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.