Since 2007, veteran Yogyakarta artist Woto Wibowo – better known as Wok The Rock – has put out 100 releases on his label Yes No Wave Music, with which he’s striven to articulate an alternative, locally rooted communal way of operating. Born in 1975 in Madiun, Indonesia, as a teen Wok moved to the Javanese subcultural hub Yogyakarta to study graphic design. After running a short lived punk label called Realino Records in the early 2000s, he launched Yes No Wave at a time when “the experimental/noise scene in Yogya was actually dying.” The subsequent success of affiliated artists like Senyawa in Yogyakarta and Gabber Modus Operandi in Bali is a byproduct of the socially conscious work undertaken by Wok, who notes that in the wake of Covid-19, “artists in Yogya are organising a collective action to distribute free food and masks for the poor.” Wok meanwhile has launched a new punk focused sublabel, Dugtrax Records, and recently opened a Bandcamp page as a donation channel to Indonesian artists who’ve been adversely affected by the pandemic.

ZOO
“Kupu-Kupu”
From Kebun Binatang

On the day of Yes No Wave’s launch, Wok put up seven releases for free download, including one by ZOO, an experimental hardcore band including scene stalwart Rully Shabara. All Yes No Wave releases from then to now have been free, and Shabara would soon after team up with Wukir Suryadi to form one of the most successful bands to emerge from the Yogyakarta experimental scene, Senyawa.

Wukir Suryadi
“Centong Nasi Kecil”
From Antara Dapur & Lingkungannya

Suryadi was also an influential member of the scene that coalesced around Yes No Wave and its weekly gig series, Yes No Klub, launched in 2010. “If I never met [Wukir] in 2010 maybe underground experimental music in Indonesia would be very different,” Wok notes. “When I saw his instrument bambuwukir for the first time, I had a feeling that the scene would change global music.”

Senyawa
“Tanah”
From Senyawa

“When I introduced [Wukir] to Rully,” Wok continues, “is when the local experimental music in Indonesia grow extensively.” This recording is from Senyawa’s self-titled debut EP, “recorded during their first jam after their encounter at Wukir's performance at [a] Yes No Klub show.” This collaboration between vocalist Shabara and instrument builder Suryadi “is responsible for open up Indonesian underground music to the worldwide scene,” in Wok’s words.

Bvrtan
“Musnahlah Panen Raya Tahun Ini Yang Membuat Kami Tidak Bahagia”
From Pemuja Sawah Tebu

Another personal favorite of Wok’s from the early Yes No Wave catalogue is Bvrtan, which blends the aesthetic and sound of black metal with lyrics and imagery reflecting rooted political struggle. “All the lyrics, titles and artworks are a unique mixture of satanism and politics,” reports Wok. “Since their theme and language is very local, they're not easily noticed or understood by the international scene.”

Terbujur Kaku
“Pacar Lima Langkah”
From Megamix Militia Vol 1

Terbujur Kaku pioneered a pounding mix of breakcore and local musical styles, like funkot, dangdut koplo, and house dangdut. He “left the scene” in 2016, but not before accompanying Senyawa on their first tour of Java, Indonesia’s most populous island, in 2011.

Ata Ratu
“Jaka Ninya Na Pambaili”
From Ludu Humba

While Yes No Wave has been instrumental in articulating and disseminating a wide variety of experimental, fusion sounds, the label has also done equally important work cataloging micro- local regional music traditions. The Ludu Humba compilation, released last year, documents the rhythmically irregular jungga songs of Sumba, a small island on the eastern end of Indonesia. “Strings and singing are part of a long music history in this archipelago,” read the sleevenotes. “Listen to this record carefully and try to grasp the deep meaning.”

Yennu Ariendra & J Mo'ong Santosa Pribadi
“Alas Tyang Pinggir”
From Raja Kirik

Following the path of artists like Senyawa, Raja Kirik blends sounds from homemade instruments and synthesizers, creating dense compositions that ground myriad percussive elements in undulating electronic drones.

Y-DRA
“Order-Disorder”
From No Brain Dance

Y-DRA is the solo project of Raja Kirik’s Yennu Ariendra, based on a longterm fascination with and research of local, grassroots dance music hybrids. Like Terbujur Kaku, Y-DRA explores genres like dangdut koplo: “Koplo (or ‘stupid’ in Indonesia) is a subgenre of popular Indonesian music dangdut that channels the sentiments and experiences of the country's working class. Sometimes associated with psychotropic drugs, koplo is also closely related to funkot and dangdut music.”

Gabber Modus Operandi
“Sangkakala”
From PUXXXIMAXXX

Further probing the nexus between ritual, tradition, and high bpm, high decibel performance art are this duo, who are based in Bali. The famous tourist destination also hosts a strong punk and metal scene, which served as the catalyzing force behind Gabber Modus Operandi’s aggressive and performative take on dance music. At the beginning of this year, band member Ican Harem organised the first Ravepasar alternative music festival in Bali. According to Wok: “It's not easy to organise a big experimental music festival in Indonesia without big money and knowledge to deal with the local communities and mafia, both state and gangster – especially in Bali, which has Pecalang, a cultural ‘police’.”

Handoyo Purwowijoyo
“Taste”
From Red Card

Though local rhythms, dance styles and microgenres are amply represented across Yes No Wave’s catalogue, the label also offers a healthy selection of non-genre music. This album of exploratory electroacoustic noise by vocalist and poet Handoyo Purwowijoyo was recorded in 2000, following Purwowijoyo’s tenure in late 90s Indonesian noise rock band Seek Six Sick. Wok re-released the recordings 18 years later, after Purwowijoyo “left society for a spiritual journey.”

Setabuhan
“Tabuh Langit Tanduk Jawara”
From Tabuh Langit Tanduk Jawara

Perhaps nowhere is Indonesia’s rich and varied union of percussion and dance more heavily demonstrated than on this half-hour live recording by duo Setabuhan: “A modern reinvention of tribal trance music delivered by pure muscles and stamina of two heavy percussionists, with double looped voices as the only other instrument. The live performance is accompanied by martial arts fight or amateur street fights.”

Nestov
“Harta, Tahta, Petahana”
From SUAI?!
(Dugtrax)

In 2018, Wok returned to his punk roots by launching Dugtrax Records, a punk and hardcore focused sublabel. Dugtrax launched with an EP for Nestov, a politically-oriented power violence band from Jambi province in central Sumatra. “They're sarcastic, political, but also funny addressed in their local language and gestures.” At 44 seconds, this is the longest track on this record.

Read more about Yes No Wave in The Wire 436. Subscribers can access the full article via the digital archive.