Locals dominate international song festival
Locals dominate international song festival
By Dini S. Djalal
JAKARTA (JP): After two days of musical spectacle, the first Indonesia International Song Festival announced that two of their three Grand Prix winners are Indonesian.
Three teenage songstresses, popularly known as AB-Three, walked away with both the Best Interpretation of an Indonesian Song prize and the overall Grand Prix prize, while American Kenny James won second prize. Established Indonesian artist Trie Utami also placed prominently, winning the runner-up prize of Best Interpretation of an Indonesian song as well as third place for the Grand Prix. Neither Indonesian performer, however, won a prize for the previous night's category of Best International Song.
As the audience filed out of the Jakarta Convention Center, the same mutterings were heard among observers and reporters: "Was the judgment fair?" The participating contestants, the organizing committee, and juries of this Rp 1 billion (US$443,458) extravaganza answered only in the affirmative.
"It was perfect. It was fair," said Garret Wall, the Irish songwriter who won the Best International Song award. "The (AB- Three) girls were very professional, and they deserved to win," he said.
As for the fresh-faced winners, they greeted their accolade with pure professionalism. With tears smudging their make-up, they ecstatically repeated their winning performance of Takkan Terhenti (translated into I want you), written by Yongki Soewarno and Maryati. Friends and families stormed the stage afterwards. Widi, the youngest of AB-Three at 16 years old, breathlessly expressed gratitude in between handshakes and autograph-signing.
"This is a blessing that we can't pass by. We're going to keep on improving our performances, so we can prove ourselves further," Widi said. Widi also sees the prize as recognition of Indonesia's music industry, and summed up the purpose of the festival. "This prize is really important not just for AB-Three, but for the reputation of other Indonesian artists and composers. Perhaps now Indonesian artists can gain a bigger name overseas," said Widi.
Judging by the immense expenditures and arrangements of the overall events, Indonesia's music industry is indeed determined to break on to the international stage. The International Song Festival, overseen by none other than music-enthusiast and part- time rock-and-roller Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono, follows the Pacific Music Rainbow songwriters convention in Bali last week. There, international and Indonesian singers and songwriters wrote songs together, which they will perform tonight for the Charity Evening at the Jakarta Convention Center.
Simultaneously occurring with the International Song Festival was the seminar on copyrights, also headed by Moerdiono. Attended by international and local recording industry executives, the seminar called for the end of music piracy so that Indonesia's music industry can improve its reach and image here and overseas.
The festival is a key promotional tool towards this goal. Sixteen participants sang both English and Indonesian songs for the $6,000 Grand Prix prize and numerous other prizes. Chilean Luis Jara and Australian Jay Maree Smith in particular received much applause for their flawless but novel renditions of Sunset Cafe and Maaf (Sorry). That foreign artists learned to sing effortlessly in Indonesian was a tremendous public-relations triumph for all parties involved, but particularly for local artists.
"Indonesian songs are rarely sung outside of the country," said popular songwriter and chairman of the copyrights seminar Candra Darusman. "The opportunities here are extraordinary. This festival is a channel for our composers to be heard overseas."
Darusman said that already-popular Indonesian songs will now be translated into English and then marketed abroad.
Local artists may thank Indonesia's 50th Anniversary for these opportunities. In this jubilee year, home industries have benefited from the projects of the Committee for the 50th Anniversary Celebrations, headed by Moerdiono. Having staged fine arts, fashion, dance, and handicrafts events, the Committee now gathered sponsorship from the Medco Group of Companies, TPI television, Garuda Indonesia, and various other companies for Indonesia's first foray into the music festival circuit.
As the winners confirm, all this effort has obviously not gone unrewarded. At the very least, the events offer free publicity for the country's tourism industry. These type of gatherings also offer great opportunities for recording contracts and production deals. What goes on backstage is as important as what is shown on stage.
Business aside, however, song festivals are often tenuous territory. Many careers may depend on the festival circuit, but, moving from festival to festival, these performers rarely go beyond the circuit. Most of the contestants in this year's festival are alumni of other festivals, such as Rumania's Golden Stag Festival, Finland's Midnight Sun Song Festival, and the infamous Eurovision Song Contest. The latter is especially notorious for garnering publicity, despite the music media's condemnation of it as a pool of unoriginality. Which may be interpreted as a compliment by some, as these festivals are mostly interested in proven formulas.
The winner of the Best International Song, however, is a relative newcomer to the circuit, which may explain his refreshingly individual performance. Accompanied only by his acoustic guitar, Garret Wall's winning song Heart is a plaintive dirge sung in languid melodies. His clear voice is reminiscent of an introspective Robert Plant, and his bearded-bard image is a refreshing alternative to the other glamorous contenders.
His saccharine-free lyrics also set him apart from the usual simplistic anthems or ballads.
"I am so glad to have won because my song was different from the others," said Wall.
Festival songs are often as predictable as they are shallow. They are throwaway tunes, empty of substance, angst or honesty. The emotions expressed are the sort you pick up on an assembly line or at the supermarket: generic, formulaic, and ultimately removed from any truth.
Runner-up Kenny James is a product of the festival circuit, and it shows. He once won $100,000 from the American show Star Search, a popular but uninspired variety show. James offers the standard elevator soul, like a Peabo Bryson without the charisma. His song, The Magic in You, is like honey covered in plastic: you know it should be sweet, but you can't actually taste it. However, with four Americans on the jury, the results are not surprising.
Which is a shame for the other contestants, which displayed great pizzazz. Twenty-year old Jay Maree Smith from Australia is especially impressive. Her operatic voice soars as high as her electric presence, set off by her waist-length fire-red hair. She may not have won anything at the festival, but ultimately she will probably sell the most records.
Ella May & Arthur from the Philippines also had great voices and rapport, and their jazz-inspired tunes were easier on the ears than the twangy pop ditties sung by the others. Most of the other contestants relied so much on routine orchestration, which further stripped the music of any empathy.
The second night's show was also as overproduced, but the novelty of hearing foreigners sing in Indonesian spurned the audience to cheer wildly. Imitation is indeed the best flattery! The Dutch-Indonesian duo Two Girls, representing the Netherlands, gave a particularly good rendition of Jadi Rembulan (To Become A Moon), a sweet medium-tempo ditty.
Their performance, however, was one of the very few which did not fall into the two categories of Indonesian pop songs: cengeng (whiny and sad) or overly happy. Recently, younger artists, such as Gigi, Denada, and Java Jive, have slowly torn away from these formulas, but many Indonesian pop songs worryingly sound the same.
Hearing Indonesian songs sung by foreign artists confirms the suspicion that it is the songs, and not the singers, that hinder innovation and greatness. Some singers, such as the superb Ruth Sahanaya, can actually elevate a song beyond its worth. Pop music may essentially be defined by its lightness and simplicity, but the best pop music, such as the Beatles' Sergeant Pepper album and the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, are brilliant because they pushed the boundaries of the genre towards greater heights.
Grand Prix winners AB-Three, however, are young enough to eventually venture into these territories. Their voices are strong and charismatic, their rapport dynamic, and their choreographed stage presence impeccable. If these girls can write songs as well as they sing, Indonesia's music industry may yet achieve its lofty aspirations.