When: Saturday, 18 February 2012, 5:00-11:00pm
Where: Lapangan Astina Ubud, Bali
The concert will once again feature a stellar lineup of artists, gathered together to demonstrate their support for continued HIV & AIDS Education in Bali, including: Mr. Botax, Ganjil, Dialog Dini Hari, Nymphea, Kita Art Community (Fire Dance), Ras Muhamad and Kis Band.

AYO! Kita Bicara & AIDS was created by The BaliSpirit Festival to engage the local community—specifically the Balinese youth—in conversations and education about HIV & AIDS at the grassroots level. The program supports teenagers as Agents of Change within Indonesia and the nation’s greatest hope to slow the spread of HIV & AIDS.

The Embassy of the United States, Serambi Arts Antida, and BaliSpirit Festival will host a special workshop and presentation by Tariq Snare, percussionist for the American conscious hip hop band Native Deen. Percussionists of all skill levels, from children to adult are invited to take part in this free workshop. Each workshop participant will receive a certificate of completion signed by Tariq. All DJs, MCs, Dancers, and Hip Hop Fans alike are also warmly invited to take part in a jam session with Tariq. The event will also feature performances with Tariq and PitchBlackGold, SnapBack, and Dewata Hip Hop.

The artists behind Bali-based grunge/psychedelic rock outfit Navicula are no novices when it comes to environmental activism. In their 15-year history the group has penned a number of songs addressing specific environmental concerns, in Indonesia and worldwide. Navicula’s sixth studio album Salto was largely dedicated to environmental awareness. Songs like “Over Konsumsi” (Over-consumption) implicate consumerism for current global environmental crises. “Kill the Fireflies” deplores the decline of these luminescent insects in Bali as a result of the use of pesticides in rice fields. “Pantai Mimpi” was written in response to the privatization and destruction of Bali’s beaches and was the anthem for Navicula’s campaign to boycott the infamous Pecatu Resort and Dreamland in Bukit. Finally, their 2010 single “Metropolutan,” is a response to the pollution crisis in Jakarta.

As they entered the studio earlier this year to begin work on their seventh album, scheduled for release in 2012, the “Green Grunge Gentlemen” turned their attention to Indonesian wildlife. Indonesia is famous for its biodiversity; it is home to more than 12% of the planet’s plant and animal species. But habitat loss and poaching are pervasive and increasingly catastrophic realities that have led to the extinction of a number of Indonesia’s majestic animals, including both the Java and Bali Tiger. Experts predict species like the Javan rhinoceros, Sumatran tiger, and Sumatran orangutan will soon follow.

Throughout Navicula’s anticipated album runs a decidedly animalistic thread: Recording just wrapped for their song “Harimau! Harimau!” (Tiger), and now Navicula prepares to launch the single “Orangutan.” The song tells the story of a young orangutan which, following the slaughter of his parents, is kidnapped and brought to the city. The orangutan, maddened by his new environment and longing for his jungle home, turns the tables on his human captors, wreaking havoc in the city.

Navicula vocalist Gede Roby Supriyanto explains why the band chose the orangutan as the focus for its latest single: “Orangutans are one of the many animals that are threatened due to the transfer of the functions of forests in Indonesia. Orangutans will become a legend.”

As of 2008, there were less than 6,600 Sumatran orangutans remaining, down from 7,300 in 2004. According to the Sumatran Orangutan Society, “The decline of the orangutan in Borneo and Sumatra in recent years symbolizes the devastation of one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots—the lowland rainforests of Southeast Asia.”

In other words, the declining orangutan population corresponds to the loss of their habitat, a result of logging and the conversion of rainforests to palm oil plantations. In the last decade more than 9% of Kalimantan and Sumatra’s forest cover was lost.

Erik Meijaard, an ecologist who has worked in Indonesia since 1993, warns that hunting, which has largely gone unchecked by both conservationists and the government, is also a major cause for the endangerment of Indonesian animal species. Additionally, orangutan populations are threatened by the illegal pet trade and conflicts between humans and orangutans, two problems Navicula addresses in the lyrics for “Orangutan.”

Navicula joins other artists who are using the stage and media channels to advocate for orangutan conservation. In 2010 Shaggydog and Superman Is Dead performed together for a benefit concert in Yogyakarta, Konser Amal Peduli Orangutan (Charity Concert for the Care of Orangutans). Seringai frontman Arian13 has actively advocated for orangutan conservation, most frequently through his Twitter account with nearly 19,000 followers.

Upon hearing “Orangutan” for the first time this week, Arian13 responded in email correspondence, “Not many local bands are actually voicing concerns for the environment, but Navicula is a band that is active with environmental issues. This includs orangutans, which are endangered or extinction if we do not prevent it. The song also voices anger against the conditions for the orangutan, now increasingly sad: murdered by man, a case of genocide.”

Roby hopes the song will help raise awareness for the current plight of one of Indonesia’s unique species, as well as encourage the government to take action: “Our hope is for improvements in policy, power, and government control over the palm oil industry, because right now the palm oil industry has a “law” itself outside the law of the state of Indonesia. We also need tighter control to support the preservation of the environment and local economy, so that they become healthier for more local communities, the forest, and so that they are more sustainable.”

Navicula will launch “Orangutan” during the second installment of Suara Untuk Alam (Voice for the Environment), an initiative of Walhi Bali (the Bali division of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment). Suara Untuk Alam II, scheduled for 17 December at Bali Seamans’ Club in Sanur, will feature an art auction, woodcutting workshop, and performances by bands Nosstress, Geekssmile, and Navicula. Proceeds will benefit Walhi and Akarumput’s Sumatran Forest Initiative, a campaign to combat deforestation and orangutan slaughter.

For one week following Suara Untuk Alam II, “Orangutan” can be downloaded for free exclusively on Akarumput.com.

In one short year, Serambi Arts Antida has become the choice haunt for the young novice and seasoned doyen to socialize, theorize, and cultivate an already burgeoning Denpasar arts scene.

On Saturday (29/10) Serambi Arts Antida celebrates its one-year anniversary with a lineup of performing artists that suitably reflect Anom’s vision for an artistic mélange on the Serambi stage: Performers include dramatist and writer Cok Sawitri, two outstanding folk trios Nosstress and Dialog Dini Hari, 15-years-strong rockers Navicula, and several international guests, including tenacious hip hop emcee and long-term Bali resident Kamau and visiting American blues and soul guru Jim Larkin. One year ago Serambi opened its doors to local, national, and international performing and visual artists and their enthusiasts. In the last year, Serambi Arts Antida hosted some of the most talented and creative provocateurs through photograph and painting exhibitions, music album launches, education workshops, jam sessions, and poetry slams.

The cozy, open-air venue, partitioned into a warm bar and stage area and an inviting, spacious garden, is attached to the island’s best recording and production studio—and consequently boasts the best live sound mixing, a reputation which is attached to the name of the architect behind it all: Gung Anom.

Antida’s roots lie in a country thousands of miles away from Bali: Switzerland. Anom moved to Switzerland where his father was employed in order to study French, with the goal of becoming a French teacher in Bali upon his return.

But with only three months of French lessons at Alliance Francaise under his belt before settling in Europe, Anom faced an uphill battle gaining entry into Switzerland’s competitive school system. Eventually, after several months of intensive language studies, Anom managed to secure a spot at a college in Geneva, studying French and linguistics. During his studies he pursued his love of French—and met his true love and future wife.

Toward the end of his studies, Anom realized he had little interest in returning to Bali. He enjoyed his lifestyle in Switzerland, and particularly the creative community to which he had access in Geneva. He couldn’t imagine returning to Bali: a place that, to him, was still devoid of a thriving music and arts scene.

But newly married and with work and residency permits in hand, Anom now faced the hard truth that there was little he could do with a certificate to teach French as a non-native speaker living in Switzerland. “I still wanted to live in Switzerland, but I couldn’t work as a language teacher,” he explains. “My first experience in the recording studio was making coffee for the engineers and cleaning the studios,” Anom laughs. “Eventually, the engineers gave me a few lessons.”

So with no job prospects in the field of language teaching, Anom turned his attention to another: He enrolled in a state-run audio technician school and began freelancing as a sound engineer for television broadcasting, live outdoor productions, and theater. He worked everyday and attended audio theory classes once a week for two years before receiving his certificate and beginning work fulltime in sound reinforcement.

Anom opened a small, underground studio in Geneva, christened with the same name that signifies the high-end and expansive production studio now located on Jalan Waribang. He also explored other musical terrains: together with his friend, Pouney, he founded a French hip-hop duo called “Tout un Monde,” All The World. Anom was kind enough to offer a track from Anom vs Pouney for free download on Akarumput.com.

Click here to download

After thirteen years in Europe, Anom’s romanticism of life there began to wear thin, and he longed to return to the serenity he remembered in Bali. “It turns out that life in a foreign country isn’t as easy as we imagine,” Anom recalls. “Don’t think that everything there will be great. It’s actually really difficult, and I had to work so hard.” Anom and his wife left Switzerland behind and settled into Balinese life and Denpasar. “These days,” he says, “I’m much happier in Bali, much more comfortable.”

In 2004, Anom opened a tiny studio in a storefront space—the second location of Antida Studio—in front of Taman 65 on Jalan W.R. Supratman, which he subsequently filled to capacity with the audio equipment he purchased and brought back from Switzerland. He continued to freelance, mixing for live events, and he rented his studio for recording and production.

Finally, in 2007, with the help of a few wise investors, the third edition of Antida Studio opened its doors on Jalan Waribang. Antida Studio quickly gained a reputation for its international-standard recording equipment and expert recording, mixing, and mastering engineers. “The thing about sound reinforcement is that you really can’t study it in theory,” says Anom.

Today, as he nears fifteen years of experience, Anom’s services as a freelance engineer, as well as his studio, are in high demand. Balinese, national, and international recording artists ranging stylistically from hard rock and grunge to jazz, pop, world music, and gamelan have all recorded and produced albums at Antida. “Dangdut’s the only thing we haven’t recorded,” Anom says, chuckling. Anom has also sponsored and produced several artists, including Dialog Dini Hari and Nosstress. Anom says, “My dream is to start a record label under Serambi. I enjoy supporting bands who have great potential”

Anom hasn’t completely left Switzerland behind: he returns once a year to spend several days handling sound for large conferences and festivals. The time spent there—and the extra cash flow it provides—allows Anom to maintain his internationally competitive studio.

Anom has long contemplated making a more direct impact on Bali’s creative community. This desire became the impetus for breaking ground on Serambi Arts Antida. “Serambi Arts Antida is dedicated to developing and promoting contemporary art and culture of the local communities in Bali.”

He also hopes these local communities feel a sense of ownership over the space, and he is proud it has become a popular hangout, particularly for local musicians and their friends and fans. But he also wants to facilitate an experience of a wider diversity of art: “Bali has such a strong rock music scene, and that’s great,” he explains. “But I also hope young people can hear something new as well.” One of Serambi’s most popular music series has been their world music concerts. “I’m hoping that this kind of music can have a place in Denpasar, just like rock music. I want to encourage young people to hear and appreciate all kinds of music in an open, creative forum.”

With Serambi’s continued success, it seems that the creative community Anom appreciated so much in Geneva can now be found in his own backyard.

All photos by Rudi Waisnawa.

The compact Bar Luna in Ubud, Bali was packed for the opening of “Cerita dalam kaleng” last month with an unusual assortment of guests, including visiting tourists, long-term expatriate residents, Balinese painters, photographers from all over Bali and Java, and about ten prepubescent boys. This patchwork of patrons gathered to pay tribute to the oldest technique for capturing a portrait: the pinhole camera.

For the last three weeks the walls of Bar Luna have been adorned with enlarged photographs of Balinese Hindu offerings, street-side gutters, and self portraits, taken by the young students who attend Sanggar Anak Tangguh (Studio for Strong Children), a youth center founded by I Komang Adiarta and several other young educators in the village of Banjar Wangbung, Guwang in Sukawati. Students were taught the techniques for taking photographs with a pinhole camera by members of the photography collective Semut Ireng.

A pinhole camera is a simple device constructed out of a lightproof box with a small hole on one side that forms the aperture. Light passes through the aperture and projects an inverted image on the opposite side of the box. When film or photograph paper is inserted into the box, a duplicate image can be preserved. Pinhole cameras are the oldest documented devices for duplicating images and the ancestors of today’s modern cameras. Although Alhazen (Ibn Al-Haytham, who was born in the 10^th century in present-day Iraq) is credited with describing construction of the first rudimentary pinhole cameras, philosophers from China to Greece observed and documented naturally-occurring “cameras,” as light shone through the holes in a wicker basket. The first pinhole camera community in Indonesia formed in East Java in 2002.

Famed Indonesian photographer Rio Helmi also attended the event and offered some sound advice to the young photographers about the history of photography and the importance of their focus on such an art form.

Sanggar Anak Tangguh’s pinhole photographers constructed their cameras out of cans from their own rubbish bins, and Semut Ireng provided the photography paper and heavy, black tape used to cover the aperture of the can cameras. When asked how the children enjoyed taking photographs with their pinhole cameras, one boy replied, “we liked it because it was exciting, but we also didn’t like that we had to get so hot and disturb our lunch break.” The young boy was referencing the fact that pinhole cameras are most effective when used in direct sunlight.

The title of the exhibition, “Cerita dalam kaleng,” (Story inside of a can) was inspired by the concept of sending a message in a bottle, as Vifick Bolang of Semut Ireng explains. By choosing to use photography paper that must be developed in a dark room, rather than film, which will instantly produce a negative image, Vificki says “the students also learn patience and the pride that comes from the process of making something on their own.”

Sanggar Anak Tangguh was founded in 2007 by a group of educators in Sukawati. “We felt that the children’s education in schools was still lacking,” explains Adiarta, during an opening speech for the exhibition. “We want to provide them with supplemental skills.” Adiarta’s comments echo those made by Sanggar Anak Tangguh art teacher Made Bayak during the studio’s first pinhole camera exhibition at the Art Café in Seminyak two months: “The schools in our neighborhood don’t provide sufficient arts education, so we try to offer the kids classes that will make their studies more well-rounded.”

The students of Sanggar Anak Tangguh gather in the studio’s education buildings and lawn spaces every Sunday for lessons from the studio’s seven volunteers teachers in painting, music, dance, language, mathematics, and photography. In addition to this latest exhibit, the students have also prepared a massive mural in their home village.

The city of Denpasar, which is famously overcrowded, overdeveloped, and deficient of a proper waste management system, is finally seeing some much-needed eco-action at the grassroots level: In addition to the many public awareness campaigns organized by Denpasar-based Walhi (Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia, the provincial branch of the Indonesian Environmental Forum), Akarumput, in partnership with the Bali International School and Pemuda Pakisaji (the youth coalition of the neighborhood of Pakisaji), took to the streets with buckets of paint and a single objective: To provoke community pride and environmental awareness in the heart of the urban jungle.

For three days Akarumput, supported by a team of artists, mostly from the Indonesian Institute for the Arts, Denpasar campus (Institut Seni Indonesia Denpasar) and young painters from the Bali International School gathered along bustling Jalan Pakisaji off Jalan Hayam Wuruk in southern Denpasar. Together, they brightened an otherwise dingy urban street with a decidedly eco message. They created an Eco Mural spanning more than 55 meters along one of the most highly trafficked roads in southern Denpasar. Jalan Pakisaji is the main artery for a broad network of neighborhood alleys that make up Perumahan Pakisaji.

Some mural highlights included a painting depicting a clear-cut wasteland and a devilish snail toting a water hose accompanied by the words, “The Government is Late, Our Forests are Wasted (Pemerintah Lambat, Hutan Tamat).” Another featured a modern take on mother earth, crowned with soaring skyscrapers choking the last straggling trees and flanked by two children in gas masks. Despite the gravity of its message, the mural wasn’t devoid of comic wit: One artist depicted young boys urinating on blossoming plants, capped with the slogan, “Save Water.”

Bali International School of Sanur donated the majority of the funds needed to purchase the rooftop paint used for the mural. “It’s so funny; I’ve never seen the students show such dedication during any of my lessons,” BIS instructor Kayti Denham explained, laughing. “They’re really getting the point of community action.”

Made Bayak, a Tampak Siring native, guitarist for hard rock band Geekssmile, and art instructor for Sanggar Anak Tangguh in Sukawati painted his portion of the mural with his five-year-old son, Damar. Bayak just wrapped a mural project with S.O.S., the Sumatran Orangutan Society, based in Ubud, Bali.

Pemuda Pakisaji were instrumental in the completion of the mural. Not only did they help provide production support, traffic control, and food and drinks for the artists; they also spent the three days before the artists arrived picking up all of the rubbish along the road to make it clean and ready for refurbishing.

“The main goal of an event like this,” explains Gede Robi Supriyanto, event coordinator for Akarumput and contributing artist for the mural, “is to make our neighors proud of where they live so that they’ll want to take care of it.” Robi also hopes that the mural, which has drawn a lot of attention from passersby commuting from work on their motorbikes, will slow down traffic around a dangerous blind curve on the road.

Farabi Music School, which is located on Jalan Pakisaji, also lent its support by providing equipment and performance space for an evening of live performances on the final day of activities.

While artists returned to Jalan Pakisaji over the next few days to add final touches to their work, the main program concluded Sunday night with plenty of arak, delicious fresh fish and plecing kangkung provided by Ibu Ngurah’s warung, and music performances by bands organized by Farabi, as well as hard rock bands Navicula and Geekssmile. Guna Qupitt of Nosstress, who is preparing for the launch of the band’s first album on 14 October at Serambi Arts Antida, also made a guest appearance.

All photos by Rudi Waisnawa.

In honor of the autumnal equinox, yoga practitioners throughout the world united for a weekend of yoga and charity fundraising in an event called the Global Yoga Mala Project. Here in Bali, the Yoga Barn and Taksu co-hosted a weekend of events in Ubud, Saturday and Sunday, 24^th and 25^th September, in support of local charities.

The Global Yoga Mala project was founded by American yoga instructor Shiva Rea as a way for yoga studios, ashrams, and foundations all over the world to join together for a collective yoga practice, organized around the sacred number 108. Mala refers to the 108 beads strung in a garland and used by many Hindu and Buddhist practitioners for prayer and the recitation of mantras. Participating organizations in the Global Yoga Mala Project often conduct 108 mantra recitations, kriyas or cleansing practices, or rounds of suryanamaskar (the salute to the sun: a series of twelve asanas or bodily gestures practiced at dawn and dusk by devotees as a way to give thanks for the life-giving sun). Held annually, Global Yoga Mala individual events are usually held in support of an environmental or social cause or to raise funds for a local charity.

Global Yoga Mala events at the Yoga Barn included a Hindu invocation and opening and closing ceremonies by Uma Inder, 108 rounds of suryanamaskar, Tibetan bowl meditation lead by Novara Soeharto, flying yoga (a lighthearted practice involving partner balancing asanas), and relaxing restorative yoga. In addition to 108 sun salutations, Taksu’s events included 108 recitations of the Aum mantra, tantra yoga, and meditation classes, as well as discounts on massage or spa services throughout the day’s activities.

The Yoga Barn and Taksu each pledged their support of local organizations: Proceeds from the Yoga Barn benefited the Bali Spirit Festival’s education outreach initiative Ayo! Kita Bicara HIV dan AIDS (Hey, Let’s Talk About HIV and AIDS), which has been instrumental in introducing their EduSpirit workshops for HIV/AIDS education in local high schools throughout Bali. Using an interactive and communicative approach, Ayo! workshop facilitators offer students an open dialogue workshop format to encourage free expression about HIV/AIDS and practicing safe sex, without the risk of social stigma.

Participants at Taksu’s Global Yoga Mala events helped to raise funds for Yayasan Bumi Sehat (Foundation for a Healthy Mother Earth), a non-profit, village-based organization that runs two by-donation community health centers in Bali and Aceh, Indonesia. This year, Bumi Sehat founder Robin Lim was selected as a CNN Hero by the news organization based in the United States. She is currently competing against nine other finalists for the title of “Hero of the Year.” If Lim wins, Bumi Sehat will be awarded a total of USD $250,000 to build a greatly needed new clinic. Supporters can vote for Lim here.

Denpasar-based rock band Geekssmile takes a shot at mindless patriotism with their latest single, “Indonesia.”

Geekssmile launched their latest single, “Indonesia (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah),” in late August to a packed Twice Bar in Kuta, supported by punk band Devildice and grunge/psychedelic rock outfit Navicula. The small venue was filled to capacity with fans of the three bands. By the time Geekssmile took the stage fans had overwhelmed the floor-level stage area, nearly toppling over mic stands and amplifiers and forming a raucous mosh pit in the center of the bar.

“Indonesia,” an instant crowd favorite at the Twice Bar launch, marks a stylistic turning point for the group, who have pared down their lineup to one frontman and moved on from Indonesian hardcore (reminiscent of American rap/rock), in favor of a combination of heavy metal and progressive rock. The single comes on the heels of the 2010 release of Geekssmile’s second studio album, Upeti Untuk Macan Indonesia (A Tribute to the Asian Tiger), which was highly praised in national underground scenes and the music press.

Geekssmile’s lineup and sound have changed since their formation in 2001, when they played mostly Rage Against the Machine and other rap/metal covers in local rock festivals. After the 2004 release of their first full-length album, Jurnal untuk Perang Indonesia (Journal of Indonesia’s Wars), the band became active in Bali’s underground scene, playing alongside some of the island’s best-known rock acts. Since their recording debut, Geekssmile have gained notoriety for the radical criticism embedded in their lyrics. The band offers scathing critique of national and global social, economic, and political problems.

Their latest effort, “Indonesia,” takes a shot at mindless patriotism. Geekssmile vocalist Prima explains, “many people feel that this is a nationalistic song, but in a good way.” Rather than joining other pop bands that have recorded overtly patriotic songs celebrating Indonesia, Geekssmile’s song takes a critical look at how nationalism can blind its citizens to social injustices: “We’re not really proud of this country because we’ve never felt secure and peaceful in our own land. So for us this song is a criticism of the people who are actually running this country. Prima hopes “Indonesia” will command attention like a slap in the face: “Where other songs try to make you feel at ease, we will slap you. We are trying to make you realize what kind of world we live in. What kind of state we live in now.”

Geekssmile launched “Indonesia” as part of a concert put on by Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia (WALHI, the Indonesian Environmental Forum) to raise awareness about the infamous Bali International Park (BIP). BIP is a huge infrastructure planned for construction to accommodate the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit to be held in Bali in 2013. Walhi has publicly rejected BIP, pointing to violations of the province’s own master spatial plan.

“Indonesia” is available for free download here:

Lyrics “Indonesia” by Geekssmile:
(English translation,click here to read the Indonesian lyrics)

See this land through my eyes, not only red and white
There is black gravel asphalt, a history of silencing

Running to collide with reality, your mouth chews the stigma
Fall over the choices that are squeezed from our womb

Open your eyes

Pay your banker, pay your prostitute, pay your bookie; die again
Mortgage life, mortgage your land, sell the commodities as a hoax
This sound will reverberate when the trumpet arrives
This time the choice is yours, it’s slash and boundaries
I, if you

Chasing the shadow of a destiny that is not yours
Race toward the hope that rests in the idol called “country.”

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Indonesia, yeah, yeah, yeah.