'80s rock star refuses to be content with prosperity
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Once upon a time, in less turbulent times than we live in at the present, an improbable rock song ruled the airwaves. The song, featuring crisp guitar riffs, new wave-sounding synth, compressed drum sounds and quirky vocals, could hardly be called a rock song if not for its socially conscious lyrics.
The song, simply titled Preman, tells the story of a ruffian who has to roam the streets of the metropolis, asking money from pedestrians, and extorting and killing innocent people if necessary to make ends meet.
Despite its seeming indignation at the ruffian's cruelty, the song in fact took a deep look at the adverse impacts of unfettered urbanization on ordinary people.
However, the lyrics were lost on most listeners and it was the song's catchy rhythm and Ikang's attempts at yodeling that drew people's attention. Preman was a huge hit in 1987.
That one song was the highlight of the musical career of its singer, Ahmad Zulfikar Fauzi, better-known as Ikang Fauzi, and gave him a taste of fame that he not since emulated.
On the basis of Preman, Ikang was awarded the best male singer and best album trophies at the 1987 BASF Awards, the Indonesian equivalent of the Grammys.
With the money he received from the awards, Ikang traveled to Europe, paid for his wedding and built a house for his new family.
The younger generation were able to see for themselves how big an impression the Preman album made on the country's subconsciousness when they saw the 2003 romantic comedy flick, Andai Ia Tahu (If Only He Knew). Ikang made a cameo appearance in the film's closing scene to the utter delight of the female lead, who had long worshiped him.
When the hysteria generated by Preman receded and people started to forget the album, Ikang returned to the studio and worked on a new album, attempting to capitalize on his recent success.
In 1989, he recorded Kita Bebas (We Are Free), an album he hoped would match the success of his previous album.
However, all his hopes of repeating that success were shattered when then president Soeharto slapped a ban on the first single taken from the album on the basis that the song, which advocated freedom of speech, could spark an opposition towards the government.
The ban dealt a severe blow to the album's sales, and it eventually flopped.
Discouraged by the failure, Ikang decided to put an end to his erstwhile triumphant musical career and started to travel a completely different path.
One year after the release of Kita Bebas, Ikang set his sights on the property business. In 1990, after gathering together all the resources at his disposal, he set up a property company that eventually prospered on the back of the country's rapid economic growth at the turn of the decade.
Now, after building more than 30,000 houses, including a substantial number designed for the poor, and having served as the deputy chairman of the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Real Estate Association (REI) and on the central board of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Ikang has decided to return to the music scene by releasing a new record, Dua Sisi (Two Sides).
Stuffed with middle-of-the-road rock songs and a couple of hard rocking tunes, the album, his sixth in the past twenty years, can be best described as a reminder that the country once had a rock star with an uncanny singing style.
The album even has a track that is meant to be a sequel to Preman. If the original song tells the story of a blue-collar criminal, its sequel, Preman Berdasi, is a tirade against corrupt politicians and white-collar crime.
The album has been released on the little-known Malta label.
Ikang says that although his decision to record the new album was borne out of popular demand, it is also his passion for the music scene that he abandoned almost 15 years ago that has drawn him back.
"I was born to become a musician and I have played music since I was a fifth grader. Now that I have hired professionals to run my property business, I have more time to make music," he told The Jakarta Post in an interview at his fifth floor office in Duren Tiga, South Jakarta.
Having played various musical instruments since his early childhood, Ikang took professional music lessons during his stay in Japan, where his father, an official with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was assigned in the mid-1970s.
Japan is also the country where Ikang was exposed to various musical influences, from the glam rock of T-Rex and David Bowie, the heavy metal of Alice Cooper and Deep Purple to the jazz rock played by scores of Japanese fusion bands.
He managed to break into the Indonesian music scene when his song Cahaya Kencana won the award for best song in the then prestigious Prambors Radio songwriting competition in 1978.
Aware of the fact that much had change since he left the music business fifteen years ago, Ikang embraced the latest trends in the musical scene by collaborating with scores of young musicians, such as Dhani Ahmad of the rock group Dewa and Ipang of the Jakarta-based band BIP.
"My glittering success belongs to the past and I want to conclude that chapter. Here I am now, a new musician who is willing to learn from the young,
"Music is about trends, and it is complete nonsense to say that music from my time is better than the music nowadays. Every dog has its day," said the forty-year-old Ikang, apparently only half in jest.
It is this realization that has led Ikang to raise his hopes for the album too high. "I no longer want to be the best in the business. I just want to make a comeback and entertain people. That is my ultimate mission," he said.