Fancy-fingered Fariz FM flies back on stage in style<\/p>\n
By Achmad Nurhoeri<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): After trailing through the glittering forest of
\nartificial artists who seem to care more for fame and fortune
\nthan for creating art ... puddling in the mud of foreign artists
\nwho are mostly big on image and not on musical expertise ...
\ntripping the ropes of idealists who want to astonish more than
\nentertain, you could easily lose your appetite for the Indonesian
\nmusic scene, which is bigger than ever but no wiser.<\/p>\n
But, wait, there was a slight ray of hope last Monday night at
\nJakarta's cave of vanity, the Hard Rock Cafe.<\/p>\n
One of Indonesia's long lost pop treasures made a comeback.<\/p>\n
He is Fariz Roestam Moenaf alias Fariz RM.<\/p>\n
He sings. He plays the keyboard. He writes songs. He knows the
\nnotes like the back of his hand. He sports fancy language in his
\nlyrics.<\/p>\n
Who is he?<\/p>\n
His guru is the nation's sole classical music professor,
\nCharlotte Sukirno. His deities are Mozart, Bach and Indonesia's
\nmusic prophet Ismail Marzuki.<\/p>\n
Before even receiving his ID card in 1976, he had entered the
\nmusic scene but left in 1992 bearing a grudge.<\/p>\n
He is the treasure too-long buried.<\/p>\n
No matter how long precious treasure is buried, no matter how
\nuncombed it is, or no matter how ill-treated it was, treasure is
\ntreasure. When it shines again it will get the respect it
\ndeserves.<\/p>\n
The designer-dressed yuppie audience -- usually so snobbish,
\nso restrained with their applause -- swayed and stamped their
\nfeet under Fariz's spell, humming the evergreen melodies.<\/p>\n
A few even shouted out the 38-year-old musician's name and
\nsongs.<\/p>\n
True appreciation was in the air.<\/p>\n
Fariz arrived late. He was due on at 10 p.m. but came 90
\nminutes later. And the audience didn't seem to mind.<\/p>\n
The posh cafe became more and more crowded during the delay.
\nNot an explosion of people, just a constant flow.<\/p>\n
There didn't seem to be any early departures.<\/p>\n
\"If it wasn't Fariz, I would have gone home to sleep. I have
\nliked Fariz for a long time,\" said Henny, a yuppie who works at a
\nsecurities firm.<\/p>\n
\"And I'm here with four friends who have also come to hear him
\nsing again,\" she said pointing to her late-twenties buddies.<\/p>\n
The comeback<\/p>\n
The charming virtuoso walked on stage at 30 minutes to
\nmidnight and sat behind his main melody maker, a Roland keyboard.<\/p>\n
He looked frail and wrinkled, and his ears were pierced.<\/p>\n
Signifying maturity or frustration? Maybe both.<\/p>\n
But he still has the 80s laddish look and the same old
\nfriendly face, although it's a paler version.<\/p>\n
Fariz, who has a reputation for band-hopping, was accompanied
\nby two youthful acolytes, Kusumawati (drums) and Dian (guitar).
\nBoth were recruited from unfledged bands.<\/p>\n
The show began with a medley of oldies Hasrat & Cinta (Desire
\n& Love) and Interlokal (Intercity Call).<\/p>\n
His fingers moved fast on the keyboards, twitching the MIDI
\nbuttons and unraveling his famous backgrounds, pumping out
\nmelodies from a time when Indonesian pop music was at its best.<\/p>\n
Melodious, full of improvisation but modest in deliverance,
\nhis songs crumbled the walls of music's over-complicated genres
\nwith pleasant lyrics.<\/p>\n
The crowd clapped, cheered and smiled.<\/p>\n
Fariz RM's magic is back.<\/p>\n
\"Thank you for coming. It's been a long time, hasn't it. Now,
\nlet me take you on an exploration of my career,\" said the maestro
\nwho first appeared, as a teenage drummer, on Badai Band's
\nlegendary film soundtrack, Badai Pasti Berlalu (The Storm Will
\nSurely Pass) in 1976.<\/p>\n
He sang oldies like Katarsis and Penari (Dancer) from 1986,
\nand had the audience in his palm with two love songs, the 1990
\nAntara Kita (Between Us) and then Nada Kasih (Affection Tune)
\nwhich was one his most popular duets with singer-poet Neno
\nWarisman.<\/p>\n
\"I have not sung these songs for years. I am very grateful you
\nall still remember them,\" said Fariz to the sing-along audience
\nthat included mature ladies and satin-clad gentlemen.<\/p>\n
Midway through the show, the audience began shouting for two
\nof the most celebrated hits of his 20 year career, Sakura and
\nBarcelona.<\/p>\n
He sang them at the end.<\/p>\n
Sakura is from his first solo album and the soundtrack of a
\nfilm with the same title.<\/p>\n
Barcelona is an ebullient melody about a fling with a Spanish
\nmaiden among the columns of Catalonia.<\/p>\n
\"Wow, I did not think it would turn out like this,\" said Fariz
\nafter the show.<\/p>\n
\"I always believed that Indonesian people liked melodious
\nsongs. Rap, alternative and other new music today are just
\ntrends.\"<\/p>\n
In his non-preforming years, Fariz kept himself busy as a
\nmultimedia production consultant. His stages were deluxe meeting
\nrooms. His audience advertising dandies.<\/p>\n
He also made 23 film soundtracks which sparked controversy as
\nmost had themes exploiting sex and violence.<\/p>\n
He also, recently, worked on the musical production of the
\nballet Peter Pan.<\/p>\n
\"The climate then, I believe, was much worse than when I
\nstarted,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
\"The music industry has become much more industrialized. It
\nseems, on the surface, that things are better. But the fact is,
\nthey're not.\"<\/p>\n
The urge to free himself from the shackles of the fiendish
\nmusic industry was the main reason he left the limelight in 1990.<\/p>\n
\"I was tired of the music industry.\"<\/p>\n
He said he pitied young musicians these days who cannot be
\nthemselves.<\/p>\n
\"Today's music is so monotonous. There are a lot of artists
\nbut none of them have real character.\"<\/p>\n
Monday's successful debut has made him composed about
\nfinishing his long-awaited album and about his professional
\ncomeback.<\/p>\n
\"Just wait until September, I will launch an album with ten
\nsongs on it. I want to put the richness back into Indonesian
\nmusic,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The title of the new album is Balada di Negeri Cinta (Ballads
\nin the Land of Love).<\/p>\n
He admitted the real reason for his comeback was that there
\nwas someone willing to produce his album without telling him what
\nto write.<\/p>\n
\"Music is the artist's creative process. I just want to play
\nmy own creations ... my own music.\"<\/p>\n
And Indonesia needs this kind of creativity from its artists.
\nWelcome back, Fariz.<\/p>\n
... Pasti diriku kembali<\/p>\n
Untuk cinta yang tertinggal ...<\/p>\n
Di hari ku kan kembali<\/p>\n
Kan ku ingatkan janji cintamu<\/p>\n
(I will truly come back<\/p>\n
for the love I left behind,<\/p>\n
and on the day I return<\/p>\n
I will remind you of<\/p>\n
your promised love)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/fancy-fingered-fariz-fm-flies-back-on-stage-in-style-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }