This success cannot be separated from the close relationship between the music communities in Indonesia and Australia. It turns out, from friendships and musical activities, both the Indonesian and Australian musicians involved stated that all of this helped them feel 'the real Australia' and 'the real Indonesia'.
According to one of the members, Aswandaru Cahyo, their Australian tour could be said to be a dream still quite difficult for bands from Indonesia to achieve.
Even though this is not the first time Ali members have set foot in Australia, the experience of touring as a band, especially over a long period, is different from a short or working visit.
Because we have a longer period, we can experience playing in several places and lots of road trips too...we experience Australia more fully than beforeJohn Paul Patton, ALI's personel
Ali is often said to be a blend of Middle Eastern, and Southeast Asian musical styles and also rock music combined with funk and disco. Many of their song lyrics also use Arabic.
“We (Ali) were formed around 2019, before the pandemic. "At first we were just friends hanging out, then we shared the same references... 1970s Indonesian rock, 1960s Afrobeats, and Middle Eastern music," said Arswandaru or Daru.
One of Ali's performances at Bar Night Cat, Melbourne, was warmly received by those who attended the event. Of course, among the audience, there were many Indonesians in Australia who were treating their longing for Indonesian music, but there were also many viewers who were not Indonesian and had never heard of Ali but still enjoyed their music, and wanted to know more about Indonesian pop music.
According to James Young, who helped Ali in organizing their tour in Australia, one of the keys to the success of the band's tour was their music which was pleasant to listen to, but the friendships established over several years between fellow musicians in Indonesia and Australia were also an important factor in making this happen. Apart from that, careful planning and good communication are also needed.
James and his Hug Touring partner, Tom Hulse, have been around for quite a long time in Australian music. Tom has experience bringing other Indonesian bands to Australia, such as The Sigit, and James himself is also a musician who has shared the stage several times with Indonesian musicians brought by Tom to Australia.
"My band called Zombeaches played with Indonesian bands who came to Australia, that's where I got to know Daru and his friends. "This was about six years ago," he explained.
“Then, after the COVID period ended, I went on holiday to Jakarta and I told my friends in Indonesia. That's when I saw Ali, who at that time was just forming. When I returned to Australia, I immediately called Tom and I said, we have to bring Ali to Australia because he has good potential."
So Ali had toured Australia twice in 2023 - the first in February and the second in December. Initially, they only planned to do one tour, but because the first tour seemed to be a success, they dared to approach the organisers of the Meredith Festival, which has been held regularly since 1991 and usually attracts more than 10,000 spectators.
Initially, we sent demos to promoters - demos of several of our songs which were released in early 2023. We also had a tour at the beginning of last year and according to our promoter, the tour was quite successful. So the tour earlier that year had an impact on the current tour. We are booked at several festivals in Australia and will continue on this tourAswandaru Cahyo, ALI's Personel
Ali's success in entering the Meredith Festival cannot be separated from the support of several local radio stations in Melbourne such as PBS and RRR, explained James.
He then explained that there was a lot to learn from a musician's touring experience - both on the part of the musician and management.
“We learned from experience from the first tour in February that we have to give enough rest time between one event and another. "We also have to be more firm and clear with event organizers about the payments and instruments we need," he explained.
Like James, Ali's personnel also learned several new lessons, for example in Australia they were required to be more independent, for example, to prepare instruments or stages, because there were not as many crew members as there were in Indonesia.
"We appreciate the crew's hard work more," said John.
However, of course, small surprises like that didn't deter these musicians.
Ali's tour was also useful for me. Maybe we introduced Ali to Australia, but even through Ali I got a lot of connections. I hope that we can introduce more Indonesian musicians to AustraliaJames Young
On the other hand, James also hopes that more Australian musicians, especially those classified as independent musicians, will be able to tour in Indonesia.
According to James, socializing and building networks with Indonesian artists helped him get to know Indonesia more intimately, not limited to the formal knowledge he got from school or the media. Now, he often goes back and forth to Indonesia, especially Jakarta, because he enjoys the social music scene there.
"This experience helped me to get to know the real Indonesia," as if echoing John's statement about experiencing the "real" Australia.
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