Music, a Language of Connection

By Dian Dewi Reich

Featuring Basoeki and Djarot Efendy of Tritala

Music gets deep into us in ways that our other senses sometimes have trouble comprehending. Making the fine hairs on our arms stand to attention. A tickle under our skin, or a skip or a hum in the beating of our hearts. Making the rest of our body want to move or stay still and dream. Music is a wonder this way. In their own words Basoeki and Djarot Efendy of Tritala share intimate recollections of their love affair with music.

A Return to What Has Always Been There

Music has always been in my blood. It has been flowing through me since I was a child. Even though it was always there, I stepped away from music for a long time. For almost two decades, my life focused on architecture and interior design, far from the musical path.

About two years ago, I returned fully to music. Before that, I was in what I call the music cave, working alone in studios with computers.

Recently, I began playing live music again, and this has become the most meaningful chapter of my life. It feels like a new beginning. Before, I played only for myself. Now, I play with and for others, in shared spaces where people come together.

Listening to Basoeki speak, it becomes clear that this return to music is not about reinvention, but remembrance. A quiet coming back to something that was always present.

From Solitude to Shared Experience

Through Tritala, music becomes a way to connect and communicate. Playing live allows us to share what we truly love, straight from the heart and from our own inspiration. The response from the audience is an essential part of that exchange. This connection is something the duo experiences regularly at Usada Bali, where Tritala performs twice a month as part of a growing artistic and community rhythm.

In these moments, music shifts from performance to conversation, an exchange of energy between the musicians, the space, and the people gathered within it.

Purpose over Performance

I do not think about wanting to be a musician in the traditional sense. What matters is purpose. What we are doing is sending a message through sound. When people receive it, they respond with feeling and presence. For us, music is the point, the seventh note. We do not focus on what people expect to hear. Instead, we challenge ourselves and the audience to experience something new each time.

There is a quiet confidence in this approach, an openness that invites listeners to let go of expectation and simply be present.

Music is a universal language. Sound allows people to tune into a moment together. You can feel this especially during sunset or sunrise, when opposites meet, even briefly, like a hello and a farewell.

The Journey Continues

How has your live music journey evolved over the past two years?

I feel a strong need to share. It is not about education, but about openness. I want to share this journey with other musicians and with the younger generation. For me, the journey is about returning to the center of the soul. When you reach your own center, it naturally reaches others. Over the past two years, I have felt this connection grow through live performances and through the presence of an open and receptive audience.

What emerges is a sense of trust, in the music, in the moment, and in the shared experience of listening together.

Embracing the Shadows

What is dark music to you?

I listen to the music before I listen to the lyrics. Music can feel happy, relaxed, sad, or dark. But dark does not mean sadness. Dark can be like a cold environment, where music becomes something that warms you. That contrast is essential. That is what I am trying to express through Tritala.

Djarot describes music in an unexpected way. He terms this as dark music. A juxtaposition of visual with sound. Immediately I a blanket of night, with starlight, velvety textures where sound is a temperature, sound is a light.

In this way, Tritala’s sound does not seek to define emotion, but to hold space for it, allowing each listener to find their own meaning within the music.

Experience Tritala Live at Usada Bali

Tritala performs live at Usada Bali twice a month, inviting listeners into an intimate sound journey rooted in connection, exploration, and presence. Join the community and experience their evolving live sets in a space dedicated to art, culture, and togetherness.

For upcoming dates, follow Usada Bali or Tritala on social media.