Weird Genius Reconnects With Sumba’s Musical Heritage

RRI.CO.ID, Bogor - A decade after drawing global acclaim by weaving Indonesian heritage into electronic music, Weird Genius has returned to its roots with the release of their latest track, Your Side. The ambitious project features the soaring vocals of Indonesian pop artist Novia Bachmid and infuses modern electronic dance music with the rare, near-extinct traditional sounds of Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara.

The track is the direct result of an intensive two-week creative expedition across Sumba, where the group searched for and studied traditional musical instruments that are rapidly fading from the consciousness of younger generations. To breathe new life into this vanishing cultural heritage, Weird Genius heavily incorporated unique, historical string instruments like the Jungga and Dungga Roro into a grand, modern electronic arrangement.

Adding to the track's mystical, authentic atmosphere, the song opens with an intro performed directly by legendary Sumba traditional musician Umbu Haling. The resulting sonic profile provides a stark, emotional contrast to typical mainstream electronic releases.

Weird Genius described the creation of Your Side as a definitive homecoming to their original musical philosophy. The group noted a profound artistic parallel between this release and their 2016 breakthrough track DPS, which was famously inspired by the traditional soundscapes of Bali. Ten years later, Sumba has served as the ultimate muse for their next evolutionary step.

Beyond serving as a standalone single, Your Side is envisioned by the group as a cinematic, travel-friendly soundtrack crafted to accompany people as they journey through the natural landscapes of the Indonesian archipelago. The warm ethnic undertones combined with pulsing electronic beats are specifically engineered to offer listeners an immersive and deeply relaxing auditory experience.

Through this high-profile release, Weird Genius aims to prove that Indonesia's local ancestral heritage can be repackaged into a contemporary, highly relevant medium that resonates effortlessly with today's youth while preserving fading cultural legacies for the modern music industry.

In an official statement detailing their two-week cultural journey, Weird Genius explained how the vast, spiritual energy of the island directly shaped the track's sonic identity:

Your Side stems from their two-week trip to Sumba as a project to explore extinct traditional musical instruments. Weird Genius returns to its core through this song. In 2016, we went to Bali and formed DPS, and 10 years later, they returned to Sumba and formed Your Side. They pour out all the splendor and magic of Sumba in this song. (Naura Sofia/EN)