“Layar..
Gerak berirama
Laut menyapu
Tenang bersuara
Mengayuh perahu”
-Melaut, Kapal Udara.
Thousands of pairs of feet made their way to the main stage, listening to the strings and chants that hypnotized the audience. They were there to see a pop and folk band from Makassar perform on their first stage in 2025. The band is called Kapal Udara, consisting of four members who are alumni of Hasanuddin University (Unhas).
Kapal Udara met in between classes when they gathered for jamming in the corridor of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences Unhas. Starting from the singing pleasure of three Anthropology majors, they made the band unofficially.
The three people are Muhammad Ayat (Ayat), who took the role of vocalist, Saleh Hariwibowo (Ale), who played guitar, and Mardhan Maing (Dadang), who handled the bass. In 2016, they met Bobby Pramusdi (Bobby), a Sociology student at Unhas. Around that time, their song “Melaut” was completed, and the four of them began to form a band seriously.
The band’s name, “Kapal Udara” has a unique story behind it. There were times when their regular guitar sessions on campus caught the attention of fellow students. Eventually, someone suggested they form a band and name it “Kapal Udara,” inspired by the characteristics of the Phinisi ship from South Sulawesi.
Kapal Udara means a vehicle that can explore the sea and the sky like a captain at the helm. As the saying goes, “words have power”, they hope that their song will be embraced by all audiences.
“We wanted to make a song that can be accepted in all circles, like a greedy vehicle. Do you know the Zeppelin ship? That’s the image,” said Bobby, when interviewed after the concert on Saturday (02/16).
In 2017, the band with the tagline “Musik Mencari Teman” finally began focusing on their music career. That same year, they introduced their album “Seru dari Hulu,” which featured four songs to the world.
Back then, Kapal Udara’s activities were like other students’—going back and forth between their dorms and campus. Eventually, those everyday experiences became the inspiration for their songs.
Not far from their background majoring in Sociology and Anthropology, Kapal Udara is interested in things related to society. This became the premise of their early songs, which are about the countryside.
Every Kapal Udara song has a common message. Many of their songs are about the surrounding environment, such as the world not being okay. There is a song called “Serdadu”, a song about the chaos of Indonesia, and “Merantau” that tells the story of someone who is away from home.
Along the way, the music community played an important role in supporting the band’s career. News of events from friends to friends is an important point where they are often invited to perform. Aside from music, literacy community events such as Kedai Buku Jenny and KataKerja also played a supportive role. It all started with a musician they met while hanging out, which eventually paved the way for them to perform in Kuala Lumpur.
Kapal Udara finally got to know the world of professional music over time. Performing on stage is not only about having fun but also fulfilling work responsibilities. For them, the challenge is duration, punctuality, and entertaining the audience.
After a long career, they got the opportunity to do their first tour with the album “Seru dari Hulu” in Bali. Kapal Udara’s bassist, Dadang, said it was memorable because they almost ate pork, tried to enter a bar, and felt like Bali was a foreign country.
“If I’m asked personally, the most memorable trip is the first tour because Kapal Udara made me ride an airplane,” said Dadang.
Today, Ayat and the team have successfully become a band that performs in several events. This can be seen through several posts on their Instagram account @kapaludara, as well as their songs on YouTube and Spotify under the name @Kapal Udara.
Kapal Udara has 14,446 monthly listeners on Spotify, with their most-played song being “Menanam”. The band has also collaborated with Feby Putri on the track “Durasi”.
Not forgetting their roots, the final part of the song features Makassar’s local language. Kapal Udara has also released several albums with their style, starting from “Seru dari Hulu”, “Mesin Manusia”, ‘Suakajiwa’, “Satu Sama Lain” along with several other singles.
In 2025, Kapal Udara entered the age of 10 which was revealed at the Indonesia Gembira event. They have to survive as long as possible along with the increasing number of music listeners.
“A band that always releases works is a band that always has people to listen to their songs. So my hope is to last as long as possible,” Ale hopes.
To mark their 10th anniversary, Kapal Udara is set to release its latest single summarizing 10 years of feelings. This time, the song will be more relaxed, reflecting on their feelings of playing a band for 10 years together.
Quoting from Bagaskara Hindia, Ale encourages the next generation who want to work in music to find their voice.
“Gak ada orang yang gak bisa nyanyi, cari pekerjaan lu, (There’s no one who can’t sing, find your job),” said the Kapal Udara’s guitarist.
Starting from having fun, it turned out to be their career destiny.
Read the original text in Bahasa Indonesia
Original Writer: Aliyah Fadhilah
Translated By: Azzahra Dzahabiyyah Asyila Rahma
