Nusantara Beat

Missing Altın Gün? You won’t be for much longer, with the latest sensation from the Amsterdam scene booked into Kino Šiška tonight. And where those more established superstars dig for riches in Turkish psych, Nusantara Beat’s deep-dive of choice is Indonesian roots, cooking up a hugely exciting blend of hypnotic folk melodies, vintage Indo-pop, pulsating psychedelic grooves and very contemporary sonic textures.

For fans of: Altın Gün, Yīn Yīn, gamelan 

Their rise has been swift, built upon mesmerising live shows and a string of acclaimed seven-inch singles on Bongo Joe Records. Now they’re with Glitterbeat, perhaps inevitably given that label’s love of global psych with distinction, and their eponymous debut was released last year to critical acclaim.

Nusantara Beat by Nusantara Beat

(Glitterbeat Records, 2025)

As vocalist Megan de Klerk explains, Nusantara is an old word referring to all the islands in the Indonesian archipelago. Today it is used to express the idea of different cultures coming together and, in the band’s case, the mixing of the rhythms of the country into one sound. Despite hailing from the Netherlands (with the exception of bassist Michael Joshua, who was born in West Java), all the members of the band have Indonesian heritage. Most of the lyrics, sung in Indonesian by Megan, deal with the complexities of modern love, with a bittersweet pop sensibility perfectly in tune with Megan’s wonderfully delicate vocal style and shimmering guitar riffs modelled on the traditional gamelan orchestras.

Nusantara Beat are a totally distinctive musical collective, equally at home with contemporary popular culture and the sound of history resonating down the ages. They’re at the top of the list of must-sees for many fans of psych-folk and vintage global pop, so how cool will that make you?

Megan de Klerk (vocals) / Jordy Sanger (guitar) / Gino Groeneveld (percussion) / Michael Joshua Yonata (bass) / Rouzy Portier (guitar, keyboards) / Sonny Groeneveld (drums)

Supported by Liveurope. Liveurope is co-funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme.

Co-produced by Druga Godba & Kino Šiška.