From a Silent Prefix to a Festive Celebration; Ngayogjazz 2024 Commenced in Kalimundu.

In the solemn morning in the quiet village of Kalimundu, the morning routines of people from Kalimundu are disrupted by a series of soundchecks from four different stages. Amongst the vociferation of those morning noises, curiosity from the onlookers rose through the noise. One of them was Bu Bekti and Fathan (8 y/o), natives of the village who have been wandering through the festival since early in the morning to look at the preparations happening in their village. “We’ve been roaming around the village since the whole village started to be transformed into this festival. It’s a very new thing for us as we’re not familiar with this type of music (jazz)” said Bu Bekti as she held Fathan from running around. Fathan, who likes to draw, whines to his mom as she is being interviewed and asks her to go look at the artistic installations prepared by Froghouse Bamboo. This year’s edition of Ngayogjazz has sparked the curiosity of, not only the people of Kalimundu, but also people from outside of the village.

  

Pak Cahyo, who manages the local resort, Puri Brata, admitted that his establishment had been fully booked on the date of the festival, since September. The resort had its reputation as a silent retreat and is now filled with guests coming to see the festival. This reputation also reflects the origin nature of the village in which the festival is held. It was believed that the village name Kalimundu translates as “A Silent Prefix”. Be that as it may, the silent prefix is being transformed into an intriguing celebration of music and its lively interaction between performers, the people of the village, and those who come to see the festival.

As the sun glistened through the breaks of the afternoon, the festival started to show its form. In the heart of the village, NJJO’s entourage came with its excitement and started their soundcheck. All the way from the Netherlands, the group longs for various local delicacies in the festival area. A local food vendor opens across the stage becomes their main destination. In other parts of the village, the Lantun Orchestra started to play their whistling tunes at the Mikul stage. Their heartening medley of Indonesian folk songs sparked the curiosity of Afnan, an 8th grader from the village who climbs the fence of the nearby mosque to get a better view of their rehearsal. He admits that what he has witnessed is very obscure to him yet felt so exhilarated and showed his excitement to the festival.
 

Near the end of the afternoon, it marked the start of the festival. A ceremonial walk from the local police station marched to Mikul stage to mark the commencement of the festival. A parade of bregada, a fashion show from Galeri Kompak who upcycle plastic waste into costumes, and colorful sounds from Huaton Dixie liven up the festival. With excitement and curiosity from festival goers, Ngayogjazz is finally opened with notable performances to look for. From the heartfelt songs of Frau to the upbeat sounds of mambo from Maite Hontelé with National Jeugd Jazz Orkest. What started as a silent prefix has turned into a festive celebration of music. The commencement of Ngayogjazz transformed the village from a solemn place to seek solace, to a place of heartfelt festival filled with warmth and excitement in its atmosphere.