Jun Fan Gung Foo plus Maroon Town equals Fusion
By Andrea Aguirre
JAKARTA (JP): Picture this: You are standing in the middle of a mass of cheering fans, bobbing up and down to an undeniably irresistible beat, in awe of an ensemble of 10 awesome ska-reggae-breakbeat-rap musicians from Britain and Indonesia's biggest ska bands thrown together in the show of a lifetime. Where are you? A Maroon Town and Jun Fan Gung Foo concert, set to rock the Jakarta music scene on April 4.
The brainchild of The British Council and Buena Produktama, Indonesia's main promoter for foreign artists today, this collaboration of the multiethnic Maroon Town and Jakarta's hippest ska band, Jun Fan Gung Foo, seems to be just the thing to tickle ska-gaga Indonesia's fancy.
Maroon Town first came to life 11 years ago in Brixton, South London, and has since traveled to such places as South and Central America, Japan, Canada, Africa and Europe, and will soon take Asia by storm.
Each member of this 10-piece band, hailing from Jamaica, Asia and South America, contributes their own flavor to the band's sound, creating music that will not fail to get you dancing. We are talking about a blend of just about everything, from real Latin music to Ragga toasting.
Percussion plays a huge part in Maroon Town's flavor, and this, combined with sassy female vocals over sharp trumpet and saxophone solos, results in high-energy, catchy tunes guaranteed to make you "shake your bon-bon". With songs like Are You Ready? and Gog Ska, who could resist?
This electrifying band will be performing with the equally exhilarating local ska band Jun Fan Gung Foo. These guys do not really need much introduction. Since this eight-man band came together, their popularity has spread to all corners of Indonesia faster than you can say "ska".
Their upbeat, bouncy hit, amusingly titled Bruce Lee -- rather hard to forget with the repeated mention of this kung fu legend -- has been getting a great deal of radio airplay recently, particularly on stations catering to teens.
Jim Hollington, manager of arts and public relations at The British Council, voiced great enthusiasm about this exciting undertaking. He explained that with the popularity of ska in Indonesia, bringing in a band such as Maroon Town, whose music and eclectic influences transcend all barriers, and joining them with the down-to-earth yet wacky Jun Fan Gung Foo seemed like a "good fit".
He added that one of the main aims of the project was to target the younger market in Indonesia and show them there is more to Britain than the "stiff upper-lip" image most Indonesians seem to associate the country with, revealing Britain's vibrant cultural and artistic side. Well, they are certainly on the right track with this musical bash.
Starting on April 4, the multinational players in this event will explode with a musical talent and excitement never before seen in this country. East meets West in Indonesia ... now that's fusion.
The Maroon Town-Jun Fan Gung Foo partnership has a busy schedule ahead of it, touring and performing in five major Indonesian cities. They will appear in Jakarta on April 4 at Bale Ayer, Taman Ria Senayan, Bandung (April 7, Sasana Budaya Ganesha), Yogyakarta (April 9, New Java Cafe), Surabaya (April 10, Westin Hotel) and Bali (April 12, Kartika Plaza). The group also will interact with the locals, conducting music workshops for children in two of the cities.
In Jakarta, Deuan German, a self-taught guitarist and the manager and driving force of Maroon Town, will hold a workshop at Comedy Cafe on April 4 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Tickets are priced at Rp 30,000 each. For ticket reservations in Jakarta, contact The British Council at 252-4115. Visit http://www.britcoun.or.id or www.britcoun.or.id for more details on the bands, the concerts and the workshops.