'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.