Amrih Widodo and Ariel Heryanto. Photo by James Giggacher.
New beats for old sounds on the island of Java are redefining and reviving local identities, writes JAMES GIGGACHER. The ghettoes of Los Angeles and New York's concrete jungle are a million miles from the rice fields, tropical jungles and smoking volcanoes of Java. But if you listen carefully you'll hear a beat on the streets of the Indonesian island which echoes a staple of urban culture in both American megacities - hip hop. The artists don't rap about police 'whirly birds' watching their every move from the sky, drug deals gone wrong or drive-by shootings. Their music is about everyday life on the Indonesian island. One of Indonesia's most infamous and popular hip hop groups is the Jogja Hip Hop Foundation (JHF) - a collection of activists and artists from the Javanese city of Yogyakarta. The group's work is like a sonic nasi goreng, a hodgepodge of familiar ingredients mixed in with local fare.
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