Tesla Manaf – Toija

With the release of Tesla Manaf’s latest offering, the young and gifted Indonesian guitarist delivers on his main goal as a musician — “to convert spoken words into notes”.
Tesla’s guitar work pairs the string texture and physicality of Andres Segovia and Django Reinhardt, with the phrasing and pacing of Ralph Towner and Pat Metheny, through to the present compositional ebbs and flows of Mary Halvorson and Gilad Hekselman. Mind you, these are merely scrap-book points of reference — the end result is extremely original, fresh and inspiring. There is at work here a youthful and enthusiastic sense of risk-taking which is most revealing and rewarding listen after listen.

His unique approach to modern composition assures that you won’t necessarily find the traditional song elements of verse, chorus, solo, bridge or refrain and, if you do, they very likely will not occupy the accepted position or possess the interrelationship you have come to expect. This “turning on its head” approach composition, along with each player’s technique and choice of instrument tone color, gives great impact to the experience of listening deeply to each track.

This music is all about movement – you find yourself taking the journey. Your route is paved with gorgeous arpeggiated guitar lines intertwined with sinuous dancing clarinet and fueled by subtle yet insistent basslines with the most delicate use of drumkit. Midstream reflection of this musical experience is granted through the equally composed use of silence and pause. The effortless performance of these idiosyncratic songs belies their complexity.

Music and Composed by Tesla Manaf
Executive Producer by Mabes Music
Produced by Tesla Manaf
Co Produced by Gatot Alindo, Desal Sembada, Ditra Prasista
Mixed by Sukma Raya
Mastered by Stevano
Recorded Live at Mabes Music

Guitar and Effects by Tesla Manaf
Texture and Noises by Gatot Alindo
Drums and Effects by Desal Sembada
Synthesizer and Semi Module by Ditra Prasista