It was the Bedoyo, a sacred, ritualized dance associated with the royal palaces of Yogyakarta and Surakarta and known for its very slow, deliberate movements. As soon as the dreamy gamelan music started, and the dancers floated in slow-motion onto the stage, Adit heaved a huge sigh of resignation, sank into his chair and ... fell asleep!

How do you make the MTV-generation appreciate traditional Indonesian culture? This is a question that many parents, teachers and even successive governments in Indonesia have asked. How do you make kids idolize Arjuna, Bima and Gatotkaca instead of Spiderman, Batman and Superman? Or go for gamelan, kolintang and angklung, instead of rock, rap and hip-hop?

The answer is, you don''t. Taking a purist attitude just won't work. It just results in rejection by youth of Adit's age or younger, the so-called "Generation Y". So the trick is to dynamise our cultural traditions by blending them with the contemporary to create something new and fresh that will appeal to them. In the end, culture is what we make it, it's not something that's static, immutable ... and dead (boring).

So imagine my delight when I came across KunoKini (www.kunokini.com), a very hot young percussion music group that incorporates ancient musical traditions into its very un-ancient music. You can tell what they do just from their choice of instruments: kerang Irian (sea shell), traditional Javanese drum, Minangkabau flute or saluang, rebana biang (a jumbo-sized rebana), waterstick, woodblock, egg shaker, shekere, Aboriginal Australian didgeridoo, klontang (a percussion instrument from Kalimantan), conga and the African djembe.

And the sound all this stuff makes? Primal, but at the same time funky, fresh and dynamic. And that's where their name comes from: "kuno" (old, ancient) and "kini" (contemporary). Bored with the music they heard every day, which they say all sounds the same, they wanted to create something different - a fusion of reggae, jazz, hip-hop, rock. Just try listening to them (My space Kunokini)! KunoKini's music has a deeply infectious quality that captures your spirit - before you know it, you'll be shakin' your bootie, dancing to the music! And guess what? The members of KunoKini are all in their mid-twenties (born between 1982 and 1985), and they're students of Paramadina University (Paramadina). That's right - they're "Gen Y"! The knowledge that there are young people who care about Indonesian culture and are bringing it back bursting with new life, filled me with satisfaction, pride and ... relief!

The members of KunoKini are Adhi Bhismo Wrhaspati (Bhismo), Astari Achiel (Bebi), Muhamad Nur Firdaus (Firzy) and Akbar Nugraha (Akbar). They all have different musical backgrounds but now share a similar passion for their music, and a desire to promote Indonesian culture and make it known abroad. Bhismo, the lead singer - who also plays several musical instruments - has been steeped in Javanese culture, as both his parents were traditional Javanese dancers (Bhismo himself is a trained classical Javanese dancer). When I met him at a family wedding wearing a traditional Javanese costume, he looked like your perfect Javanese aristocrat - that's the 'kuno' bit. But when you see him on stage you get the full-on 'kini' aspect: dreadlocks, fully-tattoed arms and clothes from your regular Jamaican Rastafarian - only in batik! Bebi, Firzy and Akbar also play multiple instruments and have very eclectic tastes in music and clothes as well. And they all listen to Bob Marley (of course!), Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Sublime and Kitaro, as well as traditional Indonesian music.

KunoKini began in 2003, when they were asked to accompany a dance troupe that participated in a Folklore Festival in Germany. To fill a gap during a break in the program they played an improvisation piece. To their surprise they were greeted with a standing ovation. They were moved and totally taken aback by the reception, but it was just the boost they needed. So after returning to Indonesia they focused on developing their unique sound, looking for new instruments with the very conscious aim of preserving Indonesia's traditional culture, by 'recycling' it.

At first, KunoKini's gigs were mainly in university campuses, local cultural performances, and exhibition openings. Then in early 2008 their big break came. They heard about Sydney's Gang Festival (Gang Festival), a yearly community arts exchange event that sounded like the perfect stage to showcase their music. They successfully applied for a grant from the Australia Indonesia Institute (AII - DFAT), and on January 17, 2008, started a two-week tour of Australia, quickly becoming the stars of the Gang Festival and other venues as well, including the Brisbane Powerhouse.

The Australia tour led to many spin-offs, the first being a solo performance at the Bentara Budaya Cultural Centre, a thank you for those who helped make their international debut happen. They were also asked to produce the music for the 'Visit Indonesia 2010' ad campaign and for the movie Ost.Macabre (Macabre Movie Facebook ). So far they've produced three mini-albums: "Jammin' the Aussie", "Berdoa untuk Album" and "Menggoyang Jawa". They're currently focused on producing a new album called "Reinkairnasi" which has ten songs in it. It'll come out in the next few months, so check it out on their website, and savour the talents of this exciting and inspiring young group.

And don't worry - there's no way you'll fall asleep listening!

Garuda Magazine