Popular singer Chrisye delights fans with oldies hits

Popular singer Chrisye delights fans with oldies hits

By Helly Minarti

JAKARTA (JP): Integrity still sells in pop music, surviving
all the fads that come and go fast.

Popular singer Chrisye, now 48, has bundled 20 solo albums
into his almost 30-year career, and a few other notable
achievements, including the legendary soundtrack of Badai Pasti
Berlalu (The Storm Will be Over) in the late 1970s.

In celebrating Fashion Cafe's first anniversary, Chrisye
climbed up on stage again last Friday, retracing his golden years
through his old hits and recent popular remakes.

Welcomed by a 15-minute dance show and grand sound effects
trumpeting the cafe's audio facilities, Chrisye brought with him
a solid troupe of musicians, a combination of the best seniors
and the blossoming young talent in Indonesian pop music.

The top veterans were Erwin Gutawa (arranger, keyboard) and,
of course, virtuoso Aminoto Kosin on other keyboard. Up-and-
comers was represented by Tohpati on guitar, the bass player of
Halmahera band, and Sa'Unine Quartet on the string section
accompanied by drum, percussion, solo violist, brass section and
the flute.

Chrisye lit up the night with some of his best hits from the
1970s, like Zamrud Khatulistiwa (The Equator's Emerald), a
rhythmic Balinese pop tune, and the quintessential remake of Kala
Sang Surya Tenggelam (When The Sun Goes Down), both composed by
Guruh Soekarnopoetra, who was in the audience.

His first composition to climbed to the top of the charts,
Sabda Alam (The Nature's Call), was also a must.

Next was the fresh Kala Cinta Menggoda (When the Love Flirts),
promoted as the first hit from his new album, released Nov. 19.

"The album has no title, just Chrisye," the performer said
backstage.

Also composed by Guruh, this song blends the traditional
keroncong tunes into its groovy pop melody. Chrisye's singer-
songwriter collaboration with Guruh has spanned nearly his entire
career.

"I've known him since junior high school, Chrisye was a friend
of friends," said Guruh.

He added that Chrisye's voice was best suited to his type of
compositions.

Some more oldies folded well into the evening's program, like
the melancholic soundtracks of Gita Cinta dari SMA (Love Tunes
from High School) and Puspa Indah Taman Hati (The Beautiful
Flower in The Heart), both from the early 1980s.

Chrisye also sang a new song composed for the younger
generation, Tohpati, and played guitar to bridge the parade of
old hits from his other period, Serasa (What a Feeling), and
another soundtrack taken from Badai Pasti Berlalu, Angin Malam
(Night Wind). Both were charged up by revised 1990s arrangements.

Like Badai Pasti Berlalu, which is still available in music
stores, each of Chrisye's albums have sold between 100,000 and
500,000 copies. In the music industry, an Indonesian pop album
which sells 100,000 is considered a success.

Dance tune

Last Friday's show was closed by the thumping dance tune
Juwita, another old hit from the 1980s, plus an encore of two
songs. It was a relief Chrisye skipped some banal hits, including
Nona (Miss) and Lenny, from a short lost period in his musical
life during the same decade.

He may be older but Chrisye has not changed much.

His voice remains solid and distinct, but he seems more at
ease now in performing little jigs to songs like Zamrud
Khatulistiwa and Serasa. He shook his knees and danced along the
catwalk-cum-stage in time to the frisky beats.

"Chrisye is shy, that's why it's kind of hard for him to act
on stage," said Guruh, who had nevertheless included his friend
as one of the main singers in the flamboyant Swara Mahardika
cabarets a decade ago.

His show plumbed not only his successful hits, but also his
deep involvement with pivotal figures during the awakening of
Indonesian pop in the 1970 and 1980s. He collaborated with
prominent composers and musicians like Yockie Suryoprayogo and
Eros Djarot from the famous Gang Pegangsaan, and also with almost
every arranger of note afterward.

He chose Erwin Gutawa as the arranger on his latest album.

"It's the second time for me to do the job. The first one was
for Chrisye Akustik (Chrisye Unplugged)," said Erwin, who perkily
sang along to every familiar tune that night while simultaneously
keeping his fingers maneuvering on the keyboard.

As the small crowd clapped Chrisye that night, Erwin deserved
the applause, too, for his sweeping big band style arrangement.

At the end of a song, Chandra Darusman, once a prominent
musician himself who now leads the royalty foundation for
Indonesian artists, whispered to Guruh Soekarnopoetra, "it's like
Erwin's own show, with Chrisye as the vocalist". It would not be
wrong to say there were two stars on stage that night.