Harry popularizes experimental music<\/p>\n
Aendra Medita, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Harry Roesli is working hard, disproving that his eclectic music
\nis \"exclusive\" as critics claim.<\/p>\n
The chubby long-haired Bandung-based artist has been on a
\nnationwide tour he calls Ziarah Seni, a pilgrimage of art with
\nunique musical performances, to bring himself and his group
\ncloser to the public.<\/p>\n
The leader of Depot Kreasi Seni Bandung (DKSB) is accompanied
\nby street singers, who have been actively involved in Harry's
\nmusical ventures over the last four years.<\/p>\n
The street musicians are exploring their originality and
\ninnate gifts. \"I'm taking them along to make the atmosphere more
\nintimate,\" said Harry, whose given name is Djauhar Zaharsjah
\nFahrudin Roesli.<\/p>\n
A familiar name in the country, Harry is known as a \"naughty\"
\nmusician, as seen in his performances that lampoon sociopolitical
\nconditions. He innovates by presenting his creations in varying
\nformats.<\/p>\n
He landed himself in trouble when he jokingly twisted the
\nlyrics of a patriotic song in a performance at the residence of
\nformer president Abdurrahman Wahid in Jakarta marking
\nIndependence Day on Aug. 17, 2001.<\/p>\n
He reaped public criticism and was questioned by police for
\nmaking fun of the song Garuda Pancasila, a song exalting the
\nstate philosophy. He claimed to have derived the lyrics from
\nBandung's street singers critical of the sociopolitical
\nconditions in the country.<\/p>\n
With Aat Suratin, Haviel Hadiman and other artists, he creates
\nexperimental pieces, or \"exclusive music\" that few laymen
\nunderstand.<\/p>\n
But it does not faze him. \"Music is for listening not for
\nunderstanding,\" argues Harry, the husband of Kania and father of
\ntwins, Hami and Yala.<\/p>\n
Harry has also opened a music school, the Harry Roesli Music
\nEducation Institute, beside a cleaning service firm, at his home
\non Jl. Supratman 57, Bandung. Some of his students are talented
\nstreet children, who are trained free of charge.<\/p>\n
\"Life is contemplative as we are engaged in music with those
\naround us,\" he says, adding that the attempt to convey his
\nartistic idealism made his pursuit proceed without burden.<\/p>\n
His portly posture has won him affectionate nicknames, such as
\na member of KGB, a local acronym meaning Bandung Fat Men's Club.
\nBut everyone agrees that the \"fat man\" is dynamic and smart.<\/p>\n
DKSB drew a large audience at Jakarta's Taman Ismail Marzuki
\narts center when the group performed recently, Reflections on
\nFive years of Reform, which he said had hardly brought about any
\nresults.<\/p>\n
\"It was a piece of street music that mirrored the views of
\nstreet children who bear the impact of the crisis,\" he recalls.<\/p>\n
Born in Bandung on Sept. 10, 1951, the grandson of one of
\nIndonesia's leading man of letters Marah Roesli has no
\npretensions, allowing his artistic creations to flow freely.<\/p>\n
\"I've never thought about what people may think about them,
\nI'm just conveying my works of art. Let the audience judge,\" says
\nHarry.<\/p>\n
Harry studied \"unconventional\" music with senior artist Remy
\nSilado and contemporary music with composer Slamet Abdul Syukur.<\/p>\n
He also studied music at the Jakarta Art Educational
\nInstitute, which is now the Jakarta Art Institute, and followed a
\nscholarship program for percussion musical composition at the
\nRotterdam Conservatory, Netherlands, besides attending aviation
\nengineering lectures at Bandung's Institute of Technology.<\/p>\n
Harry has composed musical pieces for theater groups like
\nnovelist Putu Wijaya's Teater Mandiri, Teater Koma (which is
\nperforming Opera Kecoa until July 19 at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta),
\nTeater Payung Hitam Bandung, Byakosha of Japan and the National
\nTheater of Austria.<\/p>\n
\"Creating music for theaters is challenging, forcing me to
\nfurther explore and access my creative powers,\" he says.<\/p>\n
Artist Herry Dim says that Harry's works always offer
\ndifferent colors to Indonesian music. \"Harry has adopted new
\nmethods instead of merely following established standards, by
\ncreating specific blends in line with relevant themes,\" Herry
\nsays.<\/p>\n
Various works of Harry Roesli have appeared in local and
\ninternational festivals in solo and joint performances, such as
\nthe Ken Arok Opera, Tusuk Gigi Opera, 24-hour Non-stop Music,
\ncompositions to express concern over the ban on Tempo, Detik,
\nEditor magazines in the 1990s, to mention a few.<\/p>\n
In addition, Harry has made musical scores for several films,
\nincluding Kabayan I & II directed by Maman Firmansyah, Cas-Cis-
\nCus by Putu Wijaya, and Suci Sang Primadona by Arifin C. Noer.
\nHis other works have also filled private television programs and
\ncommercials for major local and international products. Harry is
\nalso a contributor for the Sunday edition of Kompas.<\/p>\n
Music is Harry's life-long journey. \"I live in music, and
\nmusic is my world,\" he says.<\/p>",
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