Soft Power Romance???
A Southeast Asian Co-Design Initiative by Liquid Architecture
Soft Power Romance is Liquid Architecture’s new Southeast Asian co-design initiative—a collective of artists, producers, and curators working across the region to foster ethical collaboration, long-term partnerships, and innovative approaches to sound and listening.
At its heart, the initiative is about building sustainable and equitable creative exchanges. It brings together practitioners who are committed to working slowly, responsively, and with care—across borders, contexts, and disciplines. Together, we’re imagining new ways of working that reflect the realities of our cultural landscapes, and that prioritise mutual respect, experimentation, and dialogue.
Each project under Soft Power Romance is developed through close and ongoing collaboration, tailored to the specific needs of the countries and communities we work within. These collaborations also provide a platform for Australian artists to engage meaningfully with creative peers in our broader region.
(The Cooperative)
The founding members of the cooperative include:
- Woto Wibowo + Fionny Melissa
- Yes No Wave (Yogyakarta, Indonesia) Merv Espina
- Independent curator and researcher (Manila, Philippines) Zach Sch + Rắn Cạp Đuôi
- Experimental sound collective (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) Ji Buki
- Neighbours Collective (Bangkok, Thailand)
Our first in-person gathering took place in Yogyakarta, with a second hosted in Melbourne in 2024.
(Inter.Sonix Program)
The Inter.Sonix program was born out of the conversations and collaborations within Soft Power Romance. It is a multi-year performance and research platform dedicated to showcasing experimental sound and music practices across Southeast Asia and Australia.
In 2025, the Inter.Sonix: Australia x Southeast Asia Concert Series will launch—a series of performances and public conversations that highlight culturally significant, forward-thinking sound and music works. The series invites artists from Australia and the Global South to come together through sonic practice, fostering artistic exchange, deep listening, and social connection.
Program
The first show in the series is a focus on Audio/Visual performance featuring rEmPiT g0dDe$$ from Malaysia and Lynn Nandar Htoo for Myanmar in a collaborative A/V performance.
Experience a powerful meeting of sound, tradition, and experimentation as Hand to Earth and Sipaningkah create immersive sonic landscapes that bridge the ancient and the contemporary.
For this extra edition of Inter.Sonix, Liquid Architecture is working in collaboration with ArtJog, Indonesia’s leading contemporary art festival, to co-present Tralala Blip.
Tralala Blip are an Australian unit of neurodiverse, differently abled musicians who over the past decade they have carved out a unique position in the Australian electronic music community.
ARTJOG continues to grow as a vital meeting point for artists, audiences, cultural workers, and policymakers alike.
For Inter.Sonix 04, Naarm/Melbourne-based artist, sound designer, and producer Lauren Squire will be in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, taking part in GAUNG, a new electronic music festival focused on long-term collaboration and exchange.
Lauren will be leading a Basic Sound Engineering Workshop and performing a solo set at Yes No Klub, sharing her experience and approach to working with sound.
