This week 8CCC highlights a musical collaboration shaped by a long-standing cultural exchange between Indonesia and the Arab world. The Feature Album, Tirakat, was released late March on the Habibi Funk label and brings together Jakarta-based trio Ali and Lebanese composer and multi-instrumentalist Charif Megarbane. The title Tirakat refers to a Javanese practice of discipline, patience and devotion, derived from the Arabic tariqa (“path” or “method”). This layered meaning mirrors the album’s focus on process and continuity. The album is not merely a fusion, but reflects a way of making music that feels already interconnected in its melodies, grooves and textures, grounded in a performance-led process shaped by intuition, repetition and trust. Western instruments are played through techniques and sensibilities formed in Indonesia and Lebanon.Ali’s blend of 1970s Indonesian psychedelic funk, Melayu traditions, disco grooves and Arab melodic forms meets Charif’s long-running exploration of cross-regional sound. Available now on Bandcamp.
