Indonesian pop music beats the odds in 1998

Indonesian pop music beats the odds in 1998

By Helly Minarti

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian pop music industry, much affected
by the krismon (monetary crisis), has been struggling hard to
cope with the odds.

In January, the rupiah hit its lowest level, from about Rp
2,300 for one US dollar in July last year to Rp 16,000 for one
dollar, sharply weakening people's buying power. What's more, the
soaring price of much imported raw material (tapes, plastic
packaging, tape covers and printing costs) increased the price of
cassettes and compact discs. The recording companies had to
readjust their marketing strategy, from tightening artist
selection and cutting off the promotion budget to streamlining
their organization.

As the first quarter ended, it seemed the local music scene
started to recover and a few artists planned to release their new
albums. But, instead of throwing their usual big promo tours,
they roamed much smaller venues, such as the cafes in Jakarta.

As national politics was in upheaval, reaching its climax in
May, the economic turbulence became worse and again forced
artists who were scheduled to release their album on that month
to rethink. Pop band Gigi, freshly signed up with major label
Sony Music, decided to launch its fourth album, Kilas Balik
(Flashback) in June, when reform became the new vocabulary in
casual chitchat. They also performed in Fashion Cafe only a few
days later -- though they have had to cancel a few tours due to
riot-prone situations in the cities outside Jakarta.

The newly-established Ahmad band -- founded by Dhani Ahmad,
the key member of Dewa 19 -- followed this track a month after by
releasing Ideologi, Sikap, Otak (Ideology, Attitude, Brain). Half
of the songs follow political themes to match a hard arty-crafty
rock rhythm. Some of the songs were presented in Kuldesak -- an
indie movie of four young directors which was cut in 1995 and
finally premiered early this month.

In the spirit of reform, many singers expressed their
political ideas. Among the pack were folk balladeer Iwan Fals,
Doel Sumbang and Ully Sigar -- all of whom released an album
and/or compilation on that subject. Kantata Takwa has tried to
stage the reform wind on their usual spectacular gig -- but
ironically has had to abort owing to riots erupting among their
fans flocking in to venues.

The pop music scene that gave birth to new artists like ME,
five nice boys swaying to slight hiphop, also succeeded in luring
the young fans. In fact, the third quarter saw the new awakening
of the pop music scene. Fresh groups like Gallery and Cherry
Bombshell found their way to record. A troupe of others --
standard pop band, vocal group, boyzband -- joined the
competition though only few had distinction. They also represent
various music genre, ska, pop, R&B, hiphop, rock and heavy metal,
even though most of them still could not resist the temptation of
being a copycat of their idols in MTV screen. A sample of the
very few best cuts is z.e.n, a trio whose daring debut, z.e.n ,
sways to a real fine R&B.

Not-so-new bands like Potret introduced their new songs in
their gigs and promised to release their next album in November.
Yet, as the New Year is less than two weeks away, it has still
not made its way to release. Rock band /rif scored their second
in October -- surprisingly coming out with Salami (their pun of
Save the Earth) with a solid theme on the environment mixing
colorful music genre to their routine rock thumps.

Fans of easy listening poppy tunes who enjoyed the first hits
of Bragi were again entertained by their second album, which
contained the group's typical songwriting. Pop trio Lingua threw
up no surprise in their second album. While the once kid band
Base Jam, who struck with their creativity through their debut
but slipped to pop oblivion with their second album, seemed to
finally grow up with their third.

The seniors like Guruh and KLA Project also had their moments
by releasing a compilation to celebrate their decade(s) in local
music history and/or launching their latest album. Both tried to
rejuvenate their music. Guruh's compilation album comprised his
20 old hits -- half were in the original state, the rest in
disappointing new arrangements and sung by young singers. The new
arrangements are indeed lighter -- more poppy -- than the
original, as explained by Guruh. While KLA Project accommodated
electronica, the latest trend in music, to their classic
composition. They also appear in MTV's-like video clip -- a
departure from their late 1980s picturesque portrayal. The
popular band Slank, which survived some members coming and going,
still composed their hits this year and toured 30 cities in the
country.

The annual Indonesian Music Awards threw up controversy when
it crowned the rookie singer Alda with the title of Best Female
Pop Singer. Alda indeed succeeded with her mushy pop hit, Aku Tak
Biasa (I Don't Get Used To). But she is considered by most music
critics still not on a par with her competitors in the category
such as Kris Dayanti, Mayangsari and Rita Effendi. The other
results were just as expected. Reza was officially crowned as the
new queen of R&B. The veteran Chrisye, again, swept many awards
-- including the Best Male Singer (as he did last year) and Best
Album.

Chrisye also won the MTV Viewers' Choice, thanks to his
aggressive public relations which persuaded fans to vote for him,
and delivered his speech in Bahasa Indonesia in front of world's
artists at the award's night in Los Angeles.

MTV, which continued its award tradition to the local artists,
created something bigger. Noticing that Indonesian youth have a
typical profile that needs a special communication treatment
different from the more general MTV Asia, MTV Indonesia
introduced a very specific campaign addressing its local
audience. It is popularly called Nongkrong di MTV (Hang out at
MTV), broadcast by local TV station, ANteve.

The regular music venues such as I Like Monday of Hard Rock
Cafe, which is dedicated to talented local artists, have been
packed with teenyboppers. The followers, like Fashion Cafe with
its biweekly's Thursday with Stars (not always fully packed) and
Cafe Lamborghini emerged as alternatives for youngsters as a
place to unwind. (And watching those under twenties jumping and
whooping to every tune, who said we have krismon around?) And
Jamz, a jazz cafe, which has moved to a bigger venue, provides
the entertainment for those who prefer a more specific genre.

The fourth quarter of 1998 has seen the race to release new
albums to match the marketing clock. The perfect timing is before
the fasting month or after Idul Fitri. So alternative singer
Nugie set December for his latest album, a year late, actually.
Because of crisis? Not necessarily. "It is produced by my older
brother Katon. He's been busy with his group, KLA Project and
others. So I have to wait in line," said Nugie, who put out
Crayon -- a funny story about a dog -- as his first single.

Joining the lineup are Potret, who had earlier planned to
release their album in November, Pals (the female duo) and
creatively acclaimed Humania (male duo). Some groups/artists are
doing recording sessions. One of the long awaited is Dewa 19's
fifth album. Rumors had it -- as indicated by Dhani Ahmad, the
bandleader -- that it could be their last. Jumping on the
bandwagon are the alternative PAS Band and the rock-blues Flowers
-- both have limited fans but they're true supporters.

Closing 1998 and entering 1999, the pop music scene looks
okay. Yet the statistics still show a decline in sales compared
to last year. ASIRI (The Association of the Indonesian Recording
Industry) recorded a significant slump in sales, as seen in the
number of stickers (which must be stuck to every single cassette
and compact disc of all music genre including dangdut).

There was a 40 percent decline in the sale of stickers from
January to October this year, compared to the same period last
year from about 56.5 million to only 33.7 million. Interestingly
enough, the sales in October this year were 2 million higher than
for the same month last year. Is it a good indication of a real
awakening of the Indonesian music industry despite the prolonged
crisis? One will not know soon. The fact is, the cassette price
remains high, even though the dollar rate is now set at about Rp
7,500. In February, cassettes of local artists were available at
between Rp 10,000 and Rp 13,000, now they are retail for between
Rp 15,000 and Rp 16,500 (while a cassette of international
artists costs up to Rp 18,500). The prices of CDs of local
artists is about Rp 45,000 while those of international artists
sell for between Rp 60,000 and Rp 85,000.

From the artist's side, Nugie has a simple comment. "Like
others, we musicians just try to survive. And releasing an album
is only a way to do so."

And now many popular artists, even the relatively new ones,
have been booked to perform in New Year's Eve party in venues
outside Jakarta, mostly in Bali. This is better compared to last
year, when there was barely any offer to perform. "Yeah, but we
only got paid half," quipped an artist's manager, who had to cut
the original tariff due to the tight competition to get the
order.

With all the political agenda next year -- like the election
in May/June and the Session of the People's Consultative Assembly
afterwards -- plus the still hovering krismon, it seems that
local pop music still has a rocky way to negotiate.