Indonesian music long forgotten, from pop and rock to traditional sounds, digitised for younger generations to appreciate their past
- The archival project Irama Nusantara has so far digitised more than 4,000 recordings dating back to the 1920s, which are streamed for free on its website
- The recordings provide snapshots of Indonesian history that help youngsters appreciate their heritage, project’s founders say
Seven passionate record collectors are helping to preserve long-forgotten Indonesian music of the 20th century with their archival project Irama Nusantara, Indonesian for “rhythm of the archipelago”.
So far they have digitised more than 4,000 recordings, which are being streamed for free on their website for a new generation of fans.
The project’s seven founders – Alvin Yunata, David Tarigan, Christoforus Priyonugroho, Toma Avianda, Norman Illyas, Mayumi Haryoto, and Dian “Onno” Wulandari – all have a musical background of some kind, including owning independent record stores, founding independent labels and playing in bands.
Yunata and Tarigan, both 43, launched Irama Nusantara after running into each other multiple times on Jakarta’s Jalan Surabaya (Surabaya Street), where old records are sold. They discussed how a number of labels from the US and Europe were reissuing local recordings for international listeners.
“By 2010, it became a thing for the international collectors community to acquire Indonesian records,” Yunata says. “We talked about whether those labels were actually paying for the rights, and also the irony that the music was loved abroad but barely recognised by Indonesians.” Three years later, they officially registered Irama Nusantara as a non-profit foundation.
