Syndicate Releases New EP From Jakarta’s Batavia Collective With Lead Single Featuring weish

It’s a Jakarta-Singapore crossover facilitated by Syndicate (Credit: Courtesy of Syndicate)

We all dig a solid regional collaboration, reinforcing our scene’s creative congruence with our equally talent-brimming neighbours. Sometimes all it takes is a respectable conduit to make that connection and bridge brilliance together, and local audio-visual collective, Syndicate, is stepping up to amplify its Southeast Asian peers. In this case, the critically acclaimed Batavia Collective (BTVC) from Jakarta are getting that Syndicate-trademarked pat on the back, releasing a new EP – CODED – on 18 July with playful experimentation at its core.

Batavia Collective are one of the most esteemed acts in the Southeast Asian circuit (Credit: Courtesy of Syndicate)

“CODED isn’t a concept record — it’s a live document disguised as electronic music. There are no hard genre lines here, just tension and release,” the EP’s press release aptly describes. It’s got manic sprinklings of unfettered jazz, skittish broken beat, warm hues of soul and undertones of techno; a fitting amalgamation that defines the BTVC auditory experience. The accolades of BTVC have not gone unnoticed by the global industry, with past performances racked up at Wonderfruit, SXSW Sydney, Art Basel Hong Kong and Sunda Festival, and praises from the likes of DJ Bone, Laurent Garnier and Gilles Peterson. So to have a peak-level artist like BTVC on the Syndicate catalogue is definitely a plus point for the homegrown label.

The regional ties doesn’t just stop at the Syndicate plug, however. CODED is led by first single, “Signs”, which features our very own weish on guest vocals. It’s the kind of creative input you’d expect from the shapeshifting singer-songwriter, with a tone that’s both impishly playful and celestially divine. Her vocals crash like a wave, washing over you and tugging you into a vortex of calculated mystique. It’s a generously layered track with glassy staccato synths, impassioned live drumwork, and brassy elephantine synths that really give it large-scale heft. After all, there’s no downplaying the scene-crossing significance of this triple collab between Syndicate, BTVC and weish – and this track does the trick.