Before talking about this project, let us take a moment to pray for the ecological disasters currently happening in this country 🙏🏻
In the midst of the earth's unwell condition, I am increasingly made aware of how important it is for humans to take a role.
Honestly, when working on this project, I felt a bit nervous because back in 2016, I was just an ordinary ISI (Indonesian Institute of the Arts) student who already saw how incredibly cool Mbak Peni was. She was a sinden, a composer, and the SIPA Mascot that year.
When getting to know her in person, she is so friendly and warm. One thing that sticks in my mind is the way she praises food: there are only two categories, delicious and extremely delicious!
A simple question arose: can a traditional pesinden transform into a music composer? Can the works of a woman from a village be heard across the world? Of course, you can if you believe your dreams will come true! That is the spirit I see in the figure of Peni Candra Rini.
Being grounded in mature traditional arts turns out to be her strength in making gamelan music relevant in an era where people are starting to find it unfamiliar to listen to. She merges traditional music with touches of western instruments, turning it into contemporary composition works. She sings, chants, shouts, and even does mimesis (imitating animal sounds) to present metaphors of birds, frogs, etc., in a performance as a reminder that nature is majestic, mother earth doesn't just give, but also needs protection.
In making this documentary film, my only provision was believing in the process. Seeing Mbak Peni made me 100% sure that a female figure can be a maestro, a female figure can also be a music composer! As long as you "dare to start first," said Mba Peni in her interview.
Photo by @priosuta
Coming Soon! Bunyi Menapak Bhumi🌿
Caption by @renialn