For Interview in Bahasa Indonesia read it here: Kolonigigs.net
On Wednesday (6/3) in early March, Koloniradio broadcast a visit from Trigga Coca. The broadcast, which was hosted by Zakki and Andreas Leksana (Lokal Jajan), lasted approximately 2 hours chatting about Trigga Coca’s musical journey to the process of working on his latest single Wagwan. Here’s the excitement of the interview
Koloni Gigs (KG): What have you been up to lately Trico?
Trigga Coca (TC): Busy enjoying fatherhood lol
KG: When did Trigga Coca first start playing music? First band?
TC: For music it was since I was a kid, but when I was in elementary school I preferred drawing and painting because at that time I had an uncle who was a painter and was often taught painting techniques. In fact, I can’t even sing in front of the class during music class, lol.. It was only when I entered junior high school that I moved from Salatiga to Klaten for the first time to have a band and become a singer. Because at that time every class had at least one band, and at that time I realized “I can sing too” lol after that my life is all about this sh*t. That’s why I told you that when I first started painting again maybe 2019 or 2020 ago, it then opened my memory that previously being a painter was my childhood dream I mean instead of being a musician.
KG: What music did that first band play?
TC: At first it was just pop-rock songs at that time, then I started to get to know punk rock, so covers of NOFX, MxPx, Green Day, SUM41, No Use For a Name and so on. It wasn’t until the end of junior high school that the same band, began to change personnel with friends outside of school to become my Hardcore/Metal band which has been running for quite a long time, maybe you could say until now.
KG: Then how did you get from Hardcore to Hip-Hop?
TC: Obviously at that time kids in the Hardcore-Punk scene would listen to Homicide. And that was probably the only Hip Hop artist whose songs I could really listen to at that time. Well at the same time I was in the skate scene. So I was quite exposed to skate video soundtracks at that time, which I remember Lil Wayne, Terry Kennedy’s Fly Society, Young Buck, especially the soundtrack of DGK’s ITS OFFICIAL. From those 2 distant Hip-Hop sounds, I started digging. And at that time, I couldn’t listen to boombap, G-funk at all, it was even very difficult to listen to Biggie Smalls-Tupac, let alone A Tribe Called Quest et al. Finally, the door was opened by Hardcore Hip-Hop like Furious Styles, and then I could listen to La Coka, Immortal Tech, Jedi Mind Trick, etc. After that, all kinds of Hip-Hop could enter my ears.
KG: Why do you prefer to play new school/trap Hip Hop instead of oldschool?
TC: I actually played boombap/oldschool before, it was only in 2017 when the first Trigga Coca project appeared that I started playing Trap. At that time, I was actually bored after releasing 2 EPs of boombap. Then I was curious to try writing Trap, which I think is technically different, and just having fun at that time. It turned out to be fun and I kept going.
KG: For this last single, southern trap, can you explain a bit about that sub-genre?
TC: Well, it actually came about because of a friend’s reading, his name is Baharits. Initially I didn’t have a plan to specifically make a single with southern trap sounds, because at that time Fat Rorry sent the beat and from there I worked on this Wagwan single. But maybe broadly because Trap is heavily influenced by Southern sounds or specifically because I play southern trap/emphis rap/phonk with hip-hop collective Gnarly Club.
KG: Can you tell us a bit about Gnarly Club. How come the members are so far apart, even between islands?
TC: Well, you could say that Gnarly Club is an Internet based collective lol.. So we were brought together by SoundCloud and WhatsApp group at that time. Gnarly Club’s first and second mixtapes were only released through SoundCloud. And even when the first mixtape “Tribute to Babybeel” (2019) was released we had never met each other. Maybe one or two people who had previously met because they lived in the same city or close by. I think it was only later in 2021 that our full team met at a gigs in Jogja, called Dungeon Party which was organized by a Trap Metal collective – Digital Ronin.
KG: Okay back to the single that was released yesterday, Wagwan, why do you prefer English songs? Will it continue to be so or do you have plans to write songs in Indonesian?
TC: Because writing in Indonesian is more difficult lol.. Since I started writing, I’ve always used English, although I’ve actually released songs in Indonesian too, but I’ve never felt satisfied. On the other hand, it does feel more appropriate or easier to express what you feel in English, because languages have their own dimensions, but actually I’ve started researching and trying to write in Indonesian again. So maybe after this it will be released in Indonesian. Wait and see lol.
KG: Tell us about the process of working on the Wagwan single and how long did it take?
TC: This single has been in the works for quite a while, in fact the audio has been completed probably from last year. But Rafky revised his part of the verse. The process started when Fat Rorry sent some beats, one of which was this beat for Wagwan. Then the first time I listened to the beat the word “Wagwan” popped into my head and from there I kinda freestyle the first few bars. When the chorus and first verse were finished, I was already thinking about finding another rapper to fill the second verse. I thought it would be fun if we link up with Rafky and it became Wagwan.
KG: This single is a collaboration, and it’s from different cities too, were there any difficulties during the process?
TC: For the audio, no, because I think we’re used to throwing files over the internet. But as I said earlier, Rafky had changed his verse. It was actually a bit difficult to produce the video, because initially I wanted to shoot together in Jakarta. But because there were some technical problems and schedules that were difficult to meet, we did it separately.
KG: Why did you choose to work with movos.corn for the video production?
TC: Well, I think I spontaneously invited Emes (Movos Director) and we talked and Emes was interested. Why did I ask movos? Of course because they have the dopest production on the game right now.
KG: Anyway I have a little question about the way Hip Hop kids dress. For those of us who are not so familiar with the Hip Hop scene, we wonder why the fashion of these Hip Hop kids is always looking cool and up to date really? Like they have that fashion consciousness.
TC: I think it’s because fashion is part of the Hip Hop culture itself. Maybe it’s the same as metal kids wearing all black clothes with printed shirts with metal band logos or artwork, punk with patches, spikes and all the attributes. Why it looks “cool” then is probably because Hip Hop inspired style is at the peak of its popularity right now, Hip Hop artists are now dominating prestigious music charts in the world, not to mention the streetwear boom of the last 10 years. Plus after Virgil became the artistic director of a Hi-Fashion brand like LV, so now it’s continued by Pharrell Williams. I mean, that’s just one example of how Hip Hop inspired fashion has become. Although when talking about High Fashion, Erik Brunetti said “high fashion always looks at what skating and street does” since its emergence. So maybe it’s because now the trend is making Hip-Hop as its mecca.
KG: I think that’s true, like now we see Y2K, Year 2000 style emerging?
TC: Well yes, Y2K even, if we look at it there is an influence of punk looks, right? The Nu Metal aesthetic of the 2000s.
KG: If I’m not mistaken, did you just finished Jakarta and Bandung tour recently? Can you tell us a bit about the stage there?
TC: Yes, it was with Krazy Brazy crew for Poetrow’s EP release party and there was a release party for a brand collaboration in Bandung. It was really fun, at first glance the crowd was bigger in Jakarta but the energy vibe was “terrible” in Bandung. Yes, both were equally exciting in Jakarta until it was really crowded, but in Bandung the crowd was crazy, moshing when we played unreleased material from Bukowzkee until the song didn’t end and we were told to calm down.
KG: How about when compared to the enthusiasm in Jogja? I don’t think there are many Trap artist in Jogja-Central Java?
TC: As for the number of Trap artists, I think there are more now. But as for enthusiasm, I don’t think Trap is as popular as Jakarta-Bandung. Maybe it’s because the roots of Oldschool Hip Hop in Jogja are really strong? Trap or Newschool can only be crowded and cool in clubs. But I think it’s only natural, because the era is also far away. Oldschool has been around since the JNM era in the 2000s after the Lopatcos boombap, Bloccalito with G-Funk and the release of Re-Atittude – DPMB which “forced” everyone to become boombap-funk at that time. And the issue of oldschool vs newschool, which even though it’s not as sharp as it used to be, is still in the minds of hip-hop kids..
KG: Is newschool vs oldschool still relevant?
TC: I don’t know, but if you look at the history, cmiiw as far as I know trap sounds since the appearance of the Roland TR-808 which was not sold in the 80s because the drum sounds were too electronic, finally sold cheaply in music stores or thrift stores and young producers who had no money could finally produce beats. If you look at it from that point of view, I think it’s as revolutionary as the beginning of hip-hop itself. So regardless of taste I don’t think the genre war is relevant.
KG: Okay last question, what are Trigga Coca’s plans for 2024? Will you release another single or an album?
TC: For now, what makes sense is a few singles or maybe an EP first. I’d love an album but it doesn’t seem possible for this year. With Gnarly Club, we will release our 3rd mixtape this year. Then my hip-hop grub Lavoz will also release a video clip single.
KG: Any message for crowdsurfren or Koloniradio listeners tonight?
TC: Don’t forget to check out the video for Trigga Coca’s latest single – Wagwan featuring Rafkyboy and Fat Rorry. You can watch the video on Movos.corn’s YouTube channel while you can listen to the audio on your favorite digital music platform.
KG: Okay thank you Trigga Coca! See you next time.
