After several releases and collaborations under his own name, the producer and digital artist released the first Y-DRA album in 2019, No Brain Dance, via Yes No Wave Music. The record mixed techno and IDM with the rhythmic elements of dangdut koplo (or »stupid« in Indonesian), a popular Indonesian music genre that channels the sentiments and experiences of the Javanese working class. Accompanied by a video series responding to the spontaneous body movement unique to the koplo style and culture, the project was showcased at CTM 2020 and CTM 2021.
Released on May 2024 on Yogyakarta’s Yes No Wave label, the music on Y-DRA’s album Horeg connects to ideas and styles that are popular in Indonesian grassroots communities, parties, and celebrations. From Dangdut, Jathilan, and Sumatra’s Orgen Tunggal to Margondang’s funeral ceremonies. Taking inspiration from these forms of music, and the socials contexts within which they unfold, Y-DRA transposes them into alternate times and fictious places to create an outrageous series of uniquely furious noise dance bangers.
The album’s title »Horeg« is a Javanese term that refers to the power of sonic vibration, that in certain cases, can break glass windows or knock off the rooftop of a cabin. The term has been popularized by the exceptional sound system competitions in East Java, Indonesia. In these, a convoy of trucks equipped with massive sound systems travels from village to village while blasting extremely loud electronic music. Horegs are festivals through which grass root communities celebrate their sound cultures, take to the public space and amplify their voices that otherwise mostly go unheard. They are celebrations of sound, joy and rage, that, in the reading of Y-DRA, challenge rigid and exploitative class hierarchies, effective in Indonesia and everywhere in our world, and express and unruly spirit of independence, and resistance.
Outside of Y-DRA, Yennu Ariendra is half the duo Raja Kirik and is involved in art collective Teater Garasi, rock band Melancholic Bitch, Papermoon Puppet Theater, and various other projects.
Read more about the research and ideas behind Y-DRA's adoption of Koplo in this two-part article for Nusasonic, titled »20 Years of Celebrating Dystopia in Java«.
HOREG, by Y-DRA
HOREG, by Y-DRA
No-Brain Dance, by Y-DRA
No-Brain Dance, by Y-DRA