Jirapah Refuse to Be Classified

Jirapah resides in a perpetual state of cool.

Formed in the late aughts in Brooklyn, New York, the indie rock band has gained a lot of momentum since returning home to Indonesia a few short years ago. But still Jirapah operates with admirable nonchalance; releasing records at a lackadaisical pace, and playing shows only when "real life" and actual work permits. Unlike the career-minded trajectory of many of indie bands here, Jirapah — "Giraffe" in Indonesian — doesn't seem to function with any grand ambitions other than to make music when they feel like it.

This lack of ambition might be frustrating for fans who've had to contend with the rare compilation track and free digital EPs off of the band's blog, but it also ensures that all of the band's output is purely an artistic and personal endeavor — the ingredients for the most compelling kind of music.

Traversing the melodic side of US indie rock in its early days (think bands such as Elefant, Interpol, and Longwave) before adding more eclectic influences like Afro-pop and krautrock, the band's current sound incorporates even more experimental elements like free jazz and noise. Their latest is also their longest release. Bits is being released as a limited edition tape by UK boutique label Luau Records and features 6 instrumental tracks. Though Jirapah has grown into a full-fledged band since creator Ken Jenie's return to Indonesia, the record, again, finds Jenie handling playing almost all the instruments.

In a way, Jirapah is still a one man band. Jenie formed the band while living in New York, studying at Queens College and the New York Institute of Technology. The "band" began when Jenie began writing and recording songs in his apartment. In between, he met Mar Galo through a mutual friend. She became the band's bassist and first official member (Jenie and Galo later dated and are now married).

"The first time I recorded music under Jirapah, I actually travelled from NYC to Washington DC to record at my friends Daru and Danur's house," Jenie recalls. "They had a pretty professional set up at their house and I wanted to have an organic feel to the music so I played the guitar and sang the vocals while Daru played the bass and Danur played the drums. Only one of the songs has been released, the other are still in my computer."

The first Jirapah releases were posted for free on the band's blog between 2009 and 2010, and included the Thank You, Max EP as well as the Digital 7" Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 EPs.

"We had the chance to gig regularly about once a month while we were in New York," Jenie said of the band's early days (this would be around 2007-2009). "Mar learned how to play the bass just for Jirapah — she's awesome, and she booked all of our shows. Mar used to book shows around the city for Japanese bands, so she knows her way around the venues."

When Jenie returned to Indonesia in 2010, he recruited Yudhis Tira and Jan Kristianto from the post-hardcore band Vague to play guitar and drums, and added bassist Nico Gozali to round-out the live lineup. Later, Galo would rejoin the band to play keyboards, before going back to bass after Kristianto left and Gozali took over the drums. Although Jirapah entered an experimental phase after the lineup change, Jenie sees the new sound as more a reflection of his environment than a consequence of adding new musicians to the fold.

"To be honest, although I believe the environment [and] neighborhood we're in certainly influences the music we make, [though] I'm not sure how it translates sonically," Jenie said. "I'm sure, though, that the pace of the city, the music that you can find, the music tastes of your peers, the surrounding architecture, stuff you read, your age — basically everything in your surroundings will influence your music… I don't think Jirapah's music being made today sounds like anything we made in New York, and I believe this is proof of how the environment you are in shapes your music."

Jirapah's latest iteration brings jazz influences into the mix — something that Jenie says began with his love of hip-hop while living in New York.

"I listened to jazz while in New York mostly because I enjoyed producing hip-hop beats and jazz/funk was pretty much the music I sampled from," he said. "In Jakarta, I started delving into the music deeper, learning how it is played, the theories, etc. That has certainly influenced my personal guitar playing, I consciously apply what I learned to what I play. I'd like to add that I suck at jazz guitar but learned a lot from studying the genre."

That influence is clearly defined on Bits, which offer up highly-improvised guitar lines above drunken rhythm sections on tracks like "They Fall Like Jenga" and "Diving Into Earth." Other tracks sound even more out there, including the Tim Hecker-esque noise art "Chairs and Tables" or the krautrock-ish "Foliage."

"I don't really know what Jirapah's music is like today, but I think that is a good thing," Jenie said. "I'd like to think that a band's sound develops and changes over time, as it reflects the personalities and interests of the people in it."

For Jenie and Jirapah, coolness is continuing to create music that excites the people making it.

"I personally am not aiming to achieve a certain sound because that's seems a bit limiting," he said. "To consciously be anchored in a certain sound to me hinders the ability to experiment with something new, as deviating from that core sound means that you will lose your identity."

Follow Marcel Thee on Twitter.