bani haykal leads cross-border sound project ‘Rupa Bentuk Rangka Derhaka’

Strange Weather Dunia will release its third title, ‘Rupa Bentuk Rangka Derhaka’, on January 9, 2026.

Led by Singapore-based artist bani haykal, the project brings together sound practice, text, and sculptural experimentation into a single recording shaped by collaboration and material process.

At the core of the release is bani haykal’s long-running practice of building instruments from discarded bicycle frames. These altered frames generate most of the album’s percussive and string sounds, producing tones that are metallic, unstable, and tactile. Rather than functioning as conventional instruments, they introduce friction, resonance, and irregular rhythm, giving the record a physical and spatial quality.

Field recordings, spoken text, and sparse electronic treatments sit alongside these sounds, creating a layered listening experience that moves between abrasion and quiet.

The album includes contributions from Shivangi Mariam Raj, Randa Jarrar, and Hanna Hazzan, each bringing a distinct form of testimony.

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Hanna Hazzan’s field recordings, captured across sites in northern Palestine, provide an environmental base of wind, movement, and distant activity; Shivangi Mariam Raj contributes excerpts from her writing, drawing from research into colonial violence, displacement, and memory in South Asia, while Randa Jarrar’s spoken contribution reflects on life under occupation and in diaspora, shaped by correspondence and lived distance, offering moments of clarity amid fractured sound.

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Mixed and mastered by Harsya Wahono in Jakarta, ‘Rupa Bentuk Rangka Derhaka’ unfolds as a connected work rather than a collection of tracks. Through material reuse, spoken language, and place-based recordings, the album examines how sound carries memory and shared histories across borders.

The release will be available digitally, alongside a limited cassette edition of 100 copies, including 25 hand-crafted sleeves.

All sales from the record will be donated to organisations and mutual aid groups working in support of and within Palestine. Pre-order here.

Amira Waworuntu is Mixmag Asia’s Managing Editor, follow her on Instagram.

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