Indonesian band with home-made instruments Senyawa return to Hong Kong for ‘noisier’ show

Bamboo and farm tools are turned into musical instruments by Indonesian duo Senyawa, who return to Hong Kong for West Kowloon’s Noise Fest

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Indonesian duo Senyawa, known for making music using home-made string and percussion instruments, will make their Hong Kong return in August at Noise Fest, at Freespace in the West Kowloon Cultural District. Photo: WKCDA

Ashlyn Chak

Published: 11:15am, 16 Jul 2024Updated: 4:50pm, 16 Jul 2024

Corrected [4:50pm, 16 Jul, 2024]

[4:50pm, 16 Jul, 2024]
Tickets to Freespace Noise Fest: Otomo Yoshihide, Senyawa cost HK$280, not HK$400.

Indonesian experimental noise duo Senyawa, who stunned the Hong Kong art crowd with their raw, guttural sounds at Tai Kwun’s Artists’ Night during the Art Basel art fair in March, are returning to the city in August.

Vocalist Rully Shabara and multi-instrumentalist Wukir Suryadi, from the city of Yogyakarta, in Java, were originally set to play at Freespace Jazz Fest at the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) in October 2023, but the outdoor show was cancelled because of a typhoon.

The duo were invited by Kung Chi-shing, WKCD’s head of contemporary performance, performing arts, who first brought the band to Hong Kong in 2019 for the Freespace Happening festival.

“Their shamanistic performance was both modern and ancient; it was such a deep and powerful experience,” Kung says. “This year, we have our first Noise Fest, which will be the perfect event to have Senyawa perform.”

Senyawa formed in 2010 in Yogyakarta, in Java, Indonesia. Photo: WKCDA

Senyawa, meaning “compound” in Indonesian, was formed by Rully and Wukir after meeting at an improvisation session in 2010 in Yogyakarta, where they found they shared an interest in indigenous sounds.