Raja Kirik - Rampokan
| Artist: | Raja Kirik |
| Rating: | |
| Genres: | Post-Industrial |
| Released: | 2020 |
| Type: | Album |
| Label: | Yes No Wave Music |
| Link: | Bandcamp |
Jaranan, appeared in 1041 during the short-lived era of the Hindu-Buddhist kingdom Kahuripan. According to one of the oral histories, there was a king who held a fight contest, the prize was to become the husband of his daughter. The knights and nobles enlist themselves, but there is an ordinary person among them, Pujangga Anom or Bujang Ganong. Bujang Ganong won the battles. He has not killed the knight he defeated, instead forced them to join his parade towards the palace. This triumphal parade was later adopted into the art of horse dance, Jaranan. Of course, this could not have happened, ordinary people could not have asked the king's daughter, even in a fair competition. Jaranan rolled over the question of class differences, the relationship between the common people and the ruler....
In the dance, Bujang Ganong's victory was his agility in evading, running and attacking from behind when the enemy was off guard. Bujang Ganong is a symbol of common people, using strategic ways to overcome the rulers or greater opponents.
For more than a millennium, Jaranan (also commonly called Jathilan) is still actively practicing until today. Although it has many variants and derivatives, in general, Jaranan tells the story of a horse troop or a group of knights that fight for the sake of justice; against the demon, bandit, to the corrupted regime. Besides dance, Jaranan encompasses various acts such as immune to weapons, immune to pain, acrobatic movements, and the most important is trance or possessed by the spirit of mythical creatures. While most of Javanese believe in supernatural things, this is the way to declare the local power, that their area is guarded by strong spiritual power.
Raja Kirik's Album "Rampokan" is a transcendental journey that was driven by the history of cultural resistance in Java. Musically, this album is inspired by the trance chapter in the Jaranan performance, or the stage where the Jaranan players are getting possessed. This stage is an ancient design that was built through ritual procession, dance and music. It triggered a certain frequency that can connect a dancer or even an audience to their subconscious mind/condition, including their own body history to collective memory/trauma.
The term "rampokan" is taken from “Rampokan Macan”, a public spectacle or gladiator arena that presents a fight between Javanese tiger and buffalo, criminal, and a group of spear army. Lasting from the 17th to early 20th centuries, this brutality was intended to demonstrate the political power of the Javanese Royal Kingdoms, which in that time were overshadowed by the Dutch East Indies government.
The album proceeds remotely where J. Moong Santoso Pribadi in Vilnius, Lithuania and Yennu Ariendra in Yogyakarta, Indonesia during the coronavirus pandemic (March-June 2020).
released June 19, 2020
In the dance, Bujang Ganong's victory was his agility in evading, running and attacking from behind when the enemy was off guard. Bujang Ganong is a symbol of common people, using strategic ways to overcome the rulers or greater opponents.
For more than a millennium, Jaranan (also commonly called Jathilan) is still actively practicing until today. Although it has many variants and derivatives, in general, Jaranan tells the story of a horse troop or a group of knights that fight for the sake of justice; against the demon, bandit, to the corrupted regime. Besides dance, Jaranan encompasses various acts such as immune to weapons, immune to pain, acrobatic movements, and the most important is trance or possessed by the spirit of mythical creatures. While most of Javanese believe in supernatural things, this is the way to declare the local power, that their area is guarded by strong spiritual power.
Raja Kirik's Album "Rampokan" is a transcendental journey that was driven by the history of cultural resistance in Java. Musically, this album is inspired by the trance chapter in the Jaranan performance, or the stage where the Jaranan players are getting possessed. This stage is an ancient design that was built through ritual procession, dance and music. It triggered a certain frequency that can connect a dancer or even an audience to their subconscious mind/condition, including their own body history to collective memory/trauma.
The term "rampokan" is taken from “Rampokan Macan”, a public spectacle or gladiator arena that presents a fight between Javanese tiger and buffalo, criminal, and a group of spear army. Lasting from the 17th to early 20th centuries, this brutality was intended to demonstrate the political power of the Javanese Royal Kingdoms, which in that time were overshadowed by the Dutch East Indies government.
The album proceeds remotely where J. Moong Santoso Pribadi in Vilnius, Lithuania and Yennu Ariendra in Yogyakarta, Indonesia during the coronavirus pandemic (March-June 2020).
released June 19, 2020
Editions:
2020
Original Release
Yes No Wave Music
| YESNO097
| Digital
| 01. | Bujang Ganong | (11:50) | |
| 02. | Barongan I | (4:32) | |
| 03. | Barongan II | (3:22) | |
| 04. | Barongan III | (3:35) | |
| 05. | Tarian Maut Dari Gunung | (3:54) | |
| 06. | Tanah Prahara | (12:51) | |
| 07. | Rampokan I | (4:10) | |
| 08. | Rampokan II | (6:30) | |
| 09. | Kubro | (6:46) | |
| 10. | DOR | (8:11) |