Biography

Angin Timur was established by Joel Tampeng, a young passionate Indonesian musician. Joel was born in one of the oldest tribe in Indonesia, Gayo, which is also the origin of Saman Dance. Coming from strong traditional root and grew up with Yes, Genesis, Kansas and Toto, Joel ends up giving his heart to world music and progressive.

Joel’s Journey

In year 2002, Joel Tampeng and friends formed an ethnic progressive music group known as anane. He arranged some of folk songs from his origin, to be played with modern and traditional instruments (Guitar, Bass Guitar, Lute, Saxophone, Cello, Drum, and Percussion). Since then, he had fell in love to the vibe of native sounds and tradition that brought through more modern music forms.

Back to the time before anane, he started his music career from café and bars in Java and Borneo. He used to play keyboard too until he made his mind to focus on guitar. Now that he has made to the big stage with some of Indonesia’s living legends, he chose not to let go his precious traditional root with him.

In 2006 he launched a solo guitar album called “Angin Timur” which is inspired by blew of the East wind that is soothing and enlivening at one time yet can be misty and fury. By the time going, he found his sparing partners with same visions -Joy Sinyo (bass) and Very Andrian (partner manager). 

Together they develop Angin Timur as an open community to learn and explore any kind of music as well to share value of live inherited from the Gayonese elders. The community is open for everyone to join and emerge as workshops during preparation of the concerts and shows. That’s why in each performance, the players and the number of players might flexibly changes by the needs and the process.

Angin Timur’s music

Angin Timur comes with signature mix of Gayonese typical ethnic percussion (Gegedem and Didong) and the art of Gayonese Musical Elegy (Sebuku) with Western Genre. But as the expression of the ‘self’, and as the way to sing Elegy through music, some of Angin Timur’s song has not evolving the literal ethnic instruments and weighing to the meaningful melodies. 

Joel’s basic composition has not fixed in one genre, but breadth from rock progressive to blues and jazz instead. He made his guitar as a media to resemble the rare native vocal of the ancient tribe, Suling, and other experimental sounds. 

In Angin Timur, you’ll find Eastern music time signatures notated in 5/4, 5/8, 7/8/ 9/8 unusually played with Western instruments. To know more about Angin Timur, click here to listen to our collections.

*(Perueren, Tung Alung-Alung, Ho Ho Hi Heh and Kekeberen Ni Pejuang)