Musik

October has been a great month of music I suppose. I discovered lots of new music, and I also went to a lot of music events. Okay not a lot, but considering my life here, going to 2 concerts in this month is considered a lot hah. When was my last concert? EOTS in February. I went to Soundsfair last Sunday and this Sunday, I'll be going to RRREC Fest in the Valley, right here in my hometown! I am finally going to catch one of my favourite Indonesian bands, White Shoes and The Couples Company!

I was over the moon when I discovered that they're going to my hometown. They'll be performing in an event called RRREC Fest. The festival itself is held for 3D2N and yes you get to stay in a beautiful campsite at the mountain too. But I can't make it for the whole of 3 days so I'll just be going on Sunday to catch them live, and to also see the other acts performing on that day. And not forgetting the talks we get to participate in too. Can't wait for Sunday really.

It's pretty awesome how I wrote on my diary to make watching WSATCC live a resolution for this year and hey, I'm going to make it happen this Sunday! I am very stoked about this.

Alright, talking about music, here are the great music I discovered in October!

Great Music of October:
- Touch by Shura
- Indecision by Shura
- Just Once by Shura
- Encounter by DJ Okawari
- Change the World by DJ Okawari
- You & Me by Oxford
- Wake Up by Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra ft Asian Kung-Fu Generation

So yup I discovered a lot of new artists this month. Partially thanks to a few new Youtube Channels I just subscribed to: Mr SuicideSheep, Sensei Radio, Phvntom and Morrindie. I discovered Shura through Sensei Radio and I fell in love with "Touch". I love the song so much that I kept on listening to it in Soundcloud on my iPod. Then I discovered her other songs and well, I really think she's talented and she'll have a great future ahead! Can't wait for her to release an EP/LP though. She just released Indecision as a single a few days ago and I downloaded it!

I found DJ Okawari in Youtube as well and I love his two songs above! Okay I'm not that into hip-hop music but his songs are okay. The kind of song I'll listen to in long rides.

"You And Me" is a nice electronic song by Oxford and well as a fan of electronic, I just fell in love with its grooves and beat when I hear it for the first time. His other works are great as well! I seriously love the fact that I get to discover a lot of great new music through the above Youtube Channels. I think it's a great way to look for new music everyday!

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra played at Soundsfair too. I discovered this song at the Soundsfair advertisement on their website. Well not a fan of ska music either but this song is special. It makes me really happy and feels like I just wanna dance around when I listen to that song! :P

Yup alright I guess that's all for this great month for music! We're left with 2 more months before the year comes to a close. And I am pretty sure that I will discover more great music in the next two months :) Alright signing off now, hope October has been a great month for you too.

Java Soundsfair 2014

Right so as promised, I'm gonna blog about my experience at the Java Soundsfair last Saturday! Okay so apparently the Java Soundsfair (I shall shorten it to TJS) is a new event that encompasses music and art in an indoor venue. And hopefully it's going to be a yearly event because I really enjoyed it! It's a new experience of music festival for me and I totally love the concept.

So the in TJS, there are 9 different stages with 30 over artists performing at different times on different stages. It's practically a "sounds-fair" because you get to choose to see which artists you wanna see at which time. It's kind of a bad thing if you have like 2 or more artists you wanna see at the same time but for me thankfully, no artists clash haha.

I got myself a daily pass for the second day only since I can only make it at that time. And also because all of my favourite artists are on the second day. Kinda sad I couldn't see Ran as they're performing on the first day. The artists I was looking forward to were: L'alphalpha, Weish, and Homogenic. Not only them, I was also eager to discover more artists :)

 Pandai Besi at Demajors stage

So L'alphalpha played at 7 PM but I arrived at 6 so I walked around the venue to familiarise myself with it, and to also see if there are any great acts. I went down to DeMajors room and Pandai Besi was playing. Sat down and well, really enjoyed like half of their set (I was late). After that I made my way up to Assembly 2 to catch one of my favourite Indonesian bands, L'alphalpha!

 L'alphalpha! So glad to see em live

I've always wanted to catch them live because watching their performances on Youtube is kinda hair-rising. I love their energy and their passion in their music. I was kind of hoping that the venue would be a stand-up one instead of a table-and-chairs one but it was alright, I was truly enjoying their music sitting down anyway. Was so happy to have caught them live, it's a dream come true that felt so surreal! I love Future Days a lot. It's my favourite single from them. Thanks for the music!

 Jiving to Sentimental Moods

My next artist was Weish but since I have an hour to go, I decided to grab something to eat first before heading out again. I was walking around the venue again and decided to visit DeMajors room again to catch Sentimental Moods! Wow I really love their energy, I was happily jiving and dancing to their lively music! So happy to have discovered them. Everyone was dancing to their music too.

 Weish at the main hall, blown away by her performance

So I went up and caught Weish at the main hall. I discovered Weish by watching her videos on Youtube, and I told myself I gotta see her live! Well I was really blown-away by her performance. I seriously think she's talented and Singapore should be proud to have her. I was a bit annoyed with the fact that she has to perform alongside loud music from other band performances below. The organiser needs to do a better job with soundproofing. Like maybe put the "loud" bands in a room instead of an open area so that we can enjoy the music better. But hats off to Weish for putting up a great set :)

Next.... I was supposed to catch Homogenic but I was waiting for the door to be opened (it's supposed to start at 10) and it didn't open until 10:25. I have a race to run the next day so I said screw it and I gave Homogenic a miss :( It was really sad but well, I can't sacrifice my sleep for my race so nevermind, another time it is then. So yup, that's how my Soundsfair ended on Saturday.

I enjoyed my night at TJS and I am definitely looking forward to next year's one! I hope the lineup gets better and more interesting, and I also hope that they'll do something about the soundproofing problem heh. And I hope that TJS won't clash with another event so that I can enjoy the fully. It is definitely an interesting concept and I salute them for coming up with this idea.

Also, TJS really makes me feel proud of the ever growing and changing music scene of my country. It's like the faith and hope of the music industry here (or more like the indie music scene here) is restored!

Discovering so many great bands from my homeland, enjoying music in one night, TJS is definitely a great event of the year. See you next year!

Jakarta Marathon 10K Done!

 New medal to add after 2 years!

Congratulations to all runners today :)

Right, I am feeling really tired today because I had such a fantastic weekend! And a pretty rushed one too but I suppose it's awesome that everything went according to plan. Yup as I said in my previous post I just went for the Jakarta Marathon 10K race! It feels good to be back running although it's been almost two years since the last time I ran 10KM non stop. It's a pretty interesting experience to run a race in my country. A first time for me, and it was a good one :)

So anyway on Saturday I headed for Jakarta, went to Jakarta Convention Centre first to get my ticket for the Java Soundsfair which unfortunately, had an increase in the price! I totally regretted dragging so long. I didn't know the price will increase anyway. After that checked in my hotel, head out for lunch, and went for the Soundsfair in the evening. I am going to write about Soundsfair in a separate post cause there's quite a lot to talk about heh. Went back to the hotel at 11 PM and slept.

Oh yeah I was accompanied by one of my workers as I don't know my way around hah.

Woke up at 3.30 to prepare and headed for Monas which is the start point of the race. Everything was on time and we started the race at 5:15 straight. The route for the 10K race is from Monas to Glodok and back. I'm not really a fan of "straight" routes because the route is literally two stretch of roads with a distance of about 4 KM-ish. Would be nice to have a more interesting route but nevertheless it was alright. An empty Jakarta in the morning is quite a beautiful scene to be honest.

 Before the race

It's been almost 2 years since I joined a race so today's race feels like a trip back in time. I am very happy with my pace and that I ran non-stop for the whole stretch. I didn't beat my PB but happy to run within my targeted time. I gave myself 1h30m to run, thinking I'll be that slow after such a long time of not running but I ran a total of 1h17m! Well time didn't really matter to me. I just want to run to be honest, being part of the experience was awesome enough I suppose.

The first two KM felt really long for me somehow. I thought I already ran like 4KM when the mark only shows 2 and I was feeling so urgghh. It was only after the 5th KM that I felt "stable" and just continue to push myself. I was so happy to see Monas again as I was reaching the finish line heh. At the last stretch I just pushed myself more and yup, the race was awesome!

Walked back to the hotel, bathed, rested and I made my way to the train station to catch a train to Bogor, to catch a train back to the hometown. The planned time was 2 hours to reach Bogor but I forgot that the train station I took the train at (Gondangdia) is nearer to Bogor  than the one I usually take the train from (Mangga Besar). So I arrived at 11, and since there's no place to chill at the Bogor train station I decided to make my way to Botani Square which is a mall nearby (thanks to my cousin for directions!). Took an angkot to there and thanks to a lovely lady for telling me where to stop :)

Chilled at Starbucks before making my way back to the station via an Ojeg (motorcycle "taxi") this time. I was so so glad that I went 30 minutes before my departure. I thought the train was going to leave at 1:35 PM. Turned out I read it wrongly and it was leaving at 1:25! So if I were to go right "on time" according to my timing, I am going to miss the train heh.

And yup, that is all for my exciting weekend!

Hmm I felt really happy to have joined the Jakarta Marathon 10K. Today is the 299th day of the year, and 298 days ago I wrote on my diary to run a race here as one of my resolutions for this year. I wanted to "skip" this resolution for next year cause I didn't really practise running throughout the year. It was in late September that I came across the Jakarta Marathon advertisement on Youtube and well, I told myself that this is the only chance I have to accomplish my resolution!

With only 40 days left to the race, I ran twice a week on the treadmill and well just hope for the best I suppose. I can still remember the first running session back in September where I couldn't even run longer than 17 minutes. It was so tiring, I was out of breath, and I really doubted how can I even run 10K. But I just kept on running and well I got better and better. My sessions become longer and my speed increases. And today, my effort has been paid off I suppose.

I used to love running a lot back in Singapore. And I realised how easy and convenient running is over there. Pavements are good, air is clean, traffic is not scary, I can run whenever I want. Well I can run here, but it's not as convenient I suppose. And also, I don't have the time. Yes I know you will rebut my saying that we don't own time but we make time. Well then... I couldn't make the time! Haha. If I can have the opportunity to run more often every week, I would.

After today, I am really considering to make the Jakarta Marathon a yearly affair. I have something else on my mind though - The Bali Marathon! Would be a great experience to run in Bali alongside beautiful sceneries man. Next year perhaps? :P

Alright, day 300 tomorrow. I still have a few resolutions to accomplish, and also things to do before this year ends haha. I hope you guys will accomplish yours too! :)

Off To Jakarta Marathon!

It's 4:47 AM Saturday morning and I am very excited cause I'm going to Jakarta later to attend the Jakarta Marathon on Sunday! Well I'm not running the full marathon, just the 10K one. But yes I am very excited. It's one of my 2014 resolutions to run a 10K race so yep, we're almost reaching day 300 so I better fulfill what I have to fulfill aye.

Was just arranging my playlist just now and it brings back memories of my running days in Singapore! To be honest it's been almost 2 years since I last ran my race. That was my half marathon in 2012. So yes, this Sunday will be the first time in 2 years I'm going to run 10 kilometres haha. Well of course as usual my plan is to not stop running. If possible, beat my PB. If not, have fun!

Okay wishing all runners of the Jakarta marathon a great race tomorrow. And as for me, good luck!

Definition of Music

 Music

So I was talking with my mum about music and some of the bands that I like to listen to, when she asked me a question that left me stunned. She asked me "So what actually is Indie music?". I went quiet for a few a seconds as my mind rushed to find and formulate an answer. So I told her Indie music is music that... And yeah I still couldn't give her an answer! I did tell her though it's music that don't have to make sense but sound good hah. Or songs with deep meanings.

Feeling curious, I researched on Wiki and what I got is that Indie music is is a shortened form of "Independent Music" (This is such an epiphany for me). And it's music produced independently from major music labels. Indie music artists don't fall solely into one genre of music, but they can fall into different genres too. All of these make perfect sense about Indie music!

I've been listening to Indie music for years and it is only now that I discover its definition. But hey, I think that music is a language without a dictionary! To me anything that sounds good to my ears is good music. Any music, pop, rock, folk, instrumental, electronic, you name it. It is only recently that I discovered so much more genres than these. Like for example there's Indie rock, folk hop, acid trap, and what what what. So much "genres" and I don't even know what's my favourite genre.

And do we even have to like just one genre? And must music be segregated into genres? Well maybe they are segregated to make it easier for people to find more music that suit their palate. It's like you know being in a buffet restaurant. You'll see the food and take any that you like, and just leave the ones you don't like. I suppose genres make it easier for you to discover more music, and to also find like-minded people who share the same taste in music as you!

But I don't really like the idea of segregating music. I think music is so universal that it cannot be segregated. Of course, we all know that we're free to listen to whatever music we want to listen to. Like what the Buddha says, people create differences and believe them to be true. So sometimes when people ask me what kind of music I listen to, I just tell them anything that I love. Although yes the majority of my songs in my iTunes library is either Indie or Alternatives.

And yes I cannot live without classical music.

So what kind of music do you listen to?

292

 Asemka

Well today is the 292nd day of the year and guess what, I just came up with a new resolution for this year to accomplish! Somehow I'm feeling excited to end this year hah.

Anyway I went to Jakarta yesterday with my sister to accompany her to the Asemka market. We were there to stock up some of the items for her bookstore. I went to Asemka a year ago too, it's an awesome place to do street photography cause there's too much things going on there! Very good for street-photog material. Above are some of the shots taken yesterday.

After Asemka we went to MKG to do some shopping. I went a bit overboard with the Japanese and Korean ingredients-haul but hey, I can't get all these stuff in my hometown so might as well get them while I was there yeah. We went to catch a movie too, it was "Left Behind" and we were truly disappointed after the movie. I recommend you not to watch it.

It's 12 more days to the end of this month and whew, time just seems to fly rather quickly really. But well, like I always believe, the year will just zoom past your eyes during the last three months of the year. At least this is what I've been experiencing for the past 10 years of my life hah. I don't know, I've went through a lot, and I'm kind of excited to see what this remaining days of the year have in offer.

Alright just a short update for you. Talk to you soon.

The last?

Sometimes I feel sad to realise that I might be the last few (or even, the last) generation to enjoy great traditional food. Or even, maybe I am the last generation who likes these traditional food. My mum cooked preserved vegetable with pork tonight and it is one of my favourite food. Eating a bowl of rice with it using chopsticks is like one of the best things in life.

Although I often wonder, will such food still exist in the future? How many people in my generation actually knows how to cook it? And how many people in my generation actually enjoy eating these food? Come to think of it, we're so-called the "buyer generation". Most of us buy things instead of make them. And this is especially true to food. How many of us actually still bother to cook dinner instead of just buying some take-away? How many of us enjoy cooking traditional food?

Perhaps it's time for me to jot down all these recipes in a book so that I can cook them in the future. And when people of my generation miss these food next time, I can help them relive their nostalgia. Which brings me to my next point, where I am interested to open a restaurant in the hometown where we sell traditional food! I think the concept will work because as we go along the way, we'll miss these food more and more. But then again I think to myself, how many of us like such food?

As an Asian, and Indonesian, food is really something important in life. Food is not just about getting yourself fed and making you feel full. I think being Asian, food is something that holds our identity and culture together. It will be a nightmare for me if in the future, we eat nothing but normal food with no sense and touch of traditionalism there. Maybe in the future all we ever cook is stir-fry dishes, deep-fried meats and more processed food. Gone were the days of preserved vegetables, stewed meat in spices and food wrapped in banana leaves and so on. How sad.

Perhaps it's time for us to give more appreciation to the food that our parents/grandparents/other family members cook. Because these are the people that grow up, still expected to uphold traditions and the culture. I'm not saying that our generation is not expected to, but because of the changing and progressing of time, we are not -that- interested to do these "traditional" things. Well let's bug our mums, aunties and grandmas to ask them to teach how to make all these great food!

Embrace

Indescribable

You know they say that music is what feelings sound like. Well I guess it's very true. Last night I was doing work while listening to music. And I really enjoyed the moment, it reminds me of those days when I was still a student, listening to music while studying. Sometimes I feel that music itself is purely a feeling. Because the feeling you get when listening to music is something truly indescribable. I wouldn't say happy is the perfect word to use when I listen to music. Yes, but not wholesome.

When I listen to classical music, there's this sense of joy that I have, of how much I am so glad and thankful to be able to enjoy such wonderful music! When I listen to my favourite indie/post-rock music, and unknowingly move to the music, it feels pretty awesome too. You see, the feeling is just something I can't describe. The joy of enjoying music. The happiness and warmth you experience inside as you listen to them is just so beautifully weird. You can't describe it really!

I think music is one of the greatest things life has given us. When you're able to enjoy listening and creating it, I think you can easily be the happiest man on earth.

Living together

I realised one of the biggest differences I have now, from my life back in Singapore, is the fact that I am living with other people. I mean obviously, I have my family around me. Whereas in Singapore I am alone, and I am responsible for the things I do. And I have to take care of myself, which includes not falling sick, make sure I fed myself well and so on.

For example, when I got back here I often wondered why the hand soap ran out quickly. Or the bath soap and the toothpaste. Well it's because now the soap is shared with like 5 people in the house, or three people for the bath soap (because I shared the bathroom with 2 of my sisters last time). Whereas in Singapore, my soaps can last for like three months. Because I was the only person who used them.

And when it comes to food, I just need to keep myself fed. I cook for myself and buy food for myself. I can cook a huge casserole of pasta and eat them for three days in a row. I can buy a packet of fried rice, and if I don't finish it I will just put it inside the fridge for tomorrow's breakfast/lunch/dinner. But now I don't get my own food (unless it's vegan days, where I cook myself) but the food is cooked by my maid or my mum. And I'm the family's black hole for food, so remaining food will go into my stomach. 

That's why I can never lose weight here heh.

I suppose living alone really make you into a responsible and independent person. And perhaps it's easier too? Because you're in full control of yourself. You get to eat what you want, how much you want, and do whatever you want with any leftovers. You have the ultimate freedom to do what you want, without others' consent and without thinking others will think of you.

Nothing is perfect, living alone has its flaws too.

But I miss it sometimes.