Gitaren uit de Oost: The Origins and Influence of Indorock

On Wednesday, 28 May, the official kick-off and live recording of the series will take place at the Wereldmuseum Amsterdam, with Jordy Sanger (guitarist of Nusantara Beat), Erwin Java (Herman Brood & Cuby+Blizzards, White Honey) as musicians and speakers, and Eva Verboon as programme maker and host.

The four-part talk show and podcast series Guitars from the East combines live music, video footage, and conversations between different generations of artists. The central theme is the relationship between musicality and Indo-European or Moluccan identity, with music serving as the connecting thread. Complex topics such as 'Postcolonial Identity' are discussed in an accessible way. 

In the late 1950s, Indo-European and Moluccan youth were the first to take guitars onto Dutch stages to play rock & roll – a genre that was still unknown here. ‘Indorock’ opened the door to pop music, from which R&B, indie rock, disco, and house would later emerge. 

Program maker and host Eva Verboon has Indorockers as ancestors. She realizes how important music must have been for her father and grandfather's generation. Why else would they pack a guitar in a small suitcase, heading to a new life in a distant land? And why were it the Indo-European and Moluccan immigrants who made the Dutch enthusiastic about ‘modern’ music? Eva also connects this to the present: who are today’s Indorockers, what does their music sound like, and how does it relate to their identity? 

• 19.00 – 20.00: Welcome, check-in, and visit to the exhibition Our Colonial Inheritance
• 20.00: Start of the joint programme (in Dutch)
• 21.00: Drinks
• 22.00: Museum closes