Respect | Marapu

Irie Magazine | Respect | Marapu

Marapu

Indonesia

MARAPU is a ‘Roots Reggae Band’ based in Bali Indonesia. Marapu was formed in Jogjakarta 18 years ago in 1999. The members of Marapu are originally from Sumba Island in the far east of Indonesia but moved to Jogjakarta city to study. They started playing reggae music in their university music room and after a few months of rehearsing, they performed on campus at the university and around Jogjakarta city.

After several years of struggling as a band while performing over 100 shows, Marapu earned enough
money to buy their own instruments. In 2003, they recorded their first demo, 3 songs which included ‘Mawar Funky’ (Funky Roses), ‘Terulang’ (Repeated) and ‘Enough’. The 3 songs received a good enough response to give Marapu more concert opportunities on a wider scale in Central Java, Indonesia. Not only did they play more, it inspired the band to record their first album, entitled ‘The Colors’, under the record label, Gong Records. The album was an instant success which propelled them on to the national scene.

In 2009, they recorded their second album, ‘Peace, Love and Freedom’. In this album, they played authentic and original Roots Reggae music for an international market featuring songs like ‘Save Jah’s Children’, ‘Eri Rambu’ and ‘Why’. With the second album’s success, Marapu were able to tour outside of Indonesia and perform in Australia and countries in South East Asia including Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and the Philippines. Two years later, Marapu recorded their third album, ‘Terang Dunia’ (Light of the World), which spawned 2 hit songs, ‘Wake Up’ and ‘Back to Your Roots’.

On April 13, 2018, Marapu released their 4th album titled ‘Won’t Be Fooled’. The album was recorded live. To support the album, Marapu recently signed a worldwide distribution deal (physical and digital platform) with ‘All Styles Editions’, a label based in France. Marapu has a European tour planned from July to August 2018 in 15 cities.