Erwin hits right note for Indonesia pop orchestras

By Endi Aras

JAKARTA (JP): Erwin Gutawa is a successful arranger, conductor who has an orchestra named after him and has been a music director on a number of albums. And he is ready to become more involved through his "pop orchestra".

Born in Jakarta on May 16, 1962, Erwin began his career in music when he joined a band. Previously, he won many children's singing contests. His success in singing contests attracted the attention of the late Pranajaya, who recruited him for his Bina Vokalia choir. He later joined the Karimata group and took part in festivals abroad, including the North Sea Jazz Festival.

In one of his latest performances, he appeared in the sold-out Chrisye concert. The success of the show cannot be separated from Erwin, the man behind the concert's orchestra.

The Jakarta Post met Erwin recently in his Syailendra studio on Jl. Fatmawati, South Jakarta, to learn more about him and his music. Following is an excerpt of the interview:

Question: Do you think orchestration was a determining factor in the concert?

Answer: Actually, the concert's concept of performance was not only orchestration. The orchestra was only part of the musical setting. I adopted this concept because I knew that Chrisye's audience comprised both young and old generations. So I had to present a package that accommodated a variety of things which would appeal them. In other words, we emphasized the variety to ensure the audience would get all sorts of music that still suited Chrisye. The orchestra, since it was big, gave the impression of grace and grandness.

Well, to compose music for an orchestra or do the arrangement for orchestral music is different from ordinary recording. In ordinary recording, we begin with the drums and then bass. After a while, we introduce the guitar. It's just like painting. In an orchestra, we have to compose everything. The music for the flute, the piano and so forth. I am the first to hear it, in my imagination. It makes me tense. Only when the song is presented with the orchestra do we know whether it is good or not. Sometimes we are successful, sometimes we are not. What I mean as successful is that the music, when played, is exactly what I wanted to hear when I wrote it.

Some say that Indonesian songs are difficult to turn into music for an orchestra. What do you think?

Well, it is relative. In my case, it is the music industry. I come from the music industry, not from experimental. To me things are not difficult. Well, by saying not difficult I don't mean it is always good either. A song is a creation and allows us to interpret it. It is up to us to use orchestral or gamelan music, for example. The difficulty lies in technical matters. In this regard, we can just learn how to put together a good orchestra.

To tell you the truth, not all Indonesian songs are good. Some are very good indeed though. And we have songwriters of the caliber of Mas Guruh (choreographer Guruh Soekarnoputra). Many songwriters, it is true, are not very careful when writing their songs and they usually leave us confused. We do not know what to do with their songs. So, this is more about the technical aspect of the songs. If a song is good, it may be turned into a great variety of music, just like the Beatles' songs.

What is pop orchestra?

I have said that I am a musician oriented to the music industry and entertainment. So I am always connected with the production of cassettes. I am not a musician who is also, say, a composer. A composer is a different thing and is not related to the music industry. I just like to observe things but I cannot focus entirely on them. I'm aware of my potential. So, pop orchestra is close to entertainment and the music industry. As you know, the music industry is akin to pop music. Honestly, this is my world.

Is pop orchestra a new thing in our music industry?

Not quite. It is but pop music with instrumental setting which may involve 30 to 40 musicians for an orchestra. The late Pak Iskandar and the late Pak Isbandi pioneered this kind of music presentation with their Telerama on TVRI television station. That's why I have said that this kind of music must have been familiar to our people. In fact, that was the beginning of the pop orchestra.

Now that orchestral music has entered the music industry, what is your opinion?

That's OK. I am happy about it but there are difficulties. An orchestra means a number of people play music together at the same time. This means we need facilities, budgeting and a proper recording technique. Of course, this is more difficult than for a band of four or five members only.

People in the music industry are often adverse to such things because they know the budget will swell. Musically speaking, I indeed am very keen to learn a lot and I like to involve many people. The more people involved, the better the result. It is true, however, that orchestral music has yet to get a firm footing in the music industry because people in the music industry are not yet open to this.

How long does it usually take for an orchestra to get a song just right?

It depends on how many instruments are involved. The more involved, the longer it takes. Each musical instrument needs a separate music arrangement.

Is there improvisation in an orchestra?

No, because everybody must play according to what has been written for them. So they cannot improvise.

What is the position of ethnic musical instruments in an orchestra?

Honestly, I have included these kinds of musical instruments just because I like them. I do not want to use Javanese or Sundanese musical instruments only. I have tried several times in my shows for RCTI and I have involved ethnic music players. True, some people say these ethnic musical instruments are simply given a very minor role, act as decoration. This does not worry me because what is important is that I have experimented in something which needs careful thought and calculation. This is so because I am from the music industry. I refrain from forcing things. If it's not suitable, I won't use it. It is true that I have tried to use specific musical instruments and I need input from the young.

Do you write musical scores for these ethnic instruments?

Yes, I do for an orchestra. I have to tell them how and when to play, although sometimes I give them free range.

What about the music composition for percussion instruments?

Rhythm. Rhythm is close to a workshop with various techniques which we must seek. If I wrote things down, the result would be rigidity.

Other singers now want to use orchestras for their songs. What do you think?

Well, I'm happy about the possibility. But it must be clear to all that involving music the way I have done takes profound learning and loyalty. As I have said we cannot just ask 50 people to play. We need to treat them properly to win support. Let me give you an example. In some instances there could be musicians for an orchestra, but the arrangement and management are both poor. The audience would not be supportive. Finally, the judgment would be that Indonesians are not good at working on orchestral music. This could be a trap for all of us. So if a committee wishes to have orchestral music, the first important thing is a common vision. This is not the same as a music band.

It means there is special management in an orchestra?

Yes, we need arrangement on how to present ourselves. As for me, I prefer to see my orchestra appear casually. I rarely perform for such events like parties or gala dinners at exorbitant ticket prices. I prefer to play for such events like Gigi, Chrisye as the atmosphere is casual. If you go to a concert hall for an orchestra you must be neat. You also cannot shout. As for me, the audience can do what they please. This is what I want to introduce to our music fans.

Of course, we need more than just the show. We need loyalty on the part of the organizer or promoter so that we appear compassionate and then people will like us more. If we have more organizers, we will have more musicians in terms of the music itself. Now many people say, "Win, your musicians are those that join the orchestra of Addie MS". In my opinion, this is the best way. Why? To have an event every other month is already good enough. If we had more musicians, many of them would be jobless, and then who would be responsible for them? The case now is that we have just enough musicians to meet the demand. A big concert like Chrisye's happens only once a year. Addie MS once performed a concert every two months. That's good.

Well, if an orchestra performed every week, there would be a craze for orchestra. People would become restless if they failed to go to a concert hall once a week. Well, in this case there would be new musicians. The competition would be healthier. Good musicians would earn more respect. And in this situation I would ask, "Who will give them a job?"

To be able to perform three times a year is good enough. So, with my concept of casual orchestra I try to bring orchestral sounds to other kinds of music. For Gigi, for example. I helped in Dewa's latest recording. In three songs you can hear orchestral sounds. At least people will realize this and hopefully in their next show there will be an accompanying orchestra.

Have we got a concert hall appropriate for an orchestra?

We have yet to get a proper concert hall for an orchestra. Maybe Teater Tanah Airku in Jakarta is closest the closest thing we have. Indeed we are still in difficulty about this. As it is, we must put up everything before we perform: the stage, the lighting and so on. Everything must first be set up, and this is our obstacle.