Silampukau is a folk duo made up of musicians Eki Tresnowening and Kharis Junandharu, who describe their music as "serenading songs about modest people." Eki and Kharis proudly hail from Indonesia's second largest city, Surabaya, which serves as a the main source of inspiration for their work.

They enjoy a notable following in Indonesia for taking a simple, tried-and-true formula -- two acoustic guitars and two voices -- and telling direct, compelling stories about the people and places around them. Fans and critics hailed their latest album, "Dosa, Kota, & Kenangan," which was shortlisted on Rolling Stone Indonesia's best albums of 2015.

The main subjects on the album, which Eki and Kharis took five years to complete, center on "everyday" characters and events in Surabaya, which include stories about a young indie musician struggling to survive; a lament against high-rise development because children lack a space to play outdoors; the enduring presence of bootleg liquor; and the city's red light district. Such vignettes, delivered with poetic lyrics and strong voices, have won Silampukau many devoted fans. At their live shows in Indonesia, it's not unusual to hear audiences singing to all of their lyrics.

Though Eki and Kharis' music will ring familiar to indie-folk fans anywhere in the world, they have roots in local traditional music. The pair trained with Jathul Sunaryo, a musician and teacher of the string-based Krongcong, one of Indonesia's oldest musical styles, and one which has connections to Portuguese folk music.  They credit Sunaryo as having inspired them to sing, which makes Silampukau -- Indonesian for "oriole" -- an apt name. As Eki says about the birds, "They are singers of the universe."