Recommended: Batavia Collective Bring the Swag to Modern Jazz
It’s always a good day when interesting new artists pop up on your radar with great music. This week’s star find is Batavia Collective. The Jakarta-based trio bring the swag to modern jazz. Their stunning new track Affirmation smothers laidback jazz sensibilities with a blanket of velvet-soft electronica and subtle drum & bass rhythms.
Batavia Collective is Elfa Zulhan on drums, Doni Joesran on keys and Kenny Gabriel on synth bass. Seasoned musicians, the lads initially played covers of known hip-hop and soul songs before developing their own unique style. Patched together through jams and improv sessions, their sound is inspired by an eclectic mix of influences and genres. The band themselves find it hard to pigeon-hole the music they make.
Purpose
“In our hometown of Jakarta we were often asked what kind of jazz this is. To tell you the truth, we don’t know. We don’t even know if our music can be considered jazz or not. We create the music through jamming and afterwards we vote on certain compositions together. In the end, the purpose is mainly to have fun.”
Free-Spirited
For Affirmation, Batavia Collective called upon R&B singer Kamga for vocals and his smooth melodies glide atop the trio’s free-spirited sonics. Out now on R&S Records, Affirmation is Batavia Collective’s calling card. Listen to the track below.
Exploration
Earlier this year, Batavia Collective performed for the Goethe Institut Indonesia’s acclaimed Alur Bunyi 2021 concert series. Curated this year by composer, music arranger, producer and performer Adra Karim, the concert series gives musicians and artists “ample room for musical exploration”. The band described their set as “a tribute to the place that shaped our music sonically – the uncompromising and hard-hitting streets of Jakarta”. Check out the full performance below (skip straight to 4.41” where the performance starts).
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