Instrumentation:
Catur Hari Wijaya: barbart, Native American flute, taiko drum, shaker, vocals
Andro Yopi: bass
Anna Wijaya: vocals

Urip Iku Urup refers to an ancient Javanese philosophy, literally translated into “Life is On”
and that compares life to a light or a fire. This philosophy says that our lives should be like a light or a flame that benefits everyone around us; the greater the light (the benefits we can give), the better for all. Urip Iku Urup means that we were born in this world not to stand alone, but to give to others, help others, and do so without expectations. Just as the sun shines for all beings without asking anything in return.

Catur wrote the song “Urip Iku Urup” during the devastating wildfires that happened in Australia between end of 2019 and beginning 2020. All of a sudden, his entire social medias were submerged with posts about this Australian Black Summer. Heartbroken by this disaster, Catur couldn’t help to think about the wildfires happening almost every day in Indonesia. He came to the realisation that media barely mentions Indonesian deforestation, and when they do, they do not explain the real reason behind it.

All year long, and especially during the dry season, vast tracts of Indonesian’s forests are cleared for palm oil, paper, pulp and other plantations. This happens mainly on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. Indonesia’s rainforests are ones of earth’s most biologically rich and oldest rainforests yet unfortunately they are the ones with the highest rate of deforestation.
The difference between the wildfires in Australia and Indonesia is that the former are an unfortunate natural disaster yet in the Indonesian archipelago, the forests are burned by the greed of large corporations. This massive corporate control of the land and its resources are also responsible for wide spread human rights abuses in local and indigenous communities.

“Urip Iku Urup” is a song dedicated to the indigenous people all over the world, who carry ancestral knowledge and are the guardians of Earth’s biodiversity. They are the first protectors of our forests and jungles. At this point in history, and all around the world their wisdom and lifestyles are under a threat by the insatiable lust for money and power from corporate leaders and corrupted politicians.

“Urip Iku Urup” is inspired from the traditional music of Borneo played on the sape kayan. This is a two-stringed lute shaped like a short-necked shovel, that the Kayan people of Kalimantan use to accompany dances or rituals. Catur composed on his barbat a simple yet mesmerising melody that reminds the trance air of the sape kayan ritualistic music, and added the scintillating voice of a Native American flute, whose sound waves connect the listener directly with Nature.