'Dangdut' makes music in its own distinctive style

'Dangdut' makes music in its own distinctive style

By Helly Minarti

JAKARTA (JP): Certain musical beats are often associated with
certain groups in society. Here, classical and jazz might belong
to the upper class, while the locally popular dangdut -- with its
dynamic mixture of gendang (local percussion), bamboo flute and
Malay melodies -- is the music of the less affluent society.

Although hits like Kopi Dangdut may be occasionally requested
in uptown pubs, dangdut songs are mostly played in kampongs or
rural areas. Dangdut concerts are usually held in open arenas
instead of proper concert halls.

It is not only the beat and the venue that are so typical; the
singers also have their own "trademark." They are usually clad in
kitschy costumes -- a combination of striking colors and
accessories -- which create a certain glamour. This combination
comes with a standard stage act, particularly a swinging hip
dance. At times imitating the movements of India's popular films,
the singers gyrate to a perky gendang beat which its dynamic
thump mirroring India's tabla.

But, like anything else in the world, dangdut music is in
constant flux, while always retaining some of its basic elements.
These two aspects were reflected in the recent Anugerah Dangdut
TPI 1998, the 1998s Dangdut Music Awards launched by TPI TV
station on Nov. 21.

Some striking changes are seen in the new lineup of young
female singers Iis Dahlia, Ikke Nurjanah, Lilis Karlina -- all in
their twenties -- and a maturer Evie Tamala, who were nominated
as the best female singer. They were challenged the more senior
Elvy Sukaesih who eventually grabbed the award. (The best male
singer was Meggi Z.)

The four bring not only fresh faces but also fresh images to
the dangdut scene. Unlike their seniors in the 1970s and 1980s,
these new dangdut girls don't wear kitschy costumes. On the night
of the awards, they appeared stylish and well-groomed. Their
hairstyles were straight out of Melrose Place and wear they wore
fine designer outfits like Biyan slip dresses.

Even though they still perform the dangdut hip moves, their
movements are far less "hot" than the swinging of dangdut queen
Elvy Sukaesih. The new dangdut generation also wear trendy make
up, like their cousins in the pop music world. Evie Tamala, who
is also a talented songwriter, goes even further: she taped her
video clip in Rome.

The youngsters have good voices, of course, complete with
dangdut's cengkok (a must-to-do technique in dangdut), yet they
failed to beat Elvy Sukaesih. With her repertoire containing all
the classic dangdut elements, Elvy was also presented with the
Dangdut Legend Award.

"Dangdut has made significant progress in the last 10 years,"
said Munif Bahasuan, a composer and one of the jurors. "It has
much to do with the recording technology, like the sound," he
added.

This also stimulates that dangdut composers and musicians must
explore other genres and add them to their compositions. "Now we
have this so-called house Dangdut. a mix of house music and
dangdut, or songs with ethnic tunes," explained Munif.

Either for the sake of artistic experiment or boosting image,
or both, dangdut, a blend of Arab-Indian-Malay music, has
welcomed the influence of other music genres. Rhoma Irama, a
dangdut veteran, and his Soneta Group have successfully brought
rock-flair into the music. Dangdut was even performed at
prestigious events like Jakjazz last year through the work of
jazz musician Indra Lesmana with his Trakeba band.

Campus

The drive to take dangdut to a "higher" level is not new. In
the late 1970s some students from reputed universities formed a
group called PSP (Pancaran Sinar Petromak) to sing Western folk
songs to dangdut tunes and change the lyrics as a means of social
criticism. Dangdut was then quite popular on campuses, and
occasionally echoes of it are still heard today.

In the same period, an ex-pop musician, Reynold Panggabean,
used stringed music in his dangdut orchestra, Tarantulla. He
dressed his long-haired musicians in tuxedos to play for his
(then) wife, Camelia Malik. She was also a new face on the
dangdut scene with her beaded satin Diana Ross costume which was
more subdued and stylish than other dangdut singers' outfits at
that time.

Despite the changes over the years, dangdut still retains its
symbol as a music for "marginal people", those people who roam
the streets, speak plain languages, and are less intellectual.

A few years ago, people were struck by newcomers like Ikke
Nurjanah whose 'pop' look was accentuated by her status as a
university student. Her recent marriage to Aldi, the frontman and
key person of Bragi, a male pop band, also dispelled the public
image that dangdut was kitschy compared to the higher-taste pop
music.

More changes were noticeable when the dangdut awards were
presented. The award winners were announced by celebrities who
are not dangdut artists. And the onstage setup was interesting.
Dwiki Dharmawan was the music director. Dwiki, known more as a
fusion, jazz and pop musician, in fact arranged dangdut music for
all round veteran singer Titiek Puspa. His arrangement won a
nomination.

And a not-so-dangdut Dwiki brought a pop big band combination
with drums side by side with gendang and brass alongside bamboo
flutes.

The songs were all, of course, dangdut, but the music was not
"pure" dangdut as Dwiki often opened a song with a jazzy piano
solo before it reverted to a traditional dangdut flavor such as
the solo gendang. Another time he highlighted Donny Suhendra's
jazzy acoustic guitar with a typical dangdut shrieking sound like
those in Rhoma Irama's Soneta.

"Never mind (the mixture). As you can see the winner is still
a 'pure' dangdut musician," said Hendro Saki, who won Best
Dangdut Arranger.

So it does not matter either if a pop singer like Harvey
Malaiholo belted out Begadang (Stay up the Night) -- a classic
number from Rhoma Irama. "I deliberately chose the song since it
still has much pop flair in its melody. I can't perform dangdut's
cengkok," commented Harvey, who knows many dangdut songs even
though he excludes dangdut recordings from his collection.

Rita Effendi of Elfa's Singers, who sang a classic Malay song
Cinta Hampa (Empty Love), admitted that she was a fan of some
dangdut performers. "I like the work of Evie Tamala and Ikke
Nurjanah."

The best conclusion was wrapped in a brief speech by Chandra
Darusman, Chairman of Yayasan Karya Cipta Indonesia, Indonesia's
royalty foundation.

"Dangdut is in the majority in Indonesia, so we have to commit
to building dangdut music without forgetting other music genres."

Dangdut has indeed witnessed impressive sales. Elvy Sukaesih's
Lirikan Matamu (Your Eyes' Flirting), produced in the late 1970s,
has sold one million copies. Today, an album is considered good
if sales top 100,000.

However, the bottom line is that, despite some changes,
dangdut still keeps its original soul. It is still tinged with a
certain glamorous image associated with kitschy taste and is
still favored by the majority of Indonesian.

It has a unique status -- both as an important part of the
country's music industry and as an expression of our subculture.
Therefore it cannot be underestimated and it does not need an
image boost from other music genres, as was shown at the dangdut
awards ceremony.