In early 2025, a cross-culture collaboration was beautifully realised at BEASTFEaST in Birmingham, where the Indonesian arts collective Rumah Gagas premiered PANJAGO. The performance captured traditional Minangkabau Silek martial arts choreography via motion sensors and translating it into immersive electronic soundscapes. It reflected a unique dialogue between ancestral bodily knowledge and modern technology.
Part of Connection Through Culture (CTC) 7 cohort, the project brought together Rani Jambak and Hario Efenur from Rumah Gagas with Prof. Scott Wilson from BEAST. The British Council sat down with Rumah Gagas to discuss the hurdles of remote collaboration, the thrill of spatial audio, and how a professional partnership blossomed into a profound cross-continental friendship.
BC (British Council): How did the project go, and how did the partnership unfold?
Rumah Gagas (RG): The project was presented at BEASTFEaST 2025 to a sold-out audience of 150 people. This marked an important milestone in our collaboration.
We began working together in January 2025, starting with discussions around pre-planning and pre-composition. Our conversations explored rhythm, synchronisation, and ways to integrate motion and audio data across three different artistic disciplines.
To support this exploration, I took a short course to learn TouchDesigner, which allowed us to convert motion data from Hario’s Silek choreography into live signals for electronic sound.
Much of the process happened through online rehearsals filled with experimentation and trial and error. By understanding each other’s musical backgrounds, our discussions became highly focused.
Our frequent online meetings and WhatsApp conversations allowed us to share spontaneous ideas and test them together. Gradually, this communication grew into an emotional connection that strengthened our friendship. This bond shaped our musical communication when we finally met and rehearsed together in Birmingham, creating a responsive space for improvisation despite our different musical styles.
BC : What is the main message or new understanding you gained from this project?
RG: As an electronic artist who is used to performing solo, this project offered new insights into working within a collaborative creative environment. I learned to use new software, adapt compositional structures to accommodate multiple elements, and allow room for individual expression within a spatial audio performance.
One of the most impactful experiences for me personally was attending an electroacoustic music festival in the UK for the first time. The concerts were very different from what I had previously experienced.
In electroacoustic concerts, composers often control the mixer live from the centre of the room. The performance spaces are usually darkened to intensify the listening experience,which allows sound to emerge from all directions.
Across the three-day festival, the diversity of instruments and technologies kept the experience constantly evolving. It was also deeply meaningful to see Indonesian composers represented at BEASTFEaST, with traditional culture and ecological awareness appearing consistently as essential themes in their works.
BC: Were there any changes or challenges during the project?
RG: Rather than major changes, the project developed organically throughout our exploration. We experimented with Kinect camera sensors connected to TouchDesigner and Ableton, translating Silek movements into audio signals. We also explored traditional talempong batu frequencies, transforming them into new melodies through coding systems.
One of our main technical challenges was accessing equipment. The specific Kinect camera adaptor we needed was difficult to find in Indonesia in early 2025, and we eventually had to order it from Malaysia.
Online rehearsals also presented hurdles, particularly due to unstable internet connections making real-time visual interaction difficult. Despite these limitations, we continued collecting data and notes. When we finally met in Birmingham, the strong communication we had built earlier allowed us to seamlessly refine both the technical and musical aspects of the performance.
BC : Please share an anecdote or highlight from your journey.
RG: One of the most memorable moments was witnessing how Silek, with its deep-rooted knowledge and philosophy, could transform into a performance that interacts with contemporary technology. This was not simply about combining movement and electronic devices. It was about how the philosophical language of the body within Silek could enter into a genuine dialogue with technology, sound, and spatial audio systems.
Another highlight was the atmosphere of BEASTFEaST itself. The festival was not only a showcase for artists but a meeting point for practitioners connected to academic institutions. Events like this contribute directly to the development of musical research, illustrating how artistic experimentation becomes part of ongoing academic discourse and keeps going with global technological developments.
