Raja Kirik

Raja Kirik's Album "Rampokan" is a transcendental journey that was driven by the history of cultural resistance in Java. Musically, this album is inspired by the trance chapter in the Jaranan performance, or the stage where the Jaranan players are getting possessed. This stage is an ancient design that was built through ritual procession, dance and music. It triggered a certain frequency that can connect a dancer or even an audience to their subconscious mind/condition, including their own body history to collective memory/trauma.

The term "rampokan" is taken from “Rampokan Macan”, a public spectacle or gladiator arena that presents a fight between Javanese tiger and buffalo, criminal, and a group of spear army. Lasting from the 17th to early 20th centuries, this brutality was intended to demonstrate the political power of the Javanese Royal Kingdoms, which in that time were overshadowed by the Dutch East Indies government.

The album proceeds remotely where J. Moong Santoso Pribadi in Vilnius, Lithuania and Yennu Ariendra in Yogyakarta, Indonesia during the coronavirus pandemic (March-June 2020).