Popular singer Chrisye delights fans with oldies hits<\/p>\n
By Helly Minarti<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Integrity still sells in pop music, surviving
\nall the fads that come and go fast.<\/p>\n
Popular singer Chrisye, now 48, has bundled 20 solo albums
\ninto his almost 30-year career, and a few other notable
\nachievements, including the legendary soundtrack of Badai Pasti
\nBerlalu (The Storm Will be Over) in the late 1970s.<\/p>\n
In celebrating Fashion Cafe's first anniversary, Chrisye
\nclimbed up on stage again last Friday, retracing his golden years
\nthrough his old hits and recent popular remakes.<\/p>\n
Welcomed by a 15-minute dance show and grand sound effects
\ntrumpeting the cafe's audio facilities, Chrisye brought with him
\na solid troupe of musicians, a combination of the best seniors
\nand the blossoming young talent in Indonesian pop music.<\/p>\n
The top veterans were Erwin Gutawa (arranger, keyboard) and,
\nof course, virtuoso Aminoto Kosin on other keyboard. Up-and-
\ncomers was represented by Tohpati on guitar, the bass player of
\nHalmahera band, and Sa'Unine Quartet on the string section
\naccompanied by drum, percussion, solo violist, brass section and
\nthe flute.<\/p>\n
Chrisye lit up the night with some of his best hits from the
\n1970s, like Zamrud Khatulistiwa (The Equator's Emerald), a
\nrhythmic Balinese pop tune, and the quintessential remake of Kala
\nSang Surya Tenggelam (When The Sun Goes Down), both composed by
\nGuruh Soekarnopoetra, who was in the audience.<\/p>\n
His first composition to climbed to the top of the charts,
\nSabda Alam (The Nature's Call), was also a must.<\/p>\n
Next was the fresh Kala Cinta Menggoda (When the Love Flirts),
\npromoted as the first hit from his new album, released Nov. 19.<\/p>\n
\"The album has no title, just Chrisye,\" the performer said
\nbackstage.<\/p>\n
Also composed by Guruh, this song blends the traditional
\nkeroncong tunes into its groovy pop melody. Chrisye's singer-
\nsongwriter collaboration with Guruh has spanned nearly his entire
\ncareer.<\/p>\n
\"I've known him since junior high school, Chrisye was a friend
\nof friends,\" said Guruh.<\/p>\n
He added that Chrisye's voice was best suited to his type of
\ncompositions.<\/p>\n
Some more oldies folded well into the evening's program, like
\nthe melancholic soundtracks of Gita Cinta dari SMA (Love Tunes
\nfrom High School) and Puspa Indah Taman Hati (The Beautiful
\nFlower in The Heart), both from the early 1980s.<\/p>\n
Chrisye also sang a new song composed for the younger
\ngeneration, Tohpati, and played guitar to bridge the parade of
\nold hits from his other period, Serasa (What a Feeling), and
\nanother soundtrack taken from Badai Pasti Berlalu, Angin Malam
\n(Night Wind). Both were charged up by revised 1990s arrangements.<\/p>\n
Like Badai Pasti Berlalu, which is still available in music
\nstores, each of Chrisye's albums have sold between 100,000 and
\n500,000 copies. In the music industry, an Indonesian pop album
\nwhich sells 100,000 is considered a success.<\/p>\n
Dance tune<\/p>\n
Last Friday's show was closed by the thumping dance tune
\nJuwita, another old hit from the 1980s, plus an encore of two
\nsongs. It was a relief Chrisye skipped some banal hits, including
\nNona (Miss) and Lenny, from a short lost period in his musical
\nlife during the same decade.<\/p>\n
He may be older but Chrisye has not changed much.<\/p>\n
His voice remains solid and distinct, but he seems more at
\nease now in performing little jigs to songs like Zamrud
\nKhatulistiwa and Serasa. He shook his knees and danced along the
\ncatwalk-cum-stage in time to the frisky beats.<\/p>\n
\"Chrisye is shy, that's why it's kind of hard for him to act
\non stage,\" said Guruh, who had nevertheless included his friend
\nas one of the main singers in the flamboyant Swara Mahardika
\ncabarets a decade ago.<\/p>\n
His show plumbed not only his successful hits, but also his
\ndeep involvement with pivotal figures during the awakening of
\nIndonesian pop in the 1970 and 1980s. He collaborated with
\nprominent composers and musicians like Yockie Suryoprayogo and
\nEros Djarot from the famous Gang Pegangsaan, and also with almost
\nevery arranger of note afterward.<\/p>\n
He chose Erwin Gutawa as the arranger on his latest album.<\/p>\n
\"It's the second time for me to do the job. The first one was
\nfor Chrisye Akustik (Chrisye Unplugged),\" said Erwin, who perkily
\nsang along to every familiar tune that night while simultaneously
\nkeeping his fingers maneuvering on the keyboard.<\/p>\n
As the small crowd clapped Chrisye that night, Erwin deserved
\nthe applause, too, for his sweeping big band style arrangement.<\/p>\n
At the end of a song, Chandra Darusman, once a prominent
\nmusician himself who now leads the royalty foundation for
\nIndonesian artists, whispered to Guruh Soekarnopoetra, \"it's like
\nErwin's own show, with Chrisye as the vocalist\". It would not be
\nwrong to say there were two stars on stage that night.<\/p>",
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