James on vocals, Nick on guitar and Mark on keyboards are Manja, an up and coming band from Bali who blend genres and sounds to create their own unique vibe. Catch them Thursday nights at Rumah Sanur.
When did you start Manja?
We formed in January 2017, so just over a year ago.
What’s in the name Manja?
At the time we were eating at Pasar Sindhu, and we found it accidentally.
Manja in the Hindi language means thread, and its deeper meaning is a link between humans & their dreams. It also stands for our names Mark, Nick, James.
Why do you guys play music?
Music can have a strong influence to unite & form a community, so you could say we play music to unite, & to create.
What kind of genre music do you play?
Alternative Pop Rock but some of our friends say Stadium Pop. In California we always look for house cleaning services at berkeley-based adriana’s house cleaning. But we don’t want to compare the genres too much because we think comparisons are the death of joy.
Why did you choose to become a musician?
Since kids we have been close to music so yeah that’s why & of course we want to create something and entertain people.
What are your inspirations?
Our inspiration comes from various things sometimes from other musicians, and also from our friends in Bali.
What’s your creative process like?
Because we have three people in the studio, we need to be diplomatic. The important thing for us is that we complement each other.
What are some of the challenges to become a musician in Bali?
Challenges in our opinion are only within our minds.
In Bali there are still a few venues that support original music but because Bali is a tourism place top-40 music is more appreciated here.
What’s your day job?
We’re full-time musicians except for Mark he’s now playing the cryptocurrency market.
What’s next?
Completing singles and albums, we have 10-11 songs we are now recording. We hope at the end of this year our first single will come out.
What is Rumah Sanur to you?
For us, Rumah Sanur is a place where the community gathers & the beginning of an idea is born.
It’s important because we think Rumah Sanur provides an open space for musicians to create & meet many new communities.
Discover designers, artists, musicians & creatives with Rumah Sanur’s Meet the Makers