photos by Kevinmattt
Newly formed Indonesia-based label Jangjang presents Tortoise, the new album from ENSEMBLE TIKORO, an acapella choir of metal vocalists who create avant-garde compositions.
Jangjang – Sundanese word for “wing” – was forged and launched by J. R. Fritsch, who ran Baltimore-based cult 2000s avant label Public Guilt. The label released nearly three dozen titles between 2004 and 2010, including material from Dälek, Destructo Swarmbots, Aluk Todolo, Trephine, Darsombra, Cream Abdul Babar, Korperschwache, Ala Muerte, and more. Now based in Indonesia for several years, Jangjang is a new venture which brings international titles to Indonesia for the first time – the first titles including albums from B L A C K I E, Dälek, and Mare LaMacchia – while also delivering Indonesian artists to the rest of the planet, as represented with the ENSEMBLE TIKORO album.
ENSEMBLE TIKORO (“Throat Ensemble” in Sundanese) is a contemporary, Indonesian group that works with extended vocals, fusing extreme metal vocals (techniques from death metal, black metal, thrash metal, hardcore, punk, etc.) with throat singing and traditional instruments. The members of ENSEMBLE TIKORO are metalheads from the Bandung, West Java underground. They play contemporary music with classical notation but also mix in traditional elements from Sundanese culture. Their music sits at the intersection of heavy metal, traditional healing rituals, and avant-garde composition.
Founded in 2012 by Robi Rusdiana, ENSEMBLE TIKORO has more than 50 works for dance, theater, visual art, and experimental projects. In 2021, they collaborated with the Melbourne-based modern dance company Lucy Guerin Inc. The performance saw heavy metal and traditional throat singing collide with contemporary Australian dance in an encounter that ultimately transformed them both, as the ghosts of tradition merge with music and dance to invent new mythologies for a globalized world. The group then released the album Hell Chamber in 2024 with Italian label Artetetra Records.
In 2026, ENSEMBLE TIKORO premiered Tortoise, a performance which also includes singing bowls, shaman drums, and tingsha (Tibetan ritual cymbals), alongside the groups extreme metal vocal and throat singing. Tortoise Part 1 is only performed in live settings, while Tortoise Part 2 and Tortoise Part 3 are captured here for the Tortoise album. Part 2 contains seven short pieces interpreting the seven chakras, using various extended vocal techniques assisted by singing bowls and shaman drums, while Part 3 includes extended vocals, singing bowls, shaman drums, and tingsha.
ENSEMBLE TIKORO has a motto, “And contemporary music for all,” a nod to Metallica’s And Justice For All.
Tortoise was recorded at Pilarin Corp by Ade Syaepudin, mixed and mastered at 7 Kerikil by Robi Rusdiana, and completed with artwork by Tandani Mutaqim.
The lead preview of ENSEMBLE TIKORO’s Tortoise, “Tortoise Part 2 – Root,” is now streaming on Bandcamp HERE and YouTube HERE.
Jangjang will release Tortoise on cassette and digital formats on October 23rd. Preorders are now live at Bandcamp HERE.
Additional previews of the record and more will be posted over the weeks ahead.
Tortoise Track Listing:
1. Tortoise Part 2 – Root
2. Tortoise Part 2 – Sacred
3. Tortoise Part 2 – Solar Plexus
4. Tortoise Part 2 – Heart
5. Tortoise Part 2 – Throat
6. Tortoise Part 2 – Third Eye
7. Tortoise Part 2 – Crown
8. Tortoise Part 3
ENSEMBLE TIKORO:
Arum Dwi Hanantoro – vocals, singing bowl
Ardyansah – vocals, singing bowl
Handriansyah Nugraha – vocals, singing bowl
Mahatma Adi Hartoko – vocals, tingsha
Robi Rusdiana – vocals, shaman drum
https://ensembletikoro.id
https://www.instagram.com/ensembletikoro.id
https://jangjangrecords.bandcamp.com
https://www.youtube.com/@JangjangRecords
https://www.instagram.com/jangjangrecords
The post ENSEMBLE TIKORO: West Java, Indonesia Acapella Metal Vocal Choir To Release Haunting Tortoise Album On New Label Jangjang On October 23rd; “Tortoise Part 2 – Root” Streaming + Preorders Posted first appeared on Earsplit Compound.