On The Lookout: Musical Acts to Watch Out in 2019
As 2019 has opened its chapter, our team has been gushing about some new or upcoming acts that are predicted to make a huge impact this year. Last year, some of our predictions came through with Sal Priadi getting recognition from J-town, Murphy Radio breaking barriers as they tour across Java and beyond, Fletch making a breakthrough as their single surpassed 1 million streams on Spotify, as well as Marigold who has just been announced as one of the contenders of Lalala Fest 2019’s music submission finalists. This year we have expanded our horizons to see some talented acts beyond our preferred genre. These are some names that you might want to memorize first, just in case they blew up later this year. As it is only a mere prediction from mortals, you can’t trust us 100%, right? Okay, here we go…
- Pamungkas
This guy has popped up on our radars since late 2018, and with his single “I Love You but I’m Letting Go”, Pamungkas offers a blend of electronic, pop, folk, and R&B. With one album in the bag, Pamungkas also showcases an urban approach to sentimental feelings. Some of his lyrics can be considered cheesy, but it’s that kind of forgivable cheesiness since he creates an atmospheric landscape with the background music. It’s like listening to Bam Mastro, Toro Y Moi, and James Blake in a form of a friendly looking Indonesian guy. Listen to “Walk The Talk” to warm up your ears to his music…
- Rahmania Astrini
Her songs like “It’s Amazing” or “Menua Bersama” have been gaining heavy radio airplay in major cities. Rahmania Astrini already made a huge accomplishment in 2018 and she was also appointed as one of Indonesian representative for Deezer NEXT. Throughout the year, the singer only released singles, so it’s understandable that her listeners beg for more. In 2019, if she releases a great debut album (preferably a full-length one), she could become a household name that will continue the legacy of her predecessors in pop music like Isyana Sarasvati or Yura Yunita. Oh, did we mention that she has a nice soulful timbre? Listen to her songs here.
Semarang should be proud that they have a singer as good as Sade Susanto. The soloist who belongs under a music collective named HILLS Collective has released an LP this year called “Checkpoint”. Her name might not be familiar to you as of yet, but your Spotify Discover Weekly might say otherwise. Her single “The Man Who Has Hurt Me” has been included in various Spotify playlists until it reaches more than 75,000 streams as we’re writing down this article. With the help of her collective who is actively seeking major gigs and publications, Sade Susanto could capture your hearts in an instant with her laid-back R&B tunes.
Post-rock is a niche market, not everyone wants to indulge in a 5 minutes instrumental piece without lyrics. However, Niskala offers a solution in which we admire. They fuse visual and motions to their songs and recently they also revealed their first full-length LP “Hourglass”. If this album can be enjoyed in both digital and physical formats, more people will acknowledge the soothing tunes that can be resulted from Niskala’s guitars, xylophones, and effects.
Sundancer had a hella year in 2018 with their EP “Musim Bercinta” as well as a tour across Java. Considering they put all of their efforts into making more music and crazy live performances this year, Sundancer could be Mataram’s latest music export. Plus, their songs are very easy to sing along to and crowd surfs are also guaranteed in every gig they are in. Enjoy what they got to offer on their EP here.
Bandung always offers a soft spot for pop musicians and this year should belong to Ping Pong Club. Starting out rather shaky with their debut single “Venetian Blinds” early last year, Ping Pong Club turns it all around with their second release “Skylight”. Their combination of sweet pop tunes and synths will permeate your playlist in no time. With some major improvements on their visual aspect and branding, as well as an album on the way, Ping Pong Club could be Bandung’s latest craze. Listen to their new single “Ecstatic” on your favorite digital streaming services.
The demand for lo-fi jazz-hop tunes isn’t dying anytime soon, so RL + Klav have a huge shot in making it big this year. “Basic” EP is the proof of their delicate approach to the genre. We hope to see them more on live shows, so they could gain major experience and use it to introduce their music to a wider mass. Listen to “Lover” to start your listening experience of RL + Klav and watch the video as well!
- Tashoora
Tashoora is a pop-band hailing from Yogyakarta. Combining pop music with folk elements, Dita Permatas (vocal, accordion, keyboard), Danu Wardhana (violin), Danang (vocal, acoustic guitar), Sasi (electric guitar), Gusti Arirang (vocal, bass) and Mahesa Santoso (drum) from Tashoora charmed with their musical appeal. Recently they have been signed under JUNI Records, a record label that houses Raisa, Kunto Aji, and Ramengvrl. So we expect something big coming out of them this year, we’re rooting for you Tashoora! Listen to their live EP “Ruang” here.
- Pemuda Sinarmas
Diskopantera is so 2018 and Diskoria have been everywhere last year, so let us introduce you to the latest tune spinner, Pemuda Sinarmas. Also known as Aziz, Pemuda Sinarmas utilizes cassette tapes as his medium to spin his favorite old records. As a cassette tapes jockey, Pemuda Sinarmas creates a nostalgic ambiance for his listeners with combinations of multiple genres like dangdut, disco, pop, as well as rock. You should come to one of his gigs to know what we’re talking about. He’s about to take over the dancefloor in 2019! Check out his social media to know about his latest gig.
- Rasvan Aoki
We think “Tyaga” can be a solid asset for Rasvan Aoki to take over 2019. The duo hailing from Surabaya combines ska, reggae, and jazz music accompanied by Aoki’s lovely vocal tone. Gaining pretty solid digital streams for their song “Rindu” and coverage from Sunyata Session make this act becomes one of our bets to make it big in 2019. All they need is to put out more visuals and perform on bigger stages. Take a look at “Rindu” music video here.
Malang always gives a warm welcome to its folk musicians, starting from Wake Up, Iris!, Pagi Tadi, Fletch, or Iksan Skuter. Now they are passing on the torch to an upcoming folk musician in town named Nicolas Mora. He has been active for the past two years, but he often performs cover songs on his live gigs. Recently, he has put out original singles in the format of live sessions for “Unspoken Letter” and “Meet Me on The Bank of The River”. It is exciting to hear more original records from this musician this year.
- Eisen
For stoner rock aficionado, then Eisen will get you covered. The band has put out only two singles so far through their Soundcloud account, but give them a chance by listening to both “Man Tiger” and “ELDERS”. As not many bands with this genre emerged in East Java in recent years, we hope that Eisen could live up to our expectation in 2019. They’re starting to get lots of stages as well, so drop by if you happen to be in Surabaya.
- Noirless
All the soft bois unite, Noirless is here to cheer up your days. Hailing from Bandung, the indie rock band combines various elements on their music including shoegaze, noise, ambient, dream-pop, but mostly shoegaze. Their characteristic lays on rapid drums that can be found on almost every song on “Choices” EP paired with a thin dreamy layer of vocal. Backed up by a pretty solid label like SORGE Records and Winona Tapes, we think that Noirless is ready to make a big leap in 2019. Listen to their single “Better Left Unsaid” here.
- Endro Trilaksono
It is hard to pinpoint what genre this musician does exactly, but we could clearly state that he owns his saxophone. Endro Trilaksono has revealed a mini album called “Emes”. Dedicating the mini album as an homage for mothers, his tunes could strike your hearts in one go. As it is not gloomy and deep enough, you should watch his music video for “Majka”. We hope to see more of his live performances this year. Check out his complete discography on Bandcamp.
- War Fighters
Let’s end this prediction (for now) with this hardcore group based in Surabaya. War Fighters sometimes switch gears between hardcore and post-hardcore, but certainly, they have the appeal that makes them become one of the opening act for Pianos Becomes The Teeth’s show in Surabaya next March. Check out their song “A Feeling that Can’t Be Disclosed” or their newest one “In This Moment” that has a little bit Midwest emo sound to it. Their sound evolves with each release!
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