The CTM 2019 MusicMaker’s Hacklab, hosted by Peter Kirn of CDM and 2019 co-hosts Andreas Siagian and Lintang Radittya, focused on collaborative performances that proposed ways in which music can be a speculative medium for sustainability at a time when we face inevitable shifts in the world’s politics and climate.

The Hacklab week began with Input talks kicked-off by a lecture by Andreas Siagian and Lintang Radittya. Indonesians have their own way of bridging their country’s limited accessibility in the face of rapid technological growth. Culturally known as Oprek (hack) and Otak Atik (tinker), the hack and DIY cultures of Indonesia haven’t really been as well known as gambiarra and jugaad, from Brazil and India, respectively. But the creative approach to hacking, repairing, and modifying technology has become part of the culture and, for some, professional practice.

Even without formal education, Oprek and Otak Atik are a form of resistance to capitalism. Andreas Siagian and Lintang Radittya, who were our partners in the companion MusicMakers hacklab event this past October at Nusasonic festival in Yogyakarta, join us to share what experience they’re bringing to Berlin. They’ll talk about their own background in Indonesian engineering and hacking culture, how they’ve organised events and communities, as well as delve into their own work.
The talk took place within CTM Festival’s daytime Discourse series that regroups a wide-ranging cast of artists, thinkers, practitioners, researchers, tinkerers, and industry professionals in a programme of talks, panel discussions, lecture-performances, workshops, film screenings and other formats of exchange.