From The Nusantara Issue: discover how Indonesian subcultures develop, how communities come together and how a new wave of creatives reconnects with heritage. Learn about the culture through the creatives that shape it.

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Article: Farrel Hilal goes independent with Asmara & Swag.

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Farrel Hilal goes independent with Asmara & Swag.

Jakarta-based neo-soul and R&B singer Farrel Hilal chose to continue as an independent artist for complete creative freedom. Asmara & Swag marks the start of this new chapter: a personal introduction to who he is, navigating life and love with laid-back energy, before closing on a reflective note about faith.

Across all the tracks of the album, Farrel made everything himself except one trumpet part, from instruments and vocals to mixing and mastering. He moves between Moluccan, Bahasa Indonesia and English, reconnecting with his Moluccan roots, all wrapped in a warm 2000s R&B aesthetic with echoes of Musiq Soulchild.

This is only a short preview. The full, in-depth story can be found in the printed Endy Magazine, Issue No. 1: The Nusantara Issue.

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Pleasure Noise, Sundanese hip-hop collective from West Java

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Pleasure Noise: a Sundanese take on hip-hop.

The West Java collective blending Sundanese roots with Western hip-hop, and giving their community a voice in the process.