Aristofani Fahmi, fondly called Itok, is a musician, flute player, and journalist, born in Bulukumba, South Sulawesi and lives in Pekanbaru. Graduated as a bachelor in the Department of Ethnomusicology, Indonesian Art Institute (ISI), Solo, in 2009. Joined as a member of Koalisi Seni since 2019, Itok now serves as Secretary Executive Board.
Having joined the Riau Rhythm group, Itok often appears at various concerts both nationally and internationally. Concerts that have the opportunity to hear his flute are: Indonesian Performing Arts Market (2013) Jejak Suara Suvarnadvipa Tour (2014), Solo International Performing Arts (2017), and a collaborative tour project with the OCAS orchestra from Asturias Spain in Portugal and Spain (2019).
As one of the activists who develop regional music, Itok views that traditional music is an effort to learn values that are rarely or cannot be found in popular music. Often, traditional music leads the soul in searching for meaning about life, nature, and the creator.
He has also been a journalist for the Tempo media, Rappler.com, and wrote essays in Riau Pos. Currently, he is taking care of her wordpress page, Perisa Seni. Through the Perisa Seni page, Itok often reports and provides feedback on art events, especially music in various regions. When there was a controversy regarding the music bill in 2019, Aristofani Fahmi was one of the people who spoke quite loudly in criticizing the government’s policy.
Apart from music and writing, Aristofani Fahmi’s other activities are varied. He has taught in the Aesthetics and Nusantara Music courses at the art, dance and music Study Program at the Islamic University of Riau. One of the administrators of the Begawai Institute. In 2018, he became one of the curators at the Skena Nusantara Music Gathering 6.1. Then, together with his colleagues, Aristofani Fahmi managed to organize Camping Bernas – Young Speak Malay which was attended by 200 high school students/equivalents to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the 2018 Youth Pledge in Pekanbaru. When the global pandemic hit, Itok and his colleagues in Riau consolidated themselves to cope with the impact of the pandemic on artists. They formed ASERI (Riau Artists Association).
