Use of drone in Indonesian sound art within the context of ‘Lawing’ put forward by Anugerah

Abstract

Nursalim Yadi Anugerah is an Indonesian modern contemporary artist, who uses the drones of Kledik, an instrument from Kalimantan in his artwork called ‘Lawing’. Anugerah has engaged in addressing socioenvironmental concerns through an interdisciplinary approach. His unique approach towards drone and sound art makes him an appropriate choice for this research. The primary objective of this research is to inquire the use of drone in Indonesian Sound Art within the context of ‘Lawing’ put forward by Anugerah. The research methodology adopted for this study is Sound Ethnography. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews, observations, and literature review. Manual coding and triangulation were used to analyse and interpret the data. Various themes and subthemes were derived through the analysis of the interviews and observations. The researcher found relevant themes like aesthetic and experiential quality of drone, and innovation with drone. This study examines the aesthetics of lawing including tone, texture, resonance and noise within the context of drone. The concept of Lawing is the connection of humans and breathing at a personal level. Anugerah used an air compressor for his performance, which is an innovative way of approaching Kledik to create drone. Ambisonic sound systems and specialized microphones have been purpose-designed to craft such artworks, creating a unique spatial experience, and distinctive experiential dimension for the audience. The incorporation of technology with ethnic music in these artworks, emerges as a central driver of creativity and novelty. The study of ‘Lawing’ illustrates Anugerah’s innovative approach to transform the melodic rhythmic drone of the traditional Kledik into a continuous drone with various density in texture. Anugerah has been actively creating sound art, fusing philosophical and cultural underpinnings of Dayak’s with contemporary technology. ’Lawing’ not only presents the Dayak people’s belief, but also provoke listeners to understand the environmental issues faced in Kalimantan.