Subversive, immersive and partially submerged, Arka Kinari is a live music performance, staged from the deck of a traditional sailing ship, which imagines life after the carbon economy. Musicians Grey Filastine, from the US and Nova Ruth, from Indonesia, created the project to change the way they share their music with the world, starting in Nova’s home, Indonesia. Their mix of edgy electronica, folkloric vocals, ecological consciousness and theatrical stage shows has brought them international recognition on the underground music scene.
The performances of their last album, Drapetomania, imagined civilization as a plane hurtling towards its own destruction. Arka Kinari, which is at once the name of the project, the ship and its musicians, takes this a step further. Arka is Latin for ‘vessel’ or ‘repository’, coming from the verb ‘arcere’ meaning ‘to hold off or defend’. Kinari is a Sanskrit word for a half-human and half-bird musician, guardian of the tree of life.
