DJ Irfanpopish seeks to use music as a cultural bridge for mutual understanding, presenting both foreign and familiar tones to listeners—and vice versa. In Sonic Shaman, DJ Irfanpopish explores the interconnectivity between the Taiwanese and Indonesian music scenes, and more broadly, between Sinophone and Malay world (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore). From adapted songs and translations to shared references from certain eras, DJ Irfanpopish highlights curious similarities, drawing from his musical catalogues and references. This idea comes up from his experience as an Indonesian in Taiwan that found some cross-cultural tendencies from the culture that he felt in his home country Indonesia and in his foreign land Taiwan. As he believes, music is an international solidarity in the melody.
DJ IrfanPopish is a music enthusiast, writer, and organizer from Bandung, Indonesia currently based in Hsinchu, Taiwan. His musical explorations cover Indonesian tunes, the 80s to 90s UK sounds, Middle Eastern beats, Inter-Asia Pop, and Jamaican music to Indie Pop. He is the curator of Rocking Indonesia: The Cultural Legacy of the Rolling Stones in Bandung (Thecube Project Space, 2024) and organizer for Have You Ever Met Dao Ming Tse? (Taipei Fine Arts Museum, 2024). His works included a book entitled Bandung Pop Darlings: Catatan Dua Dekade Skena Indie Pop Bandung(EA Books, 2009) and several zines. His musical works can traced in several short-age bands such as electro-pop duo Summerblossom (2008-2010); indie pop unit Piccadilly (2010-2016); anti-folk solo Popish (2018); and indie rock trio MELT (2019-2021); or indie pop label Yellowroom Records.