New CDs play traditional Indonesian music for all
By Achmad Nurhoeri
JAKARTA (JP): Stroll into any music store in Jakarta and take in the eclectic categories. Pop. Rock. Classic. Hiphop. Any traditional Indonesian music CDs, other than from Bali or Java, with the same recording quality of albums from the aforementioned genres? Not a chance.
The possibility may seem but a siren song in today's Indonesia, where the industry is gung ho on their so-called "modern" musical packages. But for the first time, often overlooked traditional Indonesian music from remote places such as Nias and Mentawai will hit the streets, with quality no different than other CDs at your neighborhood music store.
Today, the Indonesian Performing Arts Society (MSPI), in cooperation with the Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies, Smithsonian Institution, will launch six volumes of Indonesian traditional music at the Ismail Marzuki Cultural Center in Central Jakarta. These range from the alluring sounds of West Sumatra's Saluang music to Jakarta's own forgotten piece of art, the Gambang Kromong.
The six-pack is part of the Music of Indonesia series, consisting of 20 volumes of Indonesian traditional music from all corners of the archipelago. Twelve volumes have been distributed by Smithsonian Folkways throughout America, Europe and Singapore since 1991. MSPI with producer Dian Records will have the right to distribute the albums in Indonesia and Malaysia this year.
How come the home of the melodies was their final stop?
Endo Suanda, chairman of the idealistic MSPI, admitted that his party was not savvy to the ways of the ruthless music business in 1991.
"None of us knew our way in the industry," he said. "We were not ready back then. I admit that we are challenged to face the real world."
Still, better late than never. The 20-volume package will be the first of its kind in the Indonesian music domain and an important contribution for the struggling world of Indonesian traditional music.
"We want to show a broad picture of the Indonesian music scene. From rural to urban," claimed the editor of the project, Philip Yampolsky, an American devotee of gamelan, the metallophone orchestra.
Although Indonesian etnomusicologists were fully involved in the project, the initiative was taken across the ocean by American organizations.
Collection
The Ford Foundation in 1988 proposed to the Smithsonian Institution a project to compile a comprehensive collection of Indonesian music. The proposal was approved but the Smithsonian lacked expertise at that time to carry out the project.
Ford recruited etnomusicologist Yampolsky, who had taught etnomusicology at the University of North Sumatra in Medan since 1983. It also poured down fresh donations to smooth the path. And in 1990 Yampolsky, who has been researching Indonesian music since the 1970s, was ready to locate the project's objectives.
Smithsonian planned to show off the musical assortment during the Indonesian Cultural Festival (KIAS) in the United States in 1991. The Smithsonian was scheduled to be the host for KIAS in July 1991. What better time to display its collections of Indonesian sound bites than in a festival of Indonesian arts.
But the Americans realized they needed the locals to take part in the campaign. And as history unfolds, MSPI was involved in the whole musical searching and editing process since the outset.
In 1990, the first year, the team was hurried by the KIAS deadline, but with tireless conviction they managed to produce three volumes of recordings: Songs before Dawn from Banyuwangi; Indonesian Popular Music including lively dangdut music and the serene keroncong tunes; and Music from the Outskirts of Jakarta, a bouquette to the long-neglected music of the capital, including the Tanjidor brass ensemble and the Gambang Kromong orchestra.
These volumes are among the six albums launched today. The others are Music of Nias and North Sumatra, Betawi and Sundanese Music of the North Coast of Java, and Night Music from West Sumatra. These were results of the teams exploration after KIAS.
Yampolsky and a pack of enthusiastic local ethnomusicologists explored isolated places where unimagined music sounds exist and grow. They witnessed a 17-year-old musician who led a band of senior citizens in the music of Hoho in a remote village in Nias island, near the west coast of Sumatra.
They have faced an unbelievably odd chorus, echoing sounds not known in any musical dictionary, on Flores island near the Australian border. They have recorded music assumed dead in unseen corners of the bustling provinces of Jakarta and West Java.
"We went straight down to the original places where the music evolves," said etnomusicologist Jabatin Bangun. "We recorded them on the spot. Sometimes in the middle of the field. We did not rearrange them or give them any additional attributes. What we want is to reveal them as what they truly are."
And beginning today, the public will hear the reverent sounds from those forgotten corners.
"We are absolutely composed in introducing music not common to the public ear," explained authoritative etnomusiocologist Endo Suanda, who knows by heart that Indonesia should heavily preserve its bountiful and diverse culture arts. "Depending on lip-service slogans like this kind of music is a heritage from our ancestors alone will never do. What we need is to give our ears a try and place this music just like we place the other kinds of music of the world."
However, one whose ears are accustomed to short-length songs will have to be prepared for a sturdy journey deep to the heart of the music, sometimes lasting 30 minutes per piece.
"We have recorded the songs in complete fashion so that people can grasp the atmosphere and virtues inside it," explained Yampolsky in perfect Indonesian. "We do not want to abruptly jump from one song to another. We made this for people who want to know about the music."
In each volume, there is a complete tale about the music inside. It tells the listeners about the origin, style, nature, instruments and the meaning of every part of the music. The Dian Record version has an Indonesian description, while the descriptions in the Smithsonian Folkways version are all in English.
There is one thing still on Endo Suanda's mind today -- royalties. Traditional melodymakers are more forgotten than the music itself. People in the original tribes do not even remember the composers. Most of the songs are anonymous pieces of work.
Under Indonesian law, if an anonymous song gets a royalty from the producer of the record, the cash will be temporarily held by the government until someone can prove authorship or rights.
Some say that MSPI is the rightful holder of the songs for its involvement in the search and cultivation of the arts. There is no denying it was the Smithsonian's bridge to the almost inaccessible localities of the tunes.
But Endo apparently is still in doubt.
"I know that we had paid these traditional artists as performers. And they do not ask for more. But I am obliged by my moral conscience saying that they should have a share from the royalty," said the bearded expert. "That's why we will make a seminar on it at the launching showcase."
However, Endo understands completely that the project still needs more funding as the Ford Foundation is slowly but surely decreasing its cash shower. CDs will be sold for Rp 25,000 (US$10) each. Each cassette will have a price tag of Rp 8,000 ($3) each. The first launch will distribute 1,000 CDs and 2,000 cassettes. MSPI predicts that the sale will not exceed the amount of production.
"Just to produce 2,000 copies has made my heart beat faster," said Endo. "Realistically, we know that the possibility of gaining profit is a far shot."
That is the very reason people do not see traditional music CDS in music stores. The take never compensates for all the effort. Needless to say, it is truly a thankless job for any entrepreneur. But somebody, somewhere just has do it.