New star in Sony stable<\/p>\n
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
How popular is dangdut music in Indonesia? Famous dangdut
\nsinger Camelia Malik places it in comparison with pop music.<\/p>\n
\"People are shocked that pop band Sheila On 7 can sell one
\nmillion copies of one album. In dangdut (popular local music with
\na strong Arab\/Indian influence), that's nothing extraordinary,\"
\nshe claimed recently.<\/p>\n
\"And pop singers are now making a fuss about holding solo
\nconcerts. Dangdut performers have been doing that for a long
\ntime. In fact, when it comes to concerts, we have always been
\nsolo,\" Camelia asserted.<\/p>\n
And here is more proof of the genre's popularity. Record
\ncompany Sony Music Entertainment Indonesia -- a subsidiary of
\nSony Music -- has just established a new label called Sony
\nDangdut.<\/p>\n
The new label was marked last Monday by the launch of singer
\nIkke Nurjanah's new album Selalu Milikmu (Always Yours), which is
\nher first for Sony.<\/p>\n
The new label is Sony Music's third aimed at a general
\ncategory, after Mega Music for Indian and Malay music and Sony
\nWonder for children's music.<\/p>\n
The establishment of Sony Dangdut is a response to the
\nbusiness slowdown of the past three years, Sony's A&R manager,
\nSylvia Theorupun Pontoh, said.<\/p>\n
Despite having two artists, Sheila on 7 and rock group Padi,
\nwho can each sell over a million copies per album, Sylvia said
\nsales for all music genres were sliding.<\/p>\n
\"People are getting more selective because their financial
\nsituation isn't as good as it used to be,\" she said on the
\nsidelines of the launch of Selalu Milikmu.<\/p>\n
Sony managing director Sutanto Hartono said the company
\nhad been eying dangdut for a long time.<\/p>\n
\"But we're a new player in this category. Most of our products
\nare pop. We have so many limitations and so many things to
\nlearn,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Sutanto said dangdut album sales had been on the decline since
\n1997, when the economic crisis first hit the country.<\/p>\n
\"But we're optimistic. We see that the market has a lot of
\npotential, based on dangdut concerts and shows. We don't expect
\nmuch in the short term as this is a long-term project for us.
\nWe're pretty sure that within three to five years, dangdut will
\nreign supreme again,\" Sutanto said.<\/p>\n
With Ikke Nurjanah being the first artist signed to the new
\nlabel, it appears that Sony wants to reach middle to upper-class
\nconsumers.<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old Ikke is one of a number of younger singers who
\nhave revived the image of dangdut. Instead of wearing glossy
\ndresses in vivid colors, big hair and being overly sensual, Ikke
\nwears more simple and trendy clothes, giving her the appearance
\nof a pop star.<\/p>\n
Married to Aldi, the vocalist for the pop band Bragi, Ikke has
\nalso released a duet with her husband titled Memandangmu (Staring
\nat You), a mixture of pop and dangdut.<\/p>\n
She said the deal with Sony was the kind of cooperation she
\nhad been looking for with a record company, as Sony provided her
\nwith greater space and freedom.<\/p>\n
\"Through this deal, I want to improve the image of dangdut
\nartists. That's why, from the beginning, I insisted that the new
\nlabel must have Sony's name on it,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Ikke has had some bad experiences with former producers, who
\nplaced many restrictions on her because she is a dangdut singer.<\/p>\n
\"Our creativity was always being limited. Like, for example,
\npop musicians often collaborate with orchestras, but we were
\nnever allowed to do that because we were told that it was too
\nexpensive.<\/p>\n
Camelia, who has been part of the dangdut scene for much
\nlonger than Ikke, agreed, saying that she often fought with
\nproducers over the lyrics.<\/p>\n
\"They think vulgar lyrics will sell, but I think dangdut also
\nhas to be classy, especially if we want to reach upper-class
\nconsumers. I don't want to fight them, but for me it's not just a
\nmatter of earning money. It has to do with building a career,\"
\nsaid Camelia.<\/p>\n
On Selalu Milikmu, which Ikke produced with Aldi, she
\ncollaborated with such well-known dangdut musicians as Marakarma,
\nImam J. and Eddy Nuansa, as well as pop musician Raidy Noor.<\/p>\n
Ikke also incorporated elements from other types of music in
\nthe album, like salsa for the title track and Malay music for a
\nnumber called Gundah (Restless).<\/p>\n
And she abandoned her signature melancholic sounds for a
\nseries of up-tempo danceable dangdut tracks.<\/p>\n
\"I really want this album to be great so I put extra effort
\ninto it. Besides, I have made many demands of Sony, so I have a
\nresponsibility to make it something special,\" Ikke said.<\/p>\n
As for Sony Dangdut, its next projects are a compilation album
\nof old dangdut songs and an album by Camelia.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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