Miners make their own music in the Kalimantan jungle

Miners make their own music in the Kalimantan jungle

By Mikael Onny Setiawan

SANGATTA, East Kalimantan (JP): Dressed in casual clothes, a
trio of young women sang a song by Irish group The Corrs,
accompanied by a man playing the violin. As they came to the end
of the song, the audience broke into thankful applause.

The scene was not at a concert venue, or a downtown cafe, but
at a mining company mess hall deep in the East Kalimantan jungle.

Although the members of Wisma Rayah Band are themselves
company employees and may lack the musical talent of many big
city groups, they brought some welcome enjoyment to the workers.

Entertainment is still thin on the ground in Sangatta, the
capital of East Kutai regency situated some 300 km to the north
of Balikpapan, with diversions limited mostly to TV, radio and
VCDs. Live entertainment is rarer still; or young, single
employees, visits by bands are eagerly awaited.

"In the early 1990s, we had to utilize wooden canoes along the
river and coastal areas for one to two hours to buy goods or to
see live entertainment in the nearest town, Bontang," an employee
recollected.

"Now with much better transportation facilities, people need
only spend 50 minutes to see live entertainment in Bontang. But
in Sangatta there have yet to be significant changes."

Music for miners

Most of the musicians are young and still single. Some of them
live in a dormitory at Wisma Rayah Camp, a camp for senior staff,
and others in Prima Camp. Married staff live in a housing
complex.

"I joined the group because I like to sing. It's fun to
rehearse after a full day's work with patients and later to
perform songs before an audience," said Lina, a nurse of the
company clinic.

"We play music for fun and to entertain our workmates," said
Lucky Esa, the group's drummer. "Even so, we rehearse for a long
time before the performance."

The bespectacled man works as a superintendent for the
company.

There are about four similar bands at the mining company. The
personnel of each group include mining engineers, mine planners,
dump truck operators, administrative officers, accounts payable
officers, IT specialists, teachers, nurses and paramedics.

As there are few musicians in the area, sometimes the workers
hire out their services for special events.

"I play the keyboard for people who have a limited budget but
want to hold a party or ceremony in order to enliven the
atmosphere," said Ferry, who also plays bass, melody and drums.

The bands also occasionally perform for expatriate workers at
their parties. They say they tailor their performances to their
audience.

"Each audience has its own specific musical tastes," said
Conrad H. Pandjaitan, who is a guitarist and singer in addition
to his day job as a mining engineer. "Some expatriates like
country and pop or rock music, while some Indonesians like
dangdut. Expatriates are spontaneous, such as getting up to dance
to the beat of the music, but Indonesians are not."

The after-hours activity is also a release for the workers.

"The opportunity to play music before an audience is a
refreshing time for an operator like me," said heavy equipment
operator and keyboard player Takari.

For major events, the groups expect high payment, part of
which they said they use to buy better instruments and equipment
from Surabaya and Jakarta. For smaller events, the payment is
sometimes used to buy better stage attire.

"All of us are just workers who receive a monthly salary. I
think I can live with that, so we play music purely to develop
our talent in our spare time and for entertainment," said Jamik
Yulianto, one of the trio of women singers.

The group's song selection is eclectic, including numbers from
Guns and Roses, Bon Jovi, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Corrs,
and local groups such as Sheila on 7, Padi, Dewa, Gigi and KLA.

Still, the number of performances has slumped recently, with
the loss of expatriate workers during the economic crisis.

"Three years ago we played almost every week," said Lucky.
"Now the chances have dropped to as low as once every two
months."

There is frequent turnover in the bands' personnel, with
people moving to new companies or relocating. Work is another
distraction. "It is not easy to make a solid group. We have to
deal with things like our work schedules," said Banu, a senior
mining engineer.

"We normally rehearse in the afternoon after office hours in
the studio. In some cases, we rehearse in the dormitory in the
evening," said Hendra, a bassist, who works as a paramedic in the
clinic located at the site.

"Sometimes, there are emergency calls during rehearsals. We
have to respond immediately, and the band must go on without one
or two personnel.

Still, the bands continue to perform, bringing some music and
fun into the lives of their fellow workers.

"I feel refreshed even though I've had a full day's work in
the pits," one worker said as he watched one of the bands
perform.

"For a little while, I don't feel that I am living in the
middle of the jungle, but in a big town with the opportunity to
enjoy music."