'Dangdut' king A. Rafiq dstill in tune

'Dangdut' king A. Rafiq dstill in tune

Narada Krisnaputra, Contributor, Jakarta

The burly man looks surprised and his eyes widen. All of a
sudden, he moves his body closer to me; his face is just inches
from mine.

For a very brief moment, I think he is about to yell, or
worse, hypnotize me.

"Read my lips: I don't think there's still someone out there
who has the guts to call dangdut kampungan (provincial). If there
is, then that person is more provincial than the music itself!"

After uttering the somewhat emotional statement in his husky
voice, the 55-year-old man lit his second cigarette of the night,
despite the telltale scar on his chest, a result of bypass
surgery some years ago.

Meet Ahmad Rafiq, better known as A. Rafiq. One of the few
remaining members of the very first batch of singers of dangdut,
the popular musical form combining Indian and Arab influences. He
is the one who still has the voice and stage act that can whip
concert-goers into a frenzy and keep them that way all night
long.

For him, dangdut has been the music of the country since day
one.

"Not keroncong (the traditional Indonesian musical genre with
Portuguese influences that is popular among Javanese), sorry. You
go all around Indonesia and you'll find hundreds of dangdut bands
led by people from various tribes, while keroncong, though it
also exists everywhere, must have a band leader from Java."

Arrogant? Forgiven. His very first single, Pengalaman Pertama
(First Experience), back in 1978 was a huge and long-lasting
success, even remade by pop-icon Chrisye and loved by the hip
hop-crazed MTV generation.

Flip on a local TV station nowadays, and chances are that you
will come across a soft drink TV commercial that uses Pengalaman
Pertama as background, with former MTV VJ Jamie Aditya prancing
as he teases a girl with "naughty" eyes and a hand coyly covering
her face. It's the signature, unmistakable stage act of A. Rafiq.

"See? I foresaw the trend 20 years ago. Dangdut will never be
a pitfall, it knows only stability or growing popularity," he
said.

Still, a reminder of his past before dangdut might leave a
furrowed brow.

"Oh, yeah, in the 1960s, I was known as the Indonesian Elvis
Presley, singing The King's songs in musical concerts in
Surabaya."

Then, why the switch to dangdut?

"Because my cousin played the music over and over with his
band next to my house. I got used to it, liked it and finally was
eager to sing it," he said.

With his musical and theatrical experience, including as a
member of the comedy group Srimulat in Surabaya from 1965, A.
Rafiq decided to try his luck in Jakarta three years later,
because, "I wasn't content just being a local act. I wanted to
be a star".

Poor young Rafiq; at that time, music aficionados had their
attention firmly fixed on Rhoma Irama, the newly crowned king of
dangdut who put some rock into his songs and seemed unstoppable.

Thus, A. Rafiq's imitation of Elvis' hip-gyrating movements
paired with a dangdut voice didn't sell. No producers came
knocking.

"When people were consumed by the news of Elvis' death, I
thought I had found the chance. I came to this music producer and
told him that we could make bucks by recording the rendition of
Elvis' hits.

"He looked at me and said 'No, you want a record deal, just
stick with dangdut.'"

He did, and the producer was right. With Pengalaman Pertama,
A. Rafiq the conquered local music industry, even toppling Rhoma
from his position as the most famous dangdut singer in the
country.

He continued with a string of three million-selling albums;
Milikku (Mine), Pandangan Pertama (First Sight) and Cantik
(Beautiful).

Meanwhile, dangdut -- with its catchy sounds of drums and
flute -- slowly reached bigger audiences. From being additional
entertainment at wedding parties in rural areas, since the 1990s
the music has enjoyed red carpet treatment on TV, in hotels and
at prominent concert arenas.

It has finally become mainstream.

Even better, dangdut is considered the savior of the faltering
local music industry, for it continuously provides breakthrough
performers who arm themselves with various crowd-pleasing tools,
from erotic gyrations to shameless and laughable lyrics.

In other words, dangdut both satisfies and shocks everyone
beyond belief.

Puffing on his third cigarette, A. Rafiq paused before
commenting on the phenomenon. "When I said improving, it includes
the downside. Since 26 years ago, I've been dancing with my own
style on stage, but there was no condemnation up to today. Why?
Because it's beautiful and there's explanation in every move I
make.

"Young acts now move their bodies in the name of money and
fame."

Well, isn't that what the dangdut audience loves about the
music?

He answered with a sour smile, a shrug and few words about how
the degradation was actually related to various social factors.

"As for me, I am responsible to provide the public with the
best musicality, including musical performances and albums."

Up next is an album with Nelly Agustin -- carefully chosen for
her minimal hip movements -- due out next month.

"I have a rather feminine vocal range, so the duets on the
upcoming album are specially made to suit my voice," said the
1.7-meter tall man sheepishly.

This time, gone is the wild impression from the first minutes
of our conversation. Instead, there is an aging yet enthusiastic
musical maestro who is now admired by the young and has weathered
the test of time, with his songs considered cool and danceable.

As the interview wound up, amid the smoke of cigarette number
five, A. Rafiq still managed one last roar.

"I'll pay Rp 100 million to anyone who can prove that my
signature stage act is copied from Bollywood movies."

Long live A. Rafiq.