Formed in Amsterdam, psych-folk ensemble Nusantara Beat’s music explores the group’s shared Indonesian heritage. “We all have the same roots,” says percussionist Gino Groeneveld, who forms the sextet alongside his brother, drummer Sonny Groeneveld, vocalist Megan de Klerk, guitarist Jordy Sanger, guitarist-keyboardist Rouzy Portier and bassist Michael Joshua. While Joshua was born in West Java, before moving to the Netherlands at 15, the rest of the band members were all born and raised in the low-lying country, either as second- or third-generation Dutch Indonesians.
“Me and Sonny were raised with lots of Indonesian music culture,” continues Gino. “Because my mum, who grew up here [in the Netherlands], went through this discovery process in her twenties and found out about this whole other part of her heritage.”
Nusantara Beat sprang forth from the Dutch capital’s rich music scene – its members were previously part of such musically diverse groups as indie-rockers EUT, electro-krautrock act Jungle by Night and the Turkish psych ensemble Altin Gün. They formed the band as a deliberate way for each member to delve deeper into their shared cultural lineage. “Jordy and Sonny were always talking about how fun it would be to start a krontjong [traditional Indonesian] band and play for the elderly. Rouzy and Michael, who were studying together at the time, had also been thinking about starting an Indonesian band for a while. When Rouzy and Jordy began hanging out together, they quickly realised, ‘Oh, we both have the same idea!’” After Sonny asked brother Gino to join, they completed the line-up with the addition of Megan.
The decision to sing in Indonesian was the next bold step as the group began to play live, initially covering classic Indonesian songs. “Not all of us speak the language fluently,” explains Gino. “Especially for Megan – it was a scary thing in the beginning doing those covers. When we started writing songs, she wrote in English and, during the writing process, with help from Michael and Rouzy, we translated it into Indonesian and found ways to convey the metaphors she wanted, as well as the rhyme and rhythmic cadence. We could have sung in English, but [this] was something we wanted to learn and explore.”
Following the release of a series of covers that paid tribute to Sundanese pop, the group’s self-titled debut album features 11 original songs written by the band. These vivid fusions, collectively melding psych rock, folk, surf music and funk with a range of Indonesian styles and instrumentation, add to the thrilling sense of exploration on the record. Javanese and Balinese gamelan percussion add rhythmic inspiration to groove-heavy tracks like ‘Di Pantai’ and colour the surf rock guitars of ‘Ke Masa Lalu’. ‘Kalangkang’ offers a fresh, effervescent take on Sundanese pop while the elegant ballad ‘Cinta Itu Menyakitkan’ finds Megan de Klerk communing with piano, kecapi (zither) and kendang (Balinese drum).
While the group have attracted notice throughout Europe for their brilliant live shows, they have also gained a strong following in Indonesia: “We’ve had such a warm response”, says Gino. “Getting that recognition from them – it’s very validating.” As for the future? “I feel there’s lots still to discover. The plan was [that], after the album, we’d maybe focus one month on dangdut, and then onto islands like Java and Sumatra, and on to Bali, Kalimantan, finding styles, sounds or instrumentation that interest us, combining it with what we can play, and how we play. We want to go to Southeast Asia a lot more as a band, too. It would be great to travel around, go to places and get lessons in certain musical styles.” From: https://www.songlines.co.uk/content/features/introducing-nusantara-beat
