Laut Loud (((~~~))) Uni Osing {S03E04}

For this third season of Laut Loud , the cultural sailing vessel Arka Kinari navigated the mangroves, muck, and megacities of Java’s northern coastline to find the most singular music. Thank you for sharing and subscribing.

------------------------------------------------------------

[ID]
Banyuwangi, di ujung timur pulau Jawa, punya reputasi pantas sebagai tempat yang tangguh. Ratusan tahun lalu, begal, pemberontak, dan siapa saja yang hendak menjauhi rayahan kolonialisme Belanda hijrah ke rawa-rawa dan hutan lebat Banyuwangi.

Kerajaan-kerajaan Jawa dan penjajah akhirnya menduduki wilayah Tapal Kuda, tetapi mereka tak pernah sungguh-sungguh menaklukkan masyarakatnya. Bekas kerajaan Blambangan, nama mereka dulu, menginterpretasikan ulang sejarah penjajah mereka, mempertahankan bahasa mereka yang unik, dan mengembangkan praktik budaya tersendiri yang terinspirasi namun berbeda dengan wilayah Jawa lainnya.

Bahkan kini, penduduk ujung timur Jawa dikenal sebagai orang-orang Osing – kata yang bermakna, “mereka yang berkata tidak.”

Bunyi riuh hadrah kuntulan adalah ritme perlawanan mereka, sebuah tradisi yang dipertahankan dan dimaknai ulang oleh orkes lokal Uni Osing. Lagu-lagu tentang kasih sayang, mantra kepada leluhur, dan melodi pujaan yang elegan melantun dengan ritme drum yang saling peluk dan suara rancak biola.

Uni Osing memainkan musik yang sama menantang, tanpa kompromi, dan tak terhentikan seperti Banyuwangi itu sendiri. Namun di balik spektakel pertunjukan mereka, ada rasa haru yang berat. Sebab hanya sebulan sebelum video ini dirilis, kru kami menerima kabar bahwa pak Buang, pemain biola dan paitua kelompok ini, telah meninggal dunia.

Kami merasa terhormat karena pak Buang dan kelompoknya telah mempercayakan kami untuk mendokumentasikan dan menyiarkan salah satu rekaman pertunjukan terakhir semasa beliau masih hidup.

[EN]
Banyuwangi, the far eastern tip of Java, has earned a reputation for fierceness. Hundreds of years ago, bandits, dissidents, and anyone else wanting to avoid the expanding Dutch colonialism fled to Banyuwangi's marshes and thick jungles.

Javanese kingdoms and the Dutch eventually reached the regions around Banyuwangi, but never truly conquered the people. The Blambangan, as they were once known, reinterpreted their overlord's histories, retained their unique dialect, and developed a local cultural practice, inspired but distinct from anywhere else in Java.

Even today, the residents of Java's far eastern tip are known as the Osing people -- a term literally meaning "The Naysayers."

The furious din of hadrah kuntulan is their rhythm of their resistance – a tradition preserved and interpreted here by local group Uni Osing. Songs of love, mantras recalling their ancestors, and elegant melodies of praise are accompanied by frantic interlocking drums and careening violins.

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. A month before this video was released, our crew received news that pak Buang, the violinist and elder statesman of the group, had passed away.

We feel honored that pak Buang and his group has entrusted us to document and release one of the last recordings of his performance during his lifetime.

------------------------------------------------------------

LAUT LOUD is a series of online concerts aboard the cultural sailing vessel Arka Kinari. On each sailing season, the crew collaborates with local musicians and filmmakers to archive underground, avant-garde, and traditional sounds from barely charted ports around Indonesia.

ARKA KINARI is a floating cultural platform to sound the alarm on climate change and build networks of resilience in coastal communities. Traveling by sail and powered by renewable energy, it is both method and message. Laut Loud Season three was made possible with the support of Liminous Foundation.

In ports Arka Kinari transforms into a stage for a bespoke audiovisual performance by the artists Filastine & Nova, as well as hosting workshops, talks, and concerts by local musicians. Arka Kinari has sailed over thirty thousand nautical miles, stopped in twenty-three nations, and is currently touring her home waters of the Indonesian archipelago.

Support Arka Kinari   / arkakinari