Indonesian folk-pop duo Stars and Rabbit are ready to introduce the UK to their beguiling sound and intelligent songwriting with the release of single Man Upon The Hill, out on November 11th 2016 via Green Island Music.
The single is a whimsical folk tale about a man on top of a hill who is accepting reality, letting go of his past and moving on. Lead singer Elda Suryani’s incredibly unique vocal carries the song effortlessly and conjures memories of gifted female vocalists such as Björk, Lamb and CoCoRosie. Combining her enchanting vocals with guitarist Adi Widodo’s stunning musical arrangement, Man Upon The Hill is a wonderfully quirky track, filled with dream-like qualities that fans of Emiliana Torrini and First Aid Kit will identify with.
The duo formed in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in 2011 when Elda enlisted the skills of Adi to help her with her songwriting. As their songwriting thrived and compositions began to take shape, the pair decided to come up with a band name, settling on Stars and Rabbit, and the rest, as they say, is history. Since the release of previous singles Worth It and The House, the band have continued to create a name for themselves in their home country, where they have a huge reputation, gaining support from the likes of Indonesia’s Rolling Stone Magazine and The Beat Magazine amongst many others.
Now, with an English tour set to commence on October 12th and Man Upon The Hill set for release in November, Stars and Rabbit are excited to finally share their gorgeous sound with a UK audience.
In this interview feature, we chat with Stars and Rabbit about motivations, the new project and more.
Q&A, links, and the video for their single, The House, can be found below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
Adi: Nothing, I just play music and this is what was born from it, I’m not restrict my music from one specific genre.
Elda: We never really intented it to be a certain genre. It just came out as it is. It’s a combination of everything that has inpired us all along.
What led you into this journey with music? And further, what drives you to push it out to the public?
Elda: I’ve always been so close to music and i’ve always wanted to travel. And i’ve projected it with my mind so clearly about traveling with my own music. So it’s a combination of passion and a vivid imagination.
Adi: I started it as a hobby, and that’s where my soul is.
Who or what influences your creativity? Have your tastes in music changed over time?
Elda: Somehow the music has its own life that pushes through our limit. And we want to see how far it goes.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
Adi: I want to travel the world with my music
What was the last song you listened to?
Elda: Color decay by Júníus mayvant
Adi: Coldplay’s Clocks
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
Adi: I choose vinyl
Elda: MP3s and CD
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Elda: Spotify. My first introduction to digital music. Ha. It’s just enough.
Adi: Spotify because It easy to access apart from I’m not using ios devices.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what is the biggest challenge you face when trying to connect with or find new fans?
Elda: We need to always come up with creative content.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more music?
Elda: In terms of social media, Instagram. Discover more music? iTunes and Spotify
Anything else you’d like to add before signing off?
Elda: Whatever you feel after listening to our music, i hope it’s a good thing or even inspire you to do creative things.
