Ipang goes solo with a switch to trip hop

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Megamendung, Bogor

Singer Ipang stood on stage in front of an audience of a couple hundred at the recent Exotic Millennium Arts Festival (EMAF) in Megamendung, Bogor.

He laughed nervously, delighted with the warm response.

"Thank you very much. Wow, what a surprise. The next song is a ballad, but a kind of sad one, a bit depressing," he mumbled, before launching into a number from his latest album Debut#1.

As the title suggests, this is Ipang's first effort as a solo artist. Ipang, whose real name is Irvan Fahri Lazuardi, was once a vocalist for a rock band called Plastik back in the 1990s, before quitting.

Even though the band did not enjoy huge popularity, it was well-respected, and Ipang was known as the vocalist with that tremolo and timbre similar to Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder.

The change of status -- from the frontman of a band to a solo performer -- was probably the most rattling transition for him. Not only that, but he was presenting a totally different genre from Plastik's.

While the band played alternative/grunge rock, Ipang goes with the ambience of a dark trip hop a la Britain's Portishead, with its bleak and sample-heavy soundscapes.

"When I quit Plastik I thought I was going to start another band. But my friends advised me to go solo instead. Because establishing another band takes a lot of effort, a new image and stuff. Then I thought, OK, I'm going to go solo. And I planned to play Brit pop kind of music, like Rialto," he said from backstage.

But then he came across 1997's Great Expectations and fell in love with a song from its soundtrack: Life in Mono by the British duo Mono.

"I thought, wow! What is this music? It sounded really cool! I then decided to make that kind of music for my own album."

Mono brought him to Portishead, Goldfrapp, and soon Ipang had enough vocabulary about trip hop, which some people refer to as Dr. Dre on magic mushrooms with that other-worldly sound.

"The film was the first time I recognized trip hop. I mean, when I was in Plastik, we were totally grunge. We didn't have any exposure beyond that," he laughed shyly.

Another thing about trip hop musicians that Ipang loves is how they express love in such a sad and depressive way.

"I love the phrase To Kill The Dead Man, a short film based on Portishead's 1994 album Dummy. It's just wow! And then they put a psychedelic effect to the music. I just love that."

He then collaborated with fellow ex-Plastik member Didiet, and grabbed several musicians like Riza Arshad from the jazz group simakDialog and Bongky from bip.

The end result is nine numbers that are surprisingly good. Even so, at least it gives us more options to the uniform style of music on the market.

Ipang's executive producer Josephus Isawanto from TARGET PRO said the album was aimed at giving some color to the music industry, even if it would not really sell.

"It's a risk. But at least there's something new in the local music industry," he said.

Ipang said it was difficult to find producers from major labels given his not so market-friendly music.

"They said it won't sell as the market won't like it. Even if it sells, it's gonna be a long time," said Ipang.

They were proved wrong, however, because the album has sold over 10,000 copies since its release in April. It is certainly unlike pop group Sheila On 7 and Padi, whose first albums sold over one million copies.

But, in time, considering that general album sales have tended to decline in past years, plus the genre is relatively new, Ipang's album sales are quite something.

"We didn't set any targets when we made this album. But I was so surprised about the overwhelming appreciation. That means there the consumer has been discriminated against. That whole thing about market demand is just bullshit. Look at those newcomers whose debut albums sell very well. Their music is different from the existing stuff," Ipang said.

Old Plastik fans complained about the change, but Ipang has made up his mind to stick with the genre for the next three albums. Meanwhile, he has since gained some confidence.

He even helped singer Syaharani to make an album with a similar style.

"So that the music will be widely distributed."