Haviel Perdana was born in Bandung, Indonesia. He is an electro-composer, musician, workshop leader and abstract painter. As a child he lived in North London for seven years with his family, when his father worked as a broadcaster for the Indonesian Section of the BBC World Service.
Like many contemporary Indonesian musicians of his generation, Haviel was self-taught, though he started to work alongside the late Mas Harry Roesli in 1975 until 2001 (and with him he co-founded DKSB, Depot of Creative Arts Bandung). Haviel’s work combines styles from the west (such as pop, rock, jazz and classical music) with those from Indonesia (such as gamelan, saluang, and sampek).
Since 1980 Haviel has worked as musical director, composer, arranger, co-producer and guitarist for theatre, films, television, dance, advertising and recorded performance works, many of these on a large scale. Much of this work was in collaboration with Mas Harry. In Indonesia he was also a lecturer in improvisation at the University of Pasundan, Bandung and Music Lecturer at IKIP (Institut Keguruan Ilmu Pendidikan- Teacher Training Institute, Bandung). Educational activities at DKSB included teaching Computer Music and sharing skills with street children.
Prior to leaving Indonesia, Haviel’s work often took him abroad both as an artist and tour manager in collaboration with traditional artists, including several visits to The United States.
In 2001 Haviel arrived in London to observe the methods of various Further/Higher education programmes for popular music. He joined Indigo Moon Theatre in March 2002 and is now artistic co-director, co-devising shows, composing original scores, touring shows, leading workshops, directing and creating some of the scenery and puppets. He divides his time between Hull, East Yorkshire and Bandung, Indonesia.
