With their pensive expressions, boundless curiosity, and frequent bursts of playfulness, it’s not hard to see just how closely biologically related we are to orangutans. But despite them being so closely related to us and their name literally meaning 'person of the forest' - we have threatened them with extinction. In this episode we’re looking at an issue that has come to represent Indonesia’s darkest environmental reality: deforestation and habitat loss in Sumatra and Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, through Navicula’s song Orangutan.  ..read more

A podcast about the social history of Indonesia, through the songs of Navicula -  the best band you’ve probably never heard of.     ..read more

In this episode of the podcast, we're looking at Nyepi through the Navicula song, Saat Semua Semakin Cepat Bali Berani Berhenti, or as everything gets faster and faster Bali dares to stop.­­ Released in 2016 it's the band's love letter to Nyepi - Bali’s day of silence during which the entire island shuts down for 24 hours. A gentle acoustic folk ballad the song is an ode to the Island's bravery to continue celebrating its traditions in the face of globalization and to slip into stillness amidst so much noise. But Nyepi isn't the only example of Bali’s bravery to go against the status quo. In 2 ..read more

In this episode we are getting into a topic that every Indonesian across the country thinks about, corruption. We're going to do our best to give you a picture of why it's such a big issue in Indonesia and introduce you to some of the people and organizations who are tackling corruption at different levels in very diverse and creative ways. We're looking at all of this through the Navicula song that has become the anthem of Indonesia's anti-corruption movement, Mafia Hukum, or the legal mafia, a song that is arguably one of the band's biggest hits.  This episode features: Dandhy Laksono ..read more

This is the second of a two-part episode on violent religious extremism. If you haven't already, listen to  Aku Bukan Mesin - I Am Not a Machine, first. In this episode, we are looking at how and why people become violent religious extremists, and explore “Everyone Goes to Heaven” - one of the songs Navicula released in response to  a turbulent time in Indonesia’s history.    We are joined by Sidney Jones, a widely renowned expert on religious extremism and conflict in Indonesia, and Heidi Arbuckle, an expert on tolerance and on the role of music and the arts in creating an ..read more

In this episode, we are exploring violent religious extremism, through Aku Bukan Mesin (I am not a machine), one of the songs that the band recorded in response to terrorist bombings that shook Bali and Jakarta in the early 2000, and a turbulent political transition in Indonesia which saw conflict flaring up in various parts of the country. The conflicts were dividing communities across religious lines and resulted in large scale destruction, violence, displacement, and the deaths of thousands of people. Joining us in this episode is a special guest, Sidney Jones - a widely renowned expert on ..read more

We're going back to the very beginning - back to 1996, the year that Navicula was formed, and talking about the band's journey over the past 25 years - to how they got to where they are today.  There's a lot in this episode, we're speaking with the whole band - Robi, Dadang, Palel and Krishna, as well as two of the band's former managers, Rudolf Dethu, and Lakota Moira. We'll hear about Navicula's experience recording at Record Plant Studios in Hollywood, and the band's deal with Sony and their subsequent split with the record label. We'll find out why Gembul, Navicula's former drummer le ..read more

We delve into ‘Metropolutan’,  a song about the overdevelopment and pollution crisis in the Indonesian city of Jakarta. We also hear about something pretty amazing that happened to the band as a result of this song, which took them to another big city - Los Angeles.  ..read more

Prologue to A Soundtrack of Resistance -  a podcast looking at the social history of Indonesia, through the songs of Navicula, the best band you've probably never heard of.  ..read more

In the first episode, we explore one of Navicula’s most popular songs - Busur Hujan (Rainbow). The song was created by Navicula to welcome the Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior Ship to Bali, as part of its journey to campaign for environmental protection around the world.  In this episode, you will hear about Robi’s (Navicula’s vocalist and guitarist) and the band’s motivation to support those fighting for social and environmental rights and passion about the cultural, social and biological diversity of Indonesia.   You will hear about the process of making the song, and how Navicula got to ..read more