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Abstract: This article, based on 15 years of interviews and interactions with the band, investigates the career and musical development of Krakatau, a unique jazz/ethnic fusion group from West Java, Indonesia. We highlight in particular statements about the band's musical philosophy and approach by its leader Dwiki Dharmawan and bassist/ cofounder Pra Budidharma. An analysis of two of Krakatau s instrumental songs reveals a band rooted in electric jazz composition and improvisation with a commitment to traditional Sundanese instrumentation, timbres, and perf ormance practice.
Artikel ini, berdasarkan wawancara dan interaksi selama 15 tahun dengan anggota Group Band Krakatau-suatu fusi group band jazz/etnik yang unik di Jawa Barat, Indonesia-meneliti karir dan pengembangan musik mereka. Kami menyoroti secara khusus pernyataan-pernyataan tentang falsafah musik dan pendekatan mereka dari pemimpinnya, Dwiki Dharmawan dan pemain bas Pra Budidharma, salah seorang pendiri group band itu. Suatu analisa dari dua buah komposisi lagu instrumental Krakatau menunjukkan bahwagroup band itu berakar dari komposisi dan improvisasi jazz elektrik dengan suatu komitmen mengetrapkan instrumentasi, timbre dan pagelaran tradisional Sunda.
Introduction
Without your roots, there is no tree
Let me tell you that your culture is the key!
It got you this far, can't you see?
What will it take for you to believe me?
-"Dance to Your Roots" from the album Mystical Mist (1994)
This essay analyzes the recordings, videos, and live performances of Krakatau (see fig. 1), a unique ethnic jazz-fusion ensemble from West Java, Indonesia, including the group's first US tour in the summer of 2004. It draws on 15 years of interviews and interactions with the group, especially its leader, award-winning keyboardist, composer, producer, and Indonesian pop star Dwiki Dharmawan, and the group's bass guitarist Pra Budidharma, an instrumental virtuoso, author, and producer. Krakatau's music can be analyzed in relation to multiple music genre ideologies and taste hierarchies in both Indonesia and the international world music scene. This article argues, however, that Krakatau's music is best understood in the context of one of the earliest worldwide genre invasions, one that extends back to the early decades of the twentieth century: the global spread of jazz. Indonesia has long been home to an abundance of world-class jazz musicians and Krakatau's careful and compelling fusion music is perhaps the most fully realized...