It would be a sin to write about Trip Hop in South East Asia without mentioning Everybody Loves Irene (ELI).
This Jakarta based band have been dubbed as the fore front trip hop band as well as Indonesia’s own Portishead.
They also have international recognition gained by their remake of the Misfits’ notorious song Hybrid Moment.
Though their sounds do have striking resemblences with the Bristol-England band, ELI managed to declare their own distinct sound by being somewhat gloomier then their influence band and with a more ambient soundscape. Almost soulful and loungy in a way.
Their vocalist, predictably named Irene, could try a little harder in our opinion to be in the song. Though she’s quite well in technique, Irene’s vocal has not yet been able to drag listener’s emotion into the gloomy tunes.
overall, there’s no doubt why ELI was dubbed as the front band of Indonesia’s trip hop scene. There’s no other way to describe their music.
Tags: trip hop edition
