Megalitikum: Good concept; shame about the execution<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Bringing back near-extinct traditional music into the
\nlimelight and turning it into an appealing show may be a noble
\nidea.<\/p>\n
However, in the case of an overly hyped musical show,
\nMegalitikum Kuantum, such hopes never materialized on stage and
\nwhat transpired was an uneasy combination of the old and new.<\/p>\n
If the greatest achievement in a live performance can be
\ndefined as the ability to blend all elements into a harmonious
\nwhole, Megalitikum Kuantum, a performance at Jakarta Convention
\nCenter held to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Kompas daily
\nnewspaper, failed in almost every respect.<\/p>\n
Traditional musicians from the remotest corners of the
\ncountry, such as players of the guitar-like sasando from East
\nNusa Tenggara and sampeq from East Kalimantan, plus a percussion
\nensemble from Banyuwangi, East Java, were shipped to the capital
\nsimply as ornaments to adorn standard performances by some of the
\ncountry's hottest pop acts.<\/p>\n
If a show's success can be measured by the sunny faces of the
\naudience and the thundering applause after each number,
\nMegalitikum Kuantum achieved only mild success, with only a few
\nof the concertgoers clapping reluctantly, and most wearing
\nbaffled expressions during the one-hour-plus show.<\/p>\n
Opened with an otherworldly sound from a tune titled Impresi
\nMegalitik (Megalithic Impressions) composed by show director
\nRizaldi Siagian, Megalitikum seemed to herald a journey into an
\nexotic land few had ever visited.<\/p>\n
Soon after the opening song, however, Entah Mengapa (Manusia
\nBatu) (I Don't Know Why, Man of Stone), a standard middle-of-the-
\nroad rock song performed with splendor by Candil (vocalist in
\nlocal glam-rock outfit Serieus), disharmony soon began to take
\nhold.<\/p>\n
Technical glitches aside, the ensemble of harp played by
\nclassically trained harpist Maya Hassan and sampeq plucked by
\nthree local artists, Usat Anyeq, Galau Tekiyen and Dedi Yonathan,
\nwent only as far as dabbling in the possibility of discovering
\nsonic harmony.<\/p>\n
Although the transition from harp to sampeq was smooth, both
\ninstruments seemed never to leave their original domain and
\nremained as two separate aural entities.<\/p>\n
The next two songs that followed the harp and sampeq ensemble
\ncould not do much to prevent the ship from sinking.<\/p>\n
Performed by self-appointed diva, Krisdayanti, Berputar-putar
\n(Round and round) was no different to anything she sings during
\nher live or televised performances. What set the tune apart was a
\nlengthy, ethnic-tinged bridge delivered by hordes of Banyuwangi
\npercussionists.<\/p>\n
The worst was yet to come.<\/p>\n
Soon after Krisdayanti and scores of over-energetic dancers
\ndisappeared from the beautifully ornamented stage -- courtesy of
\nthe show's art director Jay Subyakto -- young pop singer Agnes
\nMonica, a clone of U.S. singer Christina Aguilera, entertained
\nthe crowd with her sometimes ear-splitting, high-pitched vocals
\nin Ku T'lah Jatuh Cinta (I've Fallen in Love).<\/p>\n
Siagian was apparently unable to find a suitably ethnic-
\nflavored song for Agnes, so he allowed the former child star to
\nperform her own composition, culled from her latest album, ...
\nAnd The Story Goes.<\/p>\n
Local dangdut singer Iyeth Bustami had a chance to salvage the
\nshow with her two impressive renditions of traditional Malayan
\nsongs Ceracap and Sifat Sifat dan Kuntulan, but her vocal
\ncollaboration with male singer Amiroez was drowned out in the
\ntreble-heavy sound.<\/p>\n
Hoping to end the show with grandeur, Siagian deployed
\ncomposer of traditional Javanese music Rahayu Supanggah and
\narranger Dwiki Dharmawan to perform a rendition of one of Java's
\nmost revered traditional compositions, Ketawang Puspowarno -- a
\ntune so representative of Javanese tradition that NASA packed it,
\nalong with other traditional compositions from all over the
\nworld, into a space ship heading toward Jupiter in 1977.<\/p>\n
If the hoped-for grandeur materialized by the show's
\nconclusion, it was due to the nobility of Ketawang itself rather
\nthan a keyboard-based arrangement performed by Dwiki.<\/p>",
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