Rama Natan Collaborates with Legendary Bassist Nathan East on Single 'Batik Scat'

Kapanlagi.com - The project titled Batik Scat is a new breakthrough for Indonesian bassist, Rama Natan. Together with JK Records, he had the opportunity to collaborate with a bassist whose name is no stranger in the world of music, Nathan East.

A special collaboration, with a special song as well. Natan deliberately brought Indonesian culture, which is batik, into this collaboration. Combined with scat which is part of the improvisation of a song that is special in the jazz community by imitating instruments with the mouth.

"Actually, I have known Nathan East since 2017 through IG, and I was also surprised when he followed my IG. Even more surprised when I posted wearing batik, he saw it happily and liked it, then commented 'nice batik'. And I spontaneously said 'I will buy it for you later'. In 2019, he happened to participate in Java Jazz in Jakarta, I met him and gave him the batik. I was also surprised when he performed live wearing the batik. From there, I had the initiative to collaborate with Nathan East, and search for the title, finally Batik Scat is quite representative," Rama said in the release of Batik Scat at the JK Records office, Central Jakarta, Friday (20/05).

1. A Dedication

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Rama explained that there is a deeper philosophy behind his latest single. This single is a dedication to Nathan East who has been an extraordinary and humble mentor.

"So I titled this Batik Scat to appreciate the friendship and relationship between a mentor and his student. I have been taking online lessons with Nathan for a year, so I took the initiative to create a souvenir for remembrance. When I shared it with Pak Nyo, he responded positively and seriously to help. So everything just flowed naturally until the song was formed," he continued.

2. Challenges

The production of Batik Scat took quite a long time, approximately a year. The pandemic and distance were the main obstacles in its making.

"So the challenge was quite significant, we had to adjust. Even the drums had to be retaken because the first one may not have met the standards. If we could meet in person, the process might be simpler," he continued.

"This is also a moral burden, it took 3 months just to become the master. Because of the project with a big artist, we didn't want to look bad, so everything had to be up to international standards. So with a big artist, we couldn't just make any sound or just do anything," concluded Leonard Nyo Kristianto, producer of JK Records.

(kpl/mhr)