Synchronize Fest

Synchronize Fest is the weekend of Indonesian music in Jakarta. The sheet puts the start in 2000: a group of young people then sets up an electronic festival. In February 2009 it becomes three days at Plaza Indonesia Entertainment X'nter. Since 2016 it is held at Gambir Expo, in Kemayoran. David Karto directs it. Saleh Husein, called Ale, carries the artistic direction. The sheet speaks of five stages and about a hundred shows, across three days and three nights. The account of October 2024 speaks of seven stages, 160 names and 14 special programs. Both stand. Tens of thousands come. Pop, rock, jazz, folk, reggae, ska, hip hop, dangdut and metal all come in. There is also an open-air cinema, a record fair, an art market and food stalls. It does not fit one label.

In 2019 David Karto counts that in three days as much as 11 tons of rubbish pile up. Since then S.i.S.a exists, System Integration for Sustainability Act. The word sisa, in Indonesian, is the leftover. They ask each person to bring a cup, and with that the water is free at the point Sumber Mata Air. Used cooking oil is collected and Noovoleum turns it into biofuel. The sheet still speaks of 2000. The Kemayoran grounds come in 2016. Both counts stand.

On Friday 4 October 2024 the weekend is called Together Bersama. At 3:15pm MALIQ & D'Essentials open the Dynamic Stage, the largest, with Semesta. On the District stage, Nike Ardilla returns as a metahuman figure, made with the studio Bujukrayu. That figure sings Seberkas Sinar and Bintang Kehidupan, with Danilla, Tantri of Kotak, Bonita, Putri Ariani and Fanny Soegi. The crowd fills the area. It is the first day, and the sun still hits.

Juicy Luicy take the District stage from 5:00pm to 5:45pm. The fans are called Jemari. Julian Kaisar, Uan, opens with Insya Allah. Bukan Orangnya follows, and he says it is for anyone who cannot let go. Then Terlalu Tinggi, for anyone who promises and does not follow through. In the middle he asks a young woman in front if she is well, if she has a boyfriend, or if she is in something loose. Hana Futari counts 11 songs and also names Lampu Kuning, Tampar, Lantas and Hahaha. Another count adds Asing and Tanpa Tergesa, and closes with Sialan alongside Adrian Khalif. Uan jokes that an office does not allow Sialan to be played, and at the end they do sing it. Both lists stand. People take out their phones.

On Saturday 5 October Muhammad Tria Ramadhani, Tria, returns with The Changcuters. He sings only one piece, I Love U Bibeh. He tells the Changcut Ranger thanks for seeing each other again, that he did not expect it, and that he was away for about two months. He adds that they brought him back from 12 minutes in which he was no longer going to be there. On 10 August 2024, at The Sounds Project, he faints on stage: he goes back to drink water while Gila-gilaan is playing and he falls. The rest of the band keeps playing. That is another night. Here only that one song returns. The same night, around 10:45pm, Dewi Perssik, Depe, opens on the District stage with Basah Basah and goes on through Rungkad. Halfway through she introduces Aldi Taher, her ex, and tells him to come up. They sing Yang Penting Happy and a remix of Zombie, by The Cranberries. Aldi thanks them for being under the same wedding canopy with her again. They also sing Hikayat Cintaku. She smiles and keeps dancing. The photos are by Revi C. Rantung.

On Sunday 6 October, on the Dynamic stage, Chicha Koeswoyo, Joshua Suherman and Titiek Puspa sing the program Lagu Anak Masa ke Masa. Sore Ze Band and others, among them Pusakata, Bilal Indrajaya and Noh Saleh, dedicate the stage to Ade Paloh. Burgerkill brings an orchestra to the XYZ Stage for Ivan Scumbag and for Eben. The close splits into two rooms: Potlot Jam, on the Dynamic stage, brings together Anang Hermansyah and Slank; Island Vibes Reggae Party, on the District stage, alternates Conrad and Lutan Fyah, from Jamaica. On the Forest Stage, Rebellion Rose does the Friday punk, with no loose piece.