'80s rock star refuses to be content with prosperity

'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.