Enter the mesmerizing world of Raja Kirik, a music-performance-research project by Yennu Ariendra and J. Mo’ong. Their exploration delves into the history and present of folk trance dances from Java, Indonesia, such as Reog, Jaran and Jathilan, filled with magic and ritualism. The music and storytelling of these dances reveal a tumultuous history of darkness, chaos, violence and resistance that still resonates in Indonesia’s political struggles today. Raja Kirik’s explorations harken back to the days of Dutch colonization; the band explores Western influences in its own culture while manifesting a form of post-colonial protest, neatly using traditional-indigenous Indonesian sounds and Western-club percussion samples in its music.