West Papua has always been rich in cultures, from dances to music. When there are certain traditions or social occasions, dances and music are always involved. Alongside traditional foods and drinks, dances and music feel much more entertaining when watched with the whole community.
Have you ever heard of Wisisi? No, it is not a local band. In fact, it is music that is very important for the future of West Papua.
Asep Nayak
Asep Nayak is a local musician and music composer from Wamena, West Papua. His energy has never run out when it comes to producing Wisisi, traditional music, which has been a source of entertainment to many people around him.
Asep uses Fruity Loops Studio, an application that helps him make music. He received that from another local musician whom he respects. Asep has spent almost ten years creating and redefining Wisisi, the music which will soon send him traveling the world.
It started in Wamena during his spare time. Asep kept creating Wisisi. Before he knew it, soon his music became more than just for his village neighbors to dance to. His music will soon be played at CTM Festival, Berlin, in May 2022 for all rave dancers.
So, when did Asep start developing an interest in making music, especially Wisisi? It was sometime in 2013, back when he was still in junior high school. Asep learned how to play guitar and pikon. However, Asep still did not know how to make music from both musical instruments.
Asep grew curious when he learned that people could produce dangdut music from a keyboard or a piano. He wondered aloud as he asked his older siblings about the possibility of making music from many digital applications. One of the digital music-making apps is Fruity Loops Studio.
One of his older siblings, a local musician, later helped install the app into his phone. From there, Asep started learning how to use the app to make music.
Since then, Asep has produced more Wisisi music. At first, he did that for himself as a form of self-expression. He was not even aware of social media platforms like YouTube. He had only distributed his music among people he knew, like his family and friends. His music has been played at birthday parties, wedding receptions, and even school graduations. Asep has always loved seeing people dance to his music so much.
His Family’s Confusion at First
Asep admitted that, at first, his family was not too keen on his work. “What music is this?” they said. “It’s not entertaining at all. We prefer dangdut, hip hop, and reggae. We don’t understand this music.”
However, that did not discourage Asep from making music. Soon his friends and neighbors—basically most local people—began to accept and like his music.
Asep admitted that he forgot to study sometimes whenever he was busy making music. His friends were not too keen on that either they kept reminding him. Three years from that moment, his friends started liking his music. Before he knew it, his music was played at parties.
Nikolas, the Big Brother Who Introduced Asep To Fruity Loop Studio App
As mentioned earlier, Asep learned about using this app from one of his older siblings, who is also a local musician. His name is Nikolas.
Nikolas was the first person to introduce Wisisi to Asep. However, Nikolas was only helping him install the app on his phone. The plug-ins and other features were something that Asep needed to figure out on his own.
In 2013, Asep still did not have a mobile phone. He finally had his first in 2018, when he was in his senior year in high school. A year after that, Asep started focusing more on learning from YouTube tutorials in terms of making music with Fruity Loop Studio.
Asep usually needs at least an hour or two to produce music. When he feels ambitious about polishing his work better, he takes four to five hours of making music. There are times when he forgets to eat and sleep.
So, What Is Wisisi?
According to Asep, there is no meaning nor historical background regarding the name of this music. Some people may claim that the name is derived from how people dance for fun and that their mouths start hissing as if trying to shoo a dog away.
“I never give titles to all my songs,” Asep admitted. “My songs do not talk about death, anger, nor sorrow. It’s just for fun. It’s different with hip hop and reggae since they have lyrics that share feelings. Wisisi has no singers’ voice in it.”
Of course, Asep said that when all of his songs are turned into an album, he will give titles to each, like Track 1, Track 2, Track 3, and so on.Wisisi is music of fun from West Papua. Hopefully, Asep’s first gig in Berlin in May 2022 will make Wisisi become more well-known around the world.
