Pop star revisits past glory for tsunami victims
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The tragedy in Aceh moved Yusuf Islam to revisit his past as pop singer Cat Stevens.
Abandoning his musical career 24 years ago to adopt a strict Muslim lifestyle, Yusuf walked down memory lane on Monday by singing a moving rendition of his seventies hit Wild World at a charity concert to raise money for the construction of hospitals in tsunami-affected areas.
Yusuf also composed Indian Ocean, a new song marked by his signature sound of gentle folk music coupled with his gravelly voice. Yusuf premiered the song during a charity show organized by the International Islamic Committee for Aceh Reconstruction, the Concern for Aceh Indonesian Community and music promoter Java Musikindo.
Wild World, a song that describes the lurking dangers of city life and was originally composed by Stevens for reggae superstar Jimmy Cliff, took on a whole new meaning for Yusuf after the tsunami.
"In the seventies, the world was wild. Later it was wilder and then turned the wildest lately and the people of Aceh were turned upside down," Yusuf said before singing the song.
Backed by Kyai Kanjeng, an ensemble of musicians playing traditional Javanese instruments conducted by poet Emha Ainun Nadjib, Yusuf sang the song with a tear in his voice.
Indian Ocean is a call for more affluent countries to lend a hand to tsunami victims.
It tells the story of a European couple who went for a holiday, seeking paradise on a tropical island in the Indian Ocean, when the tsunami struck. After surviving the tidal wave by climbing up a hill, on the way down the couple found an orphaned child and decided to look after him.
"Looking after the child was the true paradise they wanted to find. There are people who are waiting now for people like us to help them.
"If we look after the poor then God will look after us," Yusuf said, quoting a verse from the Koran.
Indian Ocean was recorded by the singer in response to the tragedy and is to be released next month. The original version of the song features Magne Furuholmen of Norwegian pop group A-ha and Neil Primrose of Britpop band Travis, and makes use of musical instruments Yusuf has eschewed since embracing Islam.
However, Yusuf said earlier that the song did not represent a revival of his pop career.
"It's not a return to Cat Stevens, I see it more as a natural response to express my concern as a Muslim and as an artist. I believe both can exist side by side, particularly when the cause is right," he said.
Prior to the concert, Yusuf toured Meulaboh and Calang, two cities hard hit by the tsunami, and witnessed the utter destruction of nature's wrath. He prayed at the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque before touring the two cities.
Yusuf, who had several hits in the seventies with songs like Matthew and Son, Peace Train and The Wind, has engaged in humanitarian efforts over the past several decades through his charity foundation Small Kindness. He plans to open a regional branch of the foundation here during his visit.
Over the years, Yusuf has lost many of his original fans from the sixties and seventies. He was quoted as calling for the death of writer Salman Rusdhie for his controversial book Satanic Verses.