Yogyakarta, 19 September 2019—Last Thursday, Fisipol celebrated its 64th anniversary. After a tumpeng competition on Thursday, the Rhapsody of the Archipelago (ROTA) press conference was held on Digilib Café on the same day. ROTA was a part of Fisipol’s dies natalis that will be held until the 30th of November.
This forum was attended by Prof. Ir. Panut Mulyono, M.Eng., D.Eng. (the Rector of UGM), Dr. Erwan Agus Purwanto, M.Si. (the Dean of Fisipol), Dr. Wening Udasmoro, M.Hum., DEA., (the Dean of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences), Sabrang Mowo Damar Panuluh (the vocalist of Letto band) and Ari Wulu (the Programme Director of Yogyakarta Gamelan Festival). The last two figures were invited to participate in the main event of the dies natalis that will take place in the Grha Sabha Pramana square.
On the 30th of November, Fisipol will showcase a colossal gamelan show, entitled “Rota Gama 4.0.” The 4.0 refers to the industry 4.0 trend. In this colossal show, both traditional and modern music will be showcased. UGM aims to showcase local culture in a more modern and interesting way for the public to enjoy.
“Participating in this event (Rota Gama 4.0) is something that is incredible for me,” Ari stated. Along with Sabrang, he will play the role as the creative officer of Rota Gama 4.0. On Yogyakarta Arts Festival that was held last July, Ali and Sabrang collaborated on a similar show. Letto band and the Gamelan Gayam 16 Community collaborated on this show, which took place in the Pendhapa Art Space. The success of this event is the main consideration of Fisipol in involving Ari and Sabrang in the upcoming colossal gamelan show.
Through Rota Gama 4.0, UGM wishes to revive and reintroduce Indonesia’s traditional culture to the public, which is currently being threatened by rapid modernization. “We want Indonesia’s culture to be displayed on the world stage. In order to achieve that, the first step is that we need to appreciate our own traditional culture first,” Sabrang conveyed. Therefore, it’s not exaggerated if Rota Gama 4.0 is considered as “an attempt to revive ourselves”, as Sabrang has stressed.