Yacko And Tigabelah Jajal's Story Stages From The US To France

Yacko and Tuan Tigabelas (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - After about two weeks of adventure through the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, United States to Babel Music XP in Marseille, France, Yacko and Tuan Tigabelas with DJ Domdom back to Indonesia.

According to information from Antara, Monday, the trip started with Tiger Den, the first point to be tested just before the main stage at SXSW. Located at Cheer Up Charlie's, the showcase puts forward the performers who are all from Asia.

At this point, the three musicians had carried out a promotional agenda in the form of distributing chipsers to visitors just before they took the stage. Thanks to these activities, Yacko and Tuan Tigabelas together with DJ Domdom were able to get acquainted with fellow rappers from Ukraine to Korea as well as creative industry players across countries such as booking agents and the media.

As for the second point at Higher Ground, the Yacko and Tuan Tigabelah stages with DJ Domdom were approached by a group of Indonesian community mothers from the Indonesian Cultural House in Austin who provided their support. Yacko said that they even filled the front row of the stage.

For Mr. Thirteen, travel in SXSW provides several important lessons, ranging from technical to bringing themselves as musicians from Indonesia without having to pretend to be someone else.

"I'm quite nervous because the music I and Yacko bring is hiphop, right, which is like I'm going to Umrah to his homeland. So there is a mental burden, I brought one culture which is actually their culture, I brought what I have, it was quite nervous. But it turned out that the response was extraordinary positive, "said Tuan Tigabelas.

Before finally moving to France, Yacko and Tuan Tigabelas with DJ Domdom had the opportunity to stop by Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

In the city, they tried an intimate stage at the Platypus Record Shop. Several stories also approached the three there, ranging from the meeting of DJ Domdom with a disk from the Yanti Brothers to the arrival of local producers on the sidelines of their performances and possible collaborations in the future.

Sampai di sana diterima dengan baik. Menggungnya di situ (Platypus Record Shop), enggak terlalu besar, tapi produser-produser lokal TU pada datang. Mereka benar-nggungk-ngangsik, suasananya sangat antunitate. Dan di situ kami lebih berjejaring lagi, lebih bicarang lagi, tunta-exasan informasi, berpikir akan terjadi kolaborasi dan hopefully theres be a collaboration in the future. Bahkan saat kita gigi, mereka live record membuat mixtape begitu," lanjut Yacko.

Babel Music XP is the last point of Yacko and Tuan Tigabelah's journey with DJ Domdom. At this festival, Yacko did not only try out the music stage.

He also filled the seminar session entitled Different Viewpoints: Equal Access for All Genres in the Music Industry with other female industry players such as Alexandra Archetti Stolen (Oslo World), Maud Gari (Le LABA), and Germaine Kobo (Arts & Music du Monde) and followed by several interview sessions with local media.

Towards the main stage at Babel Music XP, the three of them were lined up as closing performers at 00.45 local time. There were concerns between them whether they would be watched by the audience or not, but gradually, the audience packed the stage front and stayed there until the end of their set. As of the time, more than four hundred spectators were present there.

"We've come all this far. Whatever happens, put up a body. Like it or not, I'll watch it optimally. That's what we always offer every time we want to pray. So when we sing the first song, only half the area is filled. Suddenly in the middle of the first song, people started to enter. Starting to get closer to the front, then starting to jump, "explained Tuan Tigabelas.

After this trip, Yacko and Tuan Tigabelah together with DJ Domdom hoped that what they got there could be shared with Indonesian musicians. Not only that, because hopefully this can also be the opening door for Indonesian hiphop musicians following their steps.