Empowering Artists with Web3: Insights and tips from Ykha Amelz & Discokid909

How can aspiring artists leverage Web3 to be successful? Why is the spirit and tech of Web3 great for artists and collaborations? Powerhouse DJ and visual artist duo D909 and Ykha share their journeys here.

At S.E.A. Focus 2023, the anchor event of Singapore Art Week, the strength and potential of NFTs as an art medium will be on full display.

The Tezos exhibition will take visitors through an audio-visual journey of artworks by six leading Southeast Asian artists, Bjorn Calleja from the Philippines, CwndDien and the late Orkibal from Malaysia, Reza Hasni from Singapore, as well Ykha Amelz and Discokid909 from Indonesia.

Curated by Tulika Ahuja of Mama Magnet, the dedicated 55m² exhibition ‘Living System: An NFT Show’ will tie into ‘a world, anew’, the curatorial theme for S.E.A. Focus 2023.

In this article, we feature Discokid909 and Ykha Amelz, the powerhouse DJ and visual artist duo collaborating to give visitors to the Tezos exhibition an experience that stimulates the senses.

Who is Discokid909?

Well known as the man behind the band Rock N Roll Mafia, Hendra Jaya Putra has always been one adventurous person in the electronic music scene. He was active as a DJ around 2004-2017 throughout Bandung, Jakarta, and Bali (Indonesia). But currently, he dives deeper into creating electronic music with his modular synthesizer.

Performing with his new system under the name Discokid909, his music NFT journey can be traced by his minted original tracks which can be found on various Web3 platforms.

They are accompanied by visual artwork and a special D-909 character by Ykha Amelz, his significant other. He has also done a few collaborations with other amazing visual artists like Debbie Tea, Loreng, MicroBeing, Arya Mularama, Wickana, Betok, and Gengoya.

Can you tell us more about your experiences within the music NFT scene in Web3 and the Tezos ecosystem?

My NFT journey began at the Tezos ecosystem where I first learnt everything – from creating a wallet, to minting and listing, and finally collecting NFTs.

The friendly gas fee is a reason behind many creators choosing to mint their work on Tezos - not everyone can afford the trial and error approach of minting and listing on other ecosystems.

So, Tezos has greatly facilitated onboarding and the start of many creators’ NFT journeys.

Through my Web3 journey, I learned to open up more and socialize with the Web3 community - where I got to know so many visual artists and more about their work.

Before I started minting, I was encouraging my wife, Ykha, to mint her NFTs because visual art was booming back then. But only a few months after, Ykha convinced me to try minting my music too as she noticed people starting to mint their music on Tezos. After that, there was a wave of musicians entering Tezos NFT ecosystem. It was quite exciting!

There was also HENradio which highlighted all the music NFTs. I was so proud to be a part of that era and I’m so happy to still be a part of the Tezos ecosystem till this day!

After you started incorporating art into your work, has it impacted your style of making music?

At first I minted original tracks that hadn’t been released before. Since I started minting during the pandemic (in the middle of a lockdown), I decided to create new music tracks that would make people smile, boost their vibes, and empower them with the spirit to get through the gloomy pandemic phase.

Ykha’s visual style also has this concept in mind. That’s why it’s only natural that our art makes a great combo, we have the ability to complement each other’s work.

Can you tell us more about the Web3 collaborations that you’ve done with other artists? Does the spirit, nature, and technology of Web3 bring a more collaborative environment?

I’ve been really enjoying collaborating with lots of visual artists that already have their own strong visual character. To me, it becomes a fun challenge to produce the music for such different signature styles.

It pushes me to keep learning and exploring more music, but at the same time still preserving my own style. The final result varies and is always a good surprise for both parties.

The spirit and the technology of Web3 really does have the influence and the necessary tools to be a great environment for collaboration. You can mint a collaborative piece together, connecting it to all the artists involved. The best part is you can set it to split the royalties. The transparency of the system makes it easier to encourage fair collaborations between artists. It is something admirable that should be adopted as soon as possible.

The Web3 environment has seen more collaborations between visual and audio artists. For their benefit and learning, can you tell us more about the process/challenges for artists who wish to enter cross-media collaborations?

I think the process is almost the same as doing a cross-media collaboration in real life, beginning with mutual admiration of each other’s work.

In Web3, what needs to be emphasized is building connections with the other artists, trust, continuously creating and delivering your best work while you’re engaging with the community.

It may sound like a juggling act, but this is the challenge. Only through continuous engagement will you find the right people who believe in your work, and vice versa. Lifting each other up is always the way in Web3.

Who is Ykha Amelz?

Ykha is a 2D artist, based in Indonesia. Since 2008, she has been working on various illustration projects. But only after she started drawing her French bulldog Babbot did she finally find her true calling in her artwork. It awakened her inner-child nostalgia for cartoons and comics which became a significant turning point on her illustrative style. While initially a coping mechanism for escaping work frustration, her playful characters took on a life of their own, spreading joy to people who see her art, which led to exhibitions, a book, and collaborations with global brands, such as VANS, COACH, Netflix, Samsung, etc.

Since her NFT debut in mid 2021, she has managed to deliver more epic and colorful pieces. Rendering her stories and chaotic mind into a vibrant world filled with an expanding family of cartoon characters, she’s now stepping into frame-by-frame animation to bring smiles to more people.

What does your collaboration with Discokid909, and the involvement of music bring out in your practice?

Music has always been there accompanying us when we’re working, when we’re eating, when we’re driving, watching a movie, etc. Like visuals, music creates an energy on its own - it can guide someone to a certain space of mind. So in my practice, mixing music with visuals can create a combo of synchronized energy. Discokid909 and I, we are inspiring and boosting each other through our art, and with that chemistry we hope to give a bigger impact to the viewer of our collaboration.

You’ve got art that incorporates visual art and music, which takes the audience through an experiential journey using sight and sound. Could Web3 technology enable artists to involve other senses in the future, and is that something of creative value?

I think the incorporation of visual and music has always lifted each other up since I can remember. So it’s not really something new.

But Web3 has managed to give the movement of digital art, whether in visual or in music, a shift in value and respect. Web3 can create such a positive drive that you can even see the rapid art development of the creators in the space.

I’m sure in the near future it will unlock and involve more senses, and that is always going to be something wild and exciting for the creative movement.

You have collaborated with various global brands like Vans, Coach, Netflix and more. Through your observation, how does Web3 technology enable them to take their audiences through more meaningful journeys through art?

Collaborating with artists that are also active in Web3 could bring more positive value and exposure to the brand globally.

I think Web3’s global reach is much stronger than Web2. This is me speaking through experience from finding it hard to show and sell my work in a gallery in my own country, to suddenly showing them in New York, Osaka, Tokyo, LA, and next Singapore, all in one year.

After being active in the space, I also received more collaboration offers from international clients. So, yes the reach is real.

Besides that, Web3 enables brands to explore and create new ideas with the technology - such as maybe doing an online activation for a campaign with platforms like Decentraland, Oncyber, etc, making it a completely whole new journey.

What would you tell your creative peers looking to make the most out of Web3?

That it’s not an instant way to get money, you still have to do all the grinding and the research like a regular job.

Also, the most important thing besides focusing on your art is to make genuine connections between fellow creators, collectors, and the community. It will be very difficult to understand it or make it with only one person’s effort. Support each other, learn together, and through that you’ll find the people who truly connect with your art and help it bloom.

How are you feeling ahead of having your art showcased in such a prominent arts event during the Singapore Art Week? What can visitors to the exhibition enjoying your art look forward to?

We are very honored and very excited to be showing our work in this event. I hope the visitors can enter the room that shows our collaboration and be able to unwind.

Disconnect from the outside and connect with oneself through the art and music that will transport you into a Friday night.

This interview has been edited for clarity.