over their castles: Kie Raha.

When Chalvin took these notes to producer Ardelony Imlabla, they concocted Archa. Their restrained mix of soundscapes, downtempo beats, and looped bass are blank canvasses for a choir of emotive vocals & spoken word, all inspired or copied from the ancestral verses Chalvin collected in his journey.

From the shorelines of Pare-Pare, the lush fields of Sidrap, to the mountains of Pinrang, their presence is awaited on every occasion. At each circumcision ceremony, wedding, or roof-raising ritual, it seems like no South Sulawesi party is complete without the arrival of Empat Sekawan.

Tau' Riolo A'dendang (formerly known as Theory of Discoustic or T o D) first emerged on Indonesia’s nascent indie folk scene with a familiar recipe: subtle guitar picking interspersed with close-harmony vocals. As time passed the band gradually expanded their musical palette.

Uni Osing makes music that is as challenging, uncompromising, and relentless as Banyuwangi. Beyond the spectacle of their performance, though, lies an underlying tone of poignancy.

It's been a slow burn for Monohero. The trio from Malang has slowly staked their claim for being one of the country's most interesting psychedelic bands. Combining electronic music and vintage-futuristic projection art, their performances are an immersive and impressive artistic journey.

Take a person from Java, Madura, or Sulawesi to the isolated island of Bawean and they will find a land that is foreign yet familiar. Living at a crossroads of sea routes connecting these larger islands, the people of Bawean pride themselves on their singularity. Their identity, language, and way of life retains traces of these transient cultures, while transforming into something unique.

There was a time when Tesla Manaf was Indonesian jazz's golden boy. His sophisticated licks and virtuosic guitar playing led to comparisons to Pat Metheny, a series of well-received albums, and tours abroad. Then, of course, he decided to rip it up and start all over again.

Jekshon is famous throughout the island, but finding him requires a superhuman feat. The young jungga prodigy lives a solitary life in the remote plains of East Sumba, barely accessible by road and almost certainly beyond most cell reception.

MAMA ESTHER has fought hard to keep her ancestor’s stories alive. She has perfected the art of jungga – an all-encompassing term for the sparse, haunting form of lyrical storytelling practiced throughout the isolated island.

GABBER MODUS OPERANDI is an accidental project founded by Kasimyn and Ican Harem. Born out of a shared obsession for all sorts of high-octane, fast-paced sounds, they explode an extensive range of influences into vibrant, outrageous productions.

Kadapat has a strange tendency to pit contradictory forces against one another — not just tradition and modernity, digital and analog, but also cultural traditions that were never meant to intersect.

Rollfast is an enthusiastically psych rock band from Bali. Rollfast has learned to intergrate their music with contemporary approach. They soon evolved into an extended basement studio jam, exploring a variety of sounds and arrangements.

Putu Septa’s experimental music has been amplified throughout national and international stages with collaborations such as with Dafra Kura Band (Africa), Filastine (Barcelona), Bloco (Singapore), and many more.