Desa Potato Head Launches HEADSTREAM, A Bali-Based Studio with DJ Livestreams and Seaside Visuals
PUBLISHED October 5th, 2021 01:04 pm | UPDATED October 7th, 2021 01:40 pm
It’s been yet another year starved of live music and festivals, so news of Bali’s latest audiophile haven comes like music to our ears. A studio-slash-record store in Seminyak‘s Desa Potato Head, HEADSTREAM by Potato Head brings a dose of Bali-based sound to the already-buzzy creative village. And while the stunning space merits a trip down, their streaming service serves up a hit of digital escapism with live grooves and visuals – wherever you are.
Set at the entrance of Desa Potato Head, HEADSTREAM is cradled beneath ‘The Womb’ – a cavernous 90-metre archway sculpted entirely from natural bamboo. Just beside the studio, there’s also a communal workspace that brews up jamu, tea, and pour-over coffee. Here, you can take a ear trip through their curation of new Indonesian vinyl releases, or settle down with one of their funky zines.
In such sustainable surrounds, it’s no surprise the studio itself is a shrine to eco-conscious design. Dreamed up in collaboration with Bali-based architect Zhi Xiong Chan, the space is predominantly crafted of locally-sourced recycled plastic – a whopping 564 kilograms, to be exact.
Step in and your eye is struck by a flurry of red, orange, and white – a terrazzo-like medley decking the feature window and most interior surfaces. It’s hard to guess that this vibrant hodgepodge is formed of shredded mineral water caps, dredged up from Bali’s waterways. Meanwhile, the white panelling is the second life of 140kg of motor oil bottles, collected from household waste across Bali. Even the pitch black flooring has been constructed out of industrial rubber rejects.
But if you aren’t counting on flying to Bali anytime soon – given that the island’s plans for reopening to tourism in October are still up in the air – there’s always a virtual getaway. Kicked off on 2 October, HEADSTREAM’s in-studio streaming service runs live daily from 7am to 7pm (Bali time). While the spotlight is centred on Bali DJs and collectors, expect occasional contributors from other Indonesian cities like Jogja and Jakarta. Each day’s lineup is posted on the HEADSTREAM site – you might find a wake-up call with Nindy Noto’s ‘Kukuruyuk’, followed by Bmore beats from Neu Daance to perk up your afternoon.
Besides the audio-only option, travel-starved folks can feast your eyes on soothing livestreams of sea and sky. With cameras planted at scenic points across Potato Head – including the rooftop, ocean, and listening space Studio Eksotika – it’s the closest thing to a seaside vacay. Off-site visuals are in the works, and the team has ambitious plans to branch out from music into documentary films as well.
HEADSTREAM is located at Desa Potato Head, Jl. Petitenget No.51B, Seminyak, Kec. Kuta Utara, Kabupaten Badung, Bali.
