“Street Punk! Banda Aceh,” where punk rock refuses to die!
Film Synopsis: Eleven years ago, a massive undersea earthquake triggered an Indian Ocean tsunami, killing 167,000 people in Indonesia’s Aceh Province. Since then, strict sharia law has…
RAM: From the Street, Where Haitian Culture Thrives.
Words by Maria Bakkalapulo. Music offers a barometer of life in Haiti, to an almost bizarre extent. Just look at the country’s former president – Michele Martelly.…
Fighting One of Indonesia’s Biggest Developers, Superman is Dead Will Not Be Silenced – for MTV Iggy
Words by Maria Bakkalapulo and Niall Macaulay Bali’s Kuta-bred Superman Is Dead (SID) is one of the busiest bands in Indonesia, and the small island is…
Helly Luv: Freedom Fighter Takes on ISIS via Pop Music for MTV Iggy
“Music is My Weapon and I Know I Will Never Be Safe Again.” Story by Maria Bakkalapulo and Niall Macaulay A peshmerga (Kurdish for “those who…
Belle and Sebastian: A Blueprint for Audience-Driven Success – for MTV Iggy
Words by Maria Bakkalapulo For bands seeking success, refusing to do interviews, and sending snaps of friends as your press photos, may not come recommended. But…
The Borneo Jazz Festival Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary
This year the Borneo Jazz Festival celebrated its 10th anniversary in one of the most beautiful tropical paradises. Maria Bakkalapulo travelled there and brings us a…
Cenk Blonk – Balinese Shadow Puppet Road Show.
By Maria Bakkalapulo – story first published in Songlines in 2007. Tonight, tucked deep in the heartland is a performance by one of Bali’s most popular…
Songhoy Blues, Malian Music in Exile – for MTV Iggy
Words by Maria Bakkalapulo Playing music is enough to get you killed in northern Mali. Jihadists took the region by force in 2012 and imposed sharia,…
