The World Underground is moving to Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Hey.  Hope you are well.

The time has come to move this project to Indonesia. I will be starting a short film "dispatch" series. This was supposed to happen last year, and after many delays, it's once again time to take a giant, terrifying leap into the unknown.

The goal will be to release short films at least once per month, while I work on the feature length documentaries. Write more. Expand the scope from music, onward to arts and culture issues.  Indonesia is a vast and ultra-compelling area.  

In June, I will move to Yogyakarta, and use it as an editing and launching pad. Their art and music scene is an absolute gem itself, and I've wanted to move there since my first visit 4 years ago.

Essentially, the new leg of this project will begin the second I leave Northeast China, when I will follow a short tour with a Chengdu, Sichuan based band Hiperson, who you should know by now. After I get settled in Yogyakarta, I will go back to America for the first time in 3 years, mail the perks for this fundraiser, kiss my parents, and then begin editing the first short film. Bringing this project into the full-time realm, and visiting places like Borneo, Sabah, Taiwan, and fringe scenes along the way is going to expand the way I run this project, and should be endlessly exciting.

I am raising funds to do this the right way.  You can grab art from Tony Cheung, record packs with music across Asia, and more. Your money will spread across everything touched, paying for translators, gig covers, supporting local scenes through fundraiser perks and beyond.

Please consider donating: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-world-underground-dispatch-series/x/101516#/

Thanks so much.

-Yingling

Seahoarse : Live in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

While we were in Jogja, Indonesia, I came across something to sooth my rattled nerves caused by all those motorbike rides, harsh noise, and brutal punk rock.  They're called Seahoarse.  The band brings in chilled out, poppy songs that'll stick in your head for days.  Particularly the slow-burning "Submarine", which we'll likely use to the footage of for Episode 4 of the film project.  Seahoarse is a relatively new band, and this recording is only their 2nd show ever, so I'm interested to see where they go from here.  They're also ridiculously nice people, who came out to almost every gig I saw while spending a month in Java.  Perfect stuff to soak up all that coffee and sun if you're ever in Central Java. 

You can head to the band's Soundcloud page above, or cruise over to the bandcamp and listen to a live recording of their set at Suave Bar.

Death to wussy hardcore!

Death to wussy hardcore. These kids get it, and they're not messing around. Last night's show was a nice mix, and they took over a dusty concrete parking garage near the university to do it. Skate punk. Psyche. I raised a few eyebrows at Energy Nuclear, who refreshingly went from tapping to doom in a few seconds. It was Cloudburst who started the circle pit. Gnarly, vicious, and even though there were just a few dozen kids, they got spinning quickly. A serious breath of fresh air to have Indra and Made grab the mic, scream along like they need it to keep breathing.

Focused mostly on video, though dual wielding long enough to snap this. The fear though, man. Flailing limbs and concrete. Always careful. A great night. Hell of a few weeks coming. Good to be back.

"TO DIE"

"TO DIE." Jogja. Indra Menus' collaborative noise project. Supposedly constantly changing form, members, and sound. It's all an experiment. A show with Made Dharma 's hardcore / grind jam Warmouth, who played last because they're "too loud" and were cut short near the end due to neighborhood complaints. Happens everywhere. 

Gisela Swaragita and Seahoarse brought some refreshing reverb pop style stuff that'll mix great with all of this chaos. Today was a travel day.

We trekked clear across Java, south of Jakarta, to a city called Bogor. Saturday, there's a 12 band bill. A birthday party, for a baby...named Nirvana.

Nobody thinks this is as funny as we do.

Halo, Bogor. I like you already

Lintang the Wizard

Jogja. Indra Menus and Hendra pick me up, and it's a short motorbike ride south to Kasongan Village. Our first stop, the Kenalirangkai Pakai headquarters, where Lintang Radittya crafts "Javanese Modulars".

We chat about Javanese culture and Islam as his little girl curiously runs around. The synth building crew in Java has strong bonds, and seriously unique, intense, inspiring creations. Afterwards, we zip to Andreas and Budi's lab called lifepatch. They screw around with 8-bit synths built out of Nintendo cartridges, tin containers. Indra adds the names of collaborators on these machines, right next to the dials.

Java's crafting of these is a lot more clean lines, less of the insane mutant meat-grinder stuff in Surabaya. They all watch each other, though. Thanks for a rad day, all! Tomorrow : Noise bombing the street.

Jogja, Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta. Jogja. Whatever you choose to call it, I already like it here. It's the only region in Indonesia headed by a monarchy. Indra Menus meets up with me. He's an archival nerd after my own heart, compiling a backlog of recordings I know all too well.

This is another important hub of noise kids, building synths out of Nintendo's, found and made objects, whatever they can make work. We walk around the central market area, and end at a coffee shop ran by his friend. The amount of dark spaces here that house expertly crafted products amazes me. You just have to know where to look. I finally meet Lintang Radittya, who makes something he calls the "Javanese Modular". Great conversations. Heavy week coming.