Jeff Arwadi

Jefray Arwadi
Jeff – live in the Netherlands, 2004
Background information
Birth name	Jefray Kurnia Arwadi
Also known as	Meister J
Born	1974 (age 42–43) Jakarta, Indonesia
Genres	Ambient, avant-garde metal, electronic, extreme metal, progressive metal, progressive rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, graphic designer, music producer, audio/mixing engineer
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, bass, drum machine, laptop computer
Years active	1992 – present
Associated acts	Kekal, Armageddon Holocaust, Altera Enigma, Excision, Inner Warfare, Doctor D, Obliteration

Jefray Kurnia "Jeff" Arwadi (born 1974) is a musician, music producer, and graphic designer, a native of Jakarta, Indonesia who now resides in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He is mostly known as a former guitarist, vocalist, and record producer for the avant-garde/progressive metal band Kekal. Professionally, he has made a career as a graphic designer and has worked at various companies for more than a decade. In the past, he was also known in the music scene for his works as a freelance graphic designer under Soundmind Graphics, and until his 2006 move to Canada, Jeff owned and ran his own home-based recording studio, Vision Studio, in Jakarta. He also was a staff member of the record label THT Productions. In addition to his roles in Kekal, he was also the co-founder of progressive metal project Altera Enigma and was involved with bands such as Armageddon Holocaust and Inner Warfare.

Jeff was born in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital city and largest municipality. Since his early childhood, he has shown interests in art and music in general. Spending most of his upbringing in a global city, Jeff had an early exposure in the diversity of culture, religion and ethnicity, which helped to form his views of seeing the music and art in a liberal way. He once tried to become a painter but later found out that music suits him better, as he explained on the 2007 interview with Ultimate Metal webzine: "I cannot express with other media such as painting or poetry. My father is a painter and he expresses himself through this. I once tried it, but it didn’t work for me – I can make technically proficient sketches and illustrations, but felt distant from them. It’s like a cold relationship. So when I found music and started to write songs, it just came up to me and I said to myself 'that's it, this is the most suitable medium for me'. But for right now, I don't rely on music as my career, I work another job to pay the bills." In 2000, Jeff graduated from Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, and according to another interview with Ultimate Metal, he taught himself graphic design through books and internet.