KUNTARI is an Indonesian duo formed by Tesla Manafa and Rio Abrora, both hailing from Bandung in West Java. The musicians describe their sound as “primal-core”—a unique blend of experimentation, rhythmic intensity, improvisation, and inspiration drawn from various Indonesian musical traditions. Their work defies simple categorization, blending elements of jazz, minimalism, noise, percussion-based music, and their own sonic explorations.
In this interview, Tesla Manaf discusses the band’s departure from the jazz scene, the origins of the term “primal-core,” the importance of rhythm and drama in KUNTARI’s compositions, and how the band perceives the relationship between the present and cultural heritage.
Artur Mieczkowski
Artur Mieczkowski: Your journey began with jazz, and today you create music that is far more ritualistic, physical, and extreme. What had to change within you for Kuntari to come into being at all?
Tesla Manaf: As a Jazz artist, i believe i will never reach the highest level if i stay in my country. It gradually stressed me out since i have to chase certain skill and level to be excepted in a jazz world, its kinda toxic environment and self harm as well. So i looked deep into me and national ancestors treasures what i can learn and growing with it without disturbing my peace as an artist.
A.M.: The term “primal-core” appears in descriptions of Kuntari. What does it actually mean to you—is it more of an aesthetic, a way of working, or perhaps a certain psychophysical state?
Tesla Manaf: I need to stand out in a experimental world, which thousands of them have their own uniqueness. I started with creating a genre that nobody ever heard before, Primal-Core can encapsulated what we do and it works. Many organizers and Festival invited us because they curious with our Genre.
A.M.: Your music often seems to hover between a trance-like ritual and industrial chaos. Are you interested in the tension between the ancestral and the contemporary and urban?
Tesla Manaf: I grow up in a urban community and modernity, but in Indonesia its so easy to intertwined between cultures and metropolitan. You can find traditional element in nearest neighborhood, either it architecture, food, clothes and music most of the time. Without to separate the duality, i prefer embrace the both sides of it and miraculously it showed in our performance and sound.
A.M.: In many Western projects that incorporate traditional elements, it’s easy to fall into the trap of folkloric ornamentation. How do you approach working with Indonesian heritage to avoid such superficiality?
Tesla Manaf: Our goals is to avoid traditional instruments but still sounded like traditional music with western tools. I’m doing this to challenge and question western standard. As an urban person, i almost never hanged around with traditional cultures but its already in our blood so i prefer not to force what we don’t have and showcase what we emulates.
A.M.: When composing, do you think of sound more as a musical structure, or rather as energy that directly affects the body?
Tesla Manaf: Since a very young kid, i learned classical music as a musical foundation so its natural for me to make a structure when i composed a music without alienating improvisation concept. But theme, prologue, coda and everything inside it makes me enjoy the composition a thousands time more.
A.M.: Rhythm is very important in Kuntari—at times it’s downright hypnotic and physical. Repetition has been a feature of both ritual music and contemporary experimental music for centuries. What interests you most about its effect on the body and perception?
Tesla Manaf: As an Indonesian, we have thousand of islands, more than 1 thousand languages and 500ish cultures, our music is always rhythm based either it slow or complicated fast. Ritual music in Indonesia is repetitive and trance based either for funeral, harvesting, wedding, circumcize ceremony and so on. Yes it effected us in many way, but i avoided on stage and create a music more movement-driven.
A.M.: References to West Java and Indonesia’s urban landscape often appear in descriptions of your music. To what extent do specific places and local experiences influence Kuntari’s work?
Tesla Manaf: Actually West Java is where we leave but we almost never make a reference out of our music. In West Java, the traditional instruments are played slow and repetitive, sometimes there are medium speed with complicated tutti but it to accompany the dancers. We mostly find a reference from more East Java which is incredibly fast and accurate, also from Sulawesi as well where the rhythm it has to be played with hard energy.
A.M.: Your music features both improvisation and a very deliberate build-up of tension. What does your creative process look like—do your songs come about spontaneously, or do they evolve over time?
Tesla Manaf: Mostly they do not evolve and never spontaneous. Like i explained before, i make a structure like a classical music, but the dramaturgy it always evolve over the time to create more tension, emotion and drama in a single music. I can firmly said that our dramaturgy is our ultimate advantage that make people gasp and wanted more.
A.M.: When listening to Kuntari, it can sometimes be difficult to separate the spiritual element from the purely sonic experience. Is ritual a real point of reference for you, or is it more of a metaphor for intense listening?
Tesla Manaf: Nope, ritual never been a part of our compose based or performance. We are an ordinary person that in love with our own sound, it means we can create a different kind of sonic experience in different sound system. It reacted, the speaker reacted to our music, it always sounded different and surprised us. Either in small stages, concert hall, best speakers on planet earth or more intimate showcase, we love how our sound can bhave differently according to the environment situation.
A.M.: What is the relationship between traditional instruments and techniques and electronics? Do you view them as equal tools, or does one of them carry greater “cultural significance”?
Tesla Manaf: Actually, i never “practice” anymore since 2018. I stopped listen to music completely, i came to the shows many time just to embrace the energy and learn speaker behavior towards my body. I learned the vibration instead of notes so thats why KUNTARI music is rhythm based. I never learned Traditional instruments, not even a minute but i admired the simplicity of it, the out of tune and not perfect instruments, it makes me think differently not to chase western tuning.
A.M.: The Indonesian experimental scene is becoming increasingly visible on the global stage. How do you see it from the inside? What do you think sets it apart from European or American scenes?
Tesla Manaf: I think it already big since 2018, many of experimental Indonesian musicians already open the path many years ago so we can achieve what we already have now. It makes us grateful. The scene growing so fast and getting bigger, but they rarely experimented, mostly just repeat and trying so hard to ne different with much less experience. We have privilege to travel the world to found out that KUNTARI are one of a kind, nobody sounded like us but at the same time we saw many experimental artist all over the globe pushed the boundaries with new instruments and new concept which we really love it. Indonesian are much different than the other because we have hundreds of ancient music that already in our blood waiting to explode and developed.
A.M.: Western audiences often describe music from outside Europe in terms of “mysticism” or “exoticism.” How do you respond to such interpretations?
Tesla Manaf: Racist!! Music is music, it will deliver well to you if it sounded good enough and presented well enough regardless where it comes from.
A.M.: Your concerts seem very physically intense—almost like a shared experience of tension between you and the audience. What matters most to you when you’re performing live?
Tesla Manaf: The sound, always the sound. KUNTARI attention to every detail to our instruments is incredibly important to us. We remembered our sound by heart, how it react and behave in many circumstances. And that will deliver to ourself and to audiences, in some way we are an audience for our music, we performed it but we also move by it. That’s why we never get bored performing it hundreds of time.
A.M.: Kuntari operates at the intersection of many worlds—experimental music, tradition, noise, metal, and improvisation. Are there any areas of sound or artistic practices that you haven’t explored yet, but that particularly appeal to you today?
Tesla Manaf: Not really, but we always find it fascinating to see experimental artists create something new and deliver it uniquely. Once again, we are so privilege can travel to many countries encountered with many great artists as well.
A.M.: Thank you very much for the interview. I wish you the best of luck with your plan.
Tesla Manaf: Terima Kasih