KLA Project marks a decade in the po music rat race

By Helly Minarti

JAKARTA (JP): If you're in your 30s you may identify with their songs. KLA Project first climbed the local charts with Tentang Kita (About Us) in 1988 -- long before MTV was aired in Indonesia.

Soon they were among Indonesia's top pop bands, composing more hits like light pop songs Tak Bisa Ke Lain Hati (Can't Go to Another Heart) and Yogyakarta; grand stringed numbers like Semoga (Hopefully) and stylistic pop tunes like Romansa (Romance). Most of the songs are included in a compilation album titled Dekade (Decade) which was released in August. The album celebrates the band's first decade.

But the pop world keeps evolving, with younger talents roaming the charts and pushing senior groups like KLA Project to keep in pace with the tight competition.

For the KLA Project trio -- Katon (lead vocal), Lilo (guitar, vocal) and Adi (keyboard) -- this struggle to exist is vividly reflected in their seventh album, Sintesa (Synthesis), which hit stores in early October -- only a couple weeks after a successful gig at Hard Rock Cafe. A throng of 20s was among the packed audience.

"If we can attract 16 year olds, it would be better," burst out Lilo. This is typical of bands following the example of eminent world rock stars -- crackerjack bands like the Rolling Stones or Aerosmith (their latest hit is the soundtrack of blockbuster movie Armageddon) which maintain their popularity among youngsters one third their age.

So the first formula to zoom in on is to blend the latest musical trend -- synthesized music -- into their new songs even though it means a contrast of their usual style.

"We have been using a synthesizer in our songs for years -- so we don't do it only for the sake of being trendy," justified Adi.

But they admit they deliberately dedicated the hope-to-be-hit Sudi Turun Ke Bumi (Please Come Down to Earth) for those who were kids 10 years ago. The album also comes with a MTV-like video clip.

Compromise

Synthesized music indeed threads its way through almost all the songs on the album. Yet unlike treating it as an element of daring expression -- something like what Madonna did in her heavily synthesized MTV award-winning album -- KLA compromises by taking a safe path.

It's nicely introduced in Sudi Turun ke Bumi with the introduction of drum loops -- one of the most popular synthesized sounds. But it sounds awkward in other songs like Jiwa Merapuh (Fragile Soul) -- a 1990s echo of melodious Gang Pegangsaan of the 1970s.

"We're kind of nostalgic in this song. We grew up listening to Gang Pegangsaan, always adore them," explained Adi.

While trying to stay in tune with the younger generation, KLA managed to cater to fans who grew up with them. So they came up with something like Saujana (Long Vision) -- a word Katon borrowed from old Sanskrit.

All in all the repertoire in Sintesa still reverberates with the KLA of old -- most of the lyrics are about love, women and love. Banal in substance, yet, thankfully, poetically charged with expression. Though two songs, Dekaden (Decadent) and Dunia Baru (New World), catch the reform spirit -- "but still in the frame of KLA's style", said Lilo.

While sticking to harmonious, melodious songwriting, KLA still retains its unique vocal combination -- Katon's easy-to-listen-to voice with Lilo's tolerable almost ear-grating voice in certain songs. The slight change is revealed on the cassette's cover -- the conventional first self-portrait replacing the indirect images on the last six albums (including two unplugged versions).

Sintesa is actually the result of the band's two-week stay at a villa in Kaliurang, Yogyakarta, in mid-1997. The trio came back with nine songs in hand. They polished them in Jakarta.

"We really enjoyed the chemistry," said Lilo. They also signed up with a major international label, Sony Music, and went on tour to seven cities in Java and Bali a day after the album was released.

Still a well-paid band, KLA Project members each have their own musical biases. Mainstream guy Katon has the strongest pop side -- as witnessed in his solo albums. As writer of most of the lyrics -- he simply represents "the poet" who is laid back enough to make light jokes at a media conference.

The frizzy haired Lilo, 34, who is more into rock music, plays more of a clown role, never running out of wit and twisting words. ("Up to you, but I can be cute too, don't you think?" he teased).

He cowrote some past hits like grand pop Semoga (Hopefully) and tends to be humble when it comes to his guitar playing. ("My strumming is average. But I'm a cool person to be with.")

His solo rock album was a flop -- but he's still easy to spot when new young bands hold gigs, casually mingling with musicians in their 20s.

Adi looks more like the "man in the middle" who is the balancing one in the group and prefers to take a man-behind-the- scenes role. He's the only KLA member to act as producer for other artists, like popular female singer Memes, instead of trying it solo.

The collaboration of the three has made KLA Project a respected band with respected records sales (more than 100,000 copies of each album). They've done well in their first decade. "I only live from KLA proceeds and royalties," said Lilo. Will they do equally well in entering the next decade? Some indication will be found on the charts soon.