A Yes No Wave label showcase, featuring performances by:
Gabber Modus Operandi
Rani Jambak
Linsey Wellman
presented with support from SAW
plus video works by:
Natasha Tontey
Riar Rizaldi
presented with support from Artengine
Curated by Aki Onda and Wok the Rock
Meet the avant-garde of Indonesia's underground in this showcase of experimental music and video.
A touring showcase of music and video works from Indonesia represented by the Yes No Wave Music label run by the interdisciplinary artist and producer Wok the Rock. The Ottawa concert will feature live performances by Gabber Modus Operandi, Rani Jambak, and J. "Mo'ong" Santoso Pribadi, plus a local artist to-be-announced. Plus, in partnership with Artengine, video works by Natasha Tontey and Riar Rizaldi, will be screened prior to the concert.
The Yes No Wave tour is presented in partnership with, and with gratitude to, Send + Receive Festival, Winnipeg; Music Gallery, Toronto; Art in the Margins, Montréal; and Western Front, Vancouver between Oct 12 – 19, 2023. thanks to the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts and Ontario Creates.
+ Communal meal prepared by Djakarta Taste
Purchase a dinner ticket add-on for $15 + fees to join us for a meal of mie goreng (Indonesian fried noodles) with your choice of meat, shrimp or vegan. Pre-order is required. See Eventbrite ticket options above to purchase.
Schedule
5:00-6:30 pm - screening of works by Natasha Tontey and Riar Rizaldi (FREE) in Artengine
7:00-8:00 pm - Communal meal: mie goreng (Indonesian noodles)* from Djakarta Taste in Artengine
8:00-11:00 pm - performances by Gabber Modus Operandi, Rani Jambak and Linsey Wellman in Club SAW
*add-on dinner ticket required
Based in the Javanese cultural hub Yogyakarta, Yes No Wave Music is an online label and platform to nurture Indonesian artists and promote their activities internationally. Founded by Wok the Rock in 2007, the label is run with a DIY ethos to build a post-capitalist alternative to music industry norms. All music on the label is free to download, distribute, and even remix, reflecting the Indonesian social value of sharing communal resources, and the necessity for artists to develop their activities in spite of nominal government support and funding. In 2010, Wok and Timothy O’Donoghue initiated the monthly concert series Yes No Club traveling throughout Southeast Asia and beyond. He subsequently co-curated Nusasonic in 2018-2022. These efforts fostered the international success of artists such as Senyawa, Gabber Modus Operandi, Raja Kirik, and Asep Nayak.
Since moving to Yogyakarta to study graphic design as a teenager, Wok’s cultural activism has continued to grow over the past two decades. He co-founded art space Ruang MES 56, curated the Biennale Jogja XIII in 2015, and organized numerous community art projects. This informs his unique interdisciplinary practice of crossing boundaries of music and visual art.
Curated by Aki Onda and Wok the Rock.
About the artists
Photo by Denny Novikar
Gabber Modus Operandi is the duo of DJ/producer Kasimyn and artist/fashion designer Ican Harem, based in Bali, Indonesia. The group was founded following a fad staging at an underground punk concert in Denpasar, Indonesia. Their experimentation began with an obsession for the energy and intensity of Jathilan, gabber, dangdut koplo, ebeg, funkot, Chicago footwork, grindcore, and noise dance cultures, and the community parties in Indonesia’s smaller cities.
Rani Jambak is a composer, producer, and vocalist of Minangkabau descent from Medan, Indonesia. Through electronic music and soundscapes, Jambak’s work explores ecology, identity, and the socio-cultural relationship between humans and their ancestors. Her practice has also involved collaborating with Indonesian environmental organizations PPLH Borok and Orangutan Haven on ecological sound projects.
Wok The Rock is an artist, curator, music producer, and cultural activist born in Madiun, Indonesia, and based in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Working across the fields of contemporary art, design, and underground music, Wok’s practice focuses on experimenting with collective space. In addition to running the non-profit online label Yes No Wave Music, Wok curates the experimental music concert series Yes No Klub, is a member of the Yogyakarta-based artist collective Ruang MES 56, and is a founder of the Indonesia Netaudio Forum.