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Tohpati Bertiga is the latest fusion project from guitar virtuoso Tohpati Ario Hutomo. On the band’s first album, “Riot”, he teams with bassist Indro Hardjodikoro and drummer Adityo Wibowo to make a fierce hard jazz-rockin instrumental trio. Those who miss the early days of jazz rock, before cheezy guitar synth patches and digital effects smoothed out all the nice rough spots, will certainly enjoy Tohpati’s naturally distorted guitar sound and rare tasteful use of effects. Not only do the early days of jazz rock have an influence on this crew, but also the raw NYC punk jazz scene of the 80s as well. This trio also has a penchant for tightly wound compositions with frequent time signature changes which reveal an interest in math-metal and modern progressive rock. Putting all this together you end up with something similar to Tony Williams Lifetime crossed with mid-70s King Crimson live jams, Battles and Vernon Reid. Although bassist Indro easily holds his own in this powerful power trio, much of the interplay in this group comes down to the virtuoso skills of the drummer and guitarist. In this respect this band recalls other classic drum/guitar duos such as Mitchell/Hendrix, Blood Ulmer/Ronald Shannon Jackson, Fripp/Bill Bruford, McLauglin/Tony Williams, Holdsworth/Tony Williams and so on. Fans of intense guitar shredding will find a lot to enjoy here, Tohapti and his rhythm section are relentless.