Mery Kasiman And 8 Artists Open The Sound Flow 2023 Through "Astha"

JAKARTA - The women's tennis player Mery Kasiman will open the 2023 Alur Sound concert series by leading a classic and electronic music alloy on Thursday 4 May at GoetheHaus Jakarta.

Acoustic and electronic sound combinations, Mery presented poetic works titled 'Astha' specially created for his appearance this time. Meaning eight' in Sanskrit, Astha represents eight elements of life's centrality, namely family, friends, health, education, independence, ideals, love, and peace.

"I can feel these eight elements in my daily life so that it inspires me to make it a story in the compositions that will be displayed," Mery said as quoted by Antara, Wednesday.

Taking the example of family elements, Mery made a composition that took the theme from her father's birthday date. In addition, Mery will make two musicalizations from writer Zen Hae, namely "Two Tears" and "At the Night Falls Bus Stop" which will be performed in the Sound Line.

Moving on the idea of "Astha", Mery will appear accompanied by a number of musicians including Carmen Caballero Fernaturdez, Dalilektra, Dani Ramadhan, Danny Robertus, Julian Abraham Marantika, Tanjung Prima Cahaya Dewi, and Yasintha Pattiasina.

They will play a variety of instruments ranging from classic musical instruments such as string quartets and flutes, to contemporary modular synthesizers. This performance will also be complemented by visual treats from Patricia Adele Hutauruk.

In "Astha", Mery and his supporting musicians reflect on the idea that humanity is a story building, about the process of going through a life cycle, and the influence of this process on one's emotions.

When appearing, this process became a catalyst, namely after the music was compositioned with fellow performers before the stage was held, the same music would be combined and recast on stage in an effort to achieve purity and create a unique identity like life.

More than just a shallow celebration, Mery's reflection sparked questions and contemplations about things that transcend humanity, namely life, mysticalism, and irreversibility.

The contemporary experimental concert series Alur Sound from the Goethe-Indonesian Institute is back this year with the performances of the collaboration of a number of Indonesian musicians and artists.

The 2023 Soundflow will come with a number of concert series which will then be followed by the Sound Flow Festival in the middle of the year. Entering the 7th year, this time the sound flow underscores the values of representation, accessibility, and sustainability.

"In this year's inaugural edition, we convinced Mery to form an ensemble that fuses acoustics and electronics. The experience of listening to the sounds produced in this experiment is expected to make viewers think again about the boundaries of music," said Goethe-Indonesian Program Coordinator Elizabeth Soegiharto.

The program, which has been designed for this year, contains the names of talented artists who carry the same values. Through a careful curation process, the Sound Line wants to challenge and inspire, bring newness in terms of ideas, sounds, and thoughts. The Sound curve opens a space for dialogue that relies on the sound and provides creative containers for Indonesian artists and musicians.