I discovered this label today while browsing online. Hasana Editions, from Bandung, Indonesia, releases cassettes and CDs with a wonderfully minimalist style and sensibility. Each of the label’s artists, like Julian Abraham ‘Togar,’ makes music not just because it feels good, but because they believe their art is a tool for sharpening a message so it lands as widely and memorably as possible. I view each release as a two-pronged exploration: the qualities of the music, displayed for anyone to listen to and taste—that one is obvious—and the window those sounds offer into the artist’s psyche.
In Julian’s case, looking through the window reveals the set of circumstances that turned him into the music-concocting (mad) scientist he is today. Digging into Julian’s repertoire, we see someone fascinated by the psychology behind music, and by experimenting with sound in open spaces. His art installation, OK Studio, is an intriguing concept: automated drum performances that musicians can play along with, bringing their own instruments and jamming to the organic, mechanized rhythms. The results are captured on this recording, Acoustic Analog Digitally Composed. With Julian, there’s no doubt: he creates to communicate and to inspire the change he wants to see in the world, whether that’s an installation that invites public participation, or a piece that raises awareness of global crises like climate change. We need more Julians in the world.