“Our first concert was during the pandemic and our audience were houseplants,” says Angkuy K. Even as you think he is joking, he continues, “In keeping with regulations, people left their potted plants at the venue and went home. We got positive feedback from many people after the event.”
Angkuy is one half of Bottlesmoker, an electronic music band from Indonesia, with Nobie Adzani. The duo met in 2006 when they were studying broadcasting, a course that familiarised them with music for television, radio and movies.
Today, they are known for their music created using biofeedback from Nature and were in India to participate at the Echoes of Earth music festival. Though they were a band for close to two decades, Angkuy and Nobie found their “earth sound” before the pandemic.
Rooted in the past
“We had collected many empty bottles when working on a project in 2008; one of them had smoke curling out of a cigarette inside. That is the story behind our name.”
Angkuy says the first phase of their musical journey began in 2008 and went on until 2015. “At the time we were using toys to make music — game boards, toy pianos, and glockenspiels.” After their first concert abroad in Malaysia in 2009, Bottlesmoker have been touring every year.
Indonesian band Bottlesmoker in an early concert using toys
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Special Arrangement
Nobie says when they pursued their masters in cultural studies in 2015, they learnt about the musical and cultural traditions of their home town. “We belong to the Sundanese tribe of West Java. As we learnt about the local traditions and ritual ceremonies of our ancestors, we realised there was so much wisdom in what they practised.”
Angkuy admits, “We thought with the use of technology we were creating something futuristic and that these traditions were backward, but we soon realised many ancient practices were ahead of their time. They strike a balance in life, building a connect between humans and Nature.”
The duo began adapting traditional sounds with electronic music and were meeting with considerable success when the pandemic hit, putting paid to their plans for concerts overseas. In the course of their research they learnt many Sundanese cultural practices included ceremonial or ritual playing of music for plants, for instance, at the rice festival.
“We believed the pandemic was a time for Nature to speak to us humans, and we wanted to respond to that moment. We wanted to make music for Nature, starting with the many plants we had in our studio,” says Angkuy.
“We also realised many plant owners are protective of their plants. And in our quest to make music specific for plants, we did not want to stress or disturb them. We spent a lot of time researching what kind of music had a positive impact on plants.”
Indonesian band Bottlesmoker in action
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Special Arrangement
After the lockdown, there was a demand for Bottlesmoker’s music with plant owners wanting to join in, “but we realised music for plants is not always at frequency friendly for human ears.”
It was Nobie’s idea to layer the music for plants with people-friendly scores. “While we began studying what kind of technology could translate data from plants into musical notes, we learnt about bio feedback and worked on translating it into musical notes.”
They built a device that “connected to plants and our musical instruments like a synthesiser,” and were amazed at the result. “It changed our our vision about plants and Nature,” he says, adding, “We found our music for and with plants aligned with meditation, wellness and holistic vibes.”
Today, Bottlesmoker concerts have two sets: plant music for meditation, and dance music with pineapples.
Indonesian band Bottlesmoker in action
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Common chords
Their trip to participate at Echoes was the their third trip to India, having played at concerts in Mumbai and Kolkata before. Nobie says the duo would love to explore collaborations with Indian musicians using wind or percussion instruments.
“A lot of the cultural practices and mythologies of our tribe are derived from Hinduism and there are similarities to Sanskrit in our dialect,” he says, adding, “We have noticed many Indians enjoy our music and get our vibe. We too, are inspired by a lot of Indian musicians and their work.”
Another aim of Bottlesmoker is to bring awareness about environmental conditions. “Many natural disasters such as floods and landslides occur due to rampant mining and deforestation. We hope our music inspires listeners to protect our forests and our environment.”
Published – January 27, 2026 10:24 pm IST
