Revamped Gigi thanks heavens for new band members

By Helly Minarti

JAKARTA (JP): A typical rock venue, dimly lit and with a hazy fog of smoke enveloping its denizens. A thin, long-haired young man bounds on stage and pumps himself up to sing.

The teenaged crowd whoop and holler as he hops jerkily to the music. He explores the roomy stage, prowling the space with feline movements and lying on his back to throw his legs high into the air.

On its glamorous surface, pop music is made up of glitzy combinations of hot-selling albums and adoring fans reaching out for a cherished brush with fame. Backstage, however, there are often tangled tales of friendships gone sour and talented groups left in disarray.

Which often means painstakingly putting the pieces back together, sometimes with new faces, and starting all over again.

The history of the popular Gigi music group tells how a group's break-up can lead to a clearer perspective.

"It also happened to international groups such as Genesis or Yess, but they managed to go on somehow," said Dewa Budjana, Gigi's remaining guitarist.

"Moreover, they also came up with new ideas on their album even though the formation changed," added lead singer Armand Maulana, he of the fervid stage act.

Gigi consisted of Dewa, Armand, Aria Baron, Thomas Ramdhan and Ronald, when the group was set up in March 1994. They recorded their first album, Angan (Dream), when Aria, the other guitarist, left in 1995 to study in America. Thomas, the bass player, quit in the middle of 1996, and was soon followed by Ronald the drummer.

Dewa and Armand shrugged their shoulders when asked to explain the group's comings and goings. Anything to do with drugs? No comment. The changes came after they tasted sweet success with Dunia (The World, 1995), which put their hits Janji (The Promise) and Yang Telah Berlalu/Nirwana (What's Already Gone/Nirwana) on the chart list. They had recorded their third album, 3/4 (Three- quarters) just before they split.

"We thought at first of staying as a duet with additional musicians," said Dewa, whose versatile fingerpicking on his guitar gives soul to the band's music.

But then Budhy Haryono, the eloquent drummer who plays for renowned jazz group Krakatau, came along. So did Opet, who covered Thomas' absence and had been a friendly sidekick for the group since the first album.

"That's when Bujana and I decided to reformat the group," said Armand.

This revamped Gigi swept Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya and Yogyakarta recently in the couple of weeks prior to the release of their new album, 2X2, this week.

They played their old hits such as Angan, Nirwana, Oo..Oo..Oo, Janji, Basa-basi (Sweet Talking), Kuingin (I Want) and another half-dozen songs. They only played one song from the new album, Kurindukan (What I Miss).

Unique formula

Gigi has been trying to be more than just the usual guitar- bass-drum-only band by using brass and string sections on some songs since the first album. They avoid the keyboard except for minor sound effects in recording.

Starting with their second album, they put some ethnic elements into their music. There's India's tabla hand drums, the rapai chorus tradition from Aceh province closer to home, and rich sounds of Bujana's mandolin, sitar and banjo which invariably popped up in different songs.

The instruments are not treated as musical curiosities, but are blended throughout the melodies, the tabla in Hikayat Insani (A Human Story) and rapai on Garis Lini (Line).

In 2X2, Gigi also used traditional drums, trumpet and some other instruments. Budhy's familiarity with various percussion instruments, and his exploration of traditional ones, brings fresh sounds to the album.

"I'm in an experiment to make drums myself, but that project will be put on hold for awhile due to our schedule," said the expressive drummer who was a fan of the group before becoming a member.

Gigi also started to adapt the uneven pitch to their new tunes instead of equating traditional with exotic, as many groups do.

"Basically Gigi's songs are divided into these four," said Budhy. "First, the heavy pop, which are normally the hits, second the hard tunes with more serious and unromantic lyrics, then the ethnic pieces, and the songs with brass or string sections."

Gigi's lyrics stretch from the romantically charged to the contemplative.

The wounds of the split seems to be healed and the band seems back on track.

For 2x2, Armand and Bujana went to Los Angeles and recorded there. They even hired a quartet of well-known American musicians for Mereka (They) and Cry Baby -- Billy Sheehan, the bass player of Mr. Big; Eric Marenthal who plays for Chick Corea's band; Arturo Velasco and Herry Kim.

"We planned this trip for a long time, simply to experience the international atmosphere in doing our work," said Armand.

Budget constraints meant Budhy and Opet had to stay put.

For the past two years, Dhani Widjanarko has managed the group. Although Dhani took them on 59 tour spots last year alone, he rejects stereotypes of the pop group manager as broker.

"I like to think for short and long-term plans for the group, not only do what they tell me to do, but I work side by side and make my own plans."

Gigi's members are left to concentrate on songwriting and their music, freed from administrative and promotional headaches.

"What they know is how to rehearse and dig out ideas," said Dhani.

Gigi is developing into an efficient business. As well as their fan club, they have musical equipment, a van and trailer for their equipment. They have also saved up for a future overseas recording involving all band members and a full orchestra.

Gigi's next plan is to tour 100 cities to promote 2x2.

"We're ready as long as the management can find the sponsors to do that," Bujana said with a nod to his manager.

"I'm working on it," answered Dhani Widjanarko, who were successful in bringing Gigi into 12 cities' tour last year.

The album indeed marked a new revival, reflecting a new spirit of the new formation.

"Frankly speaking, through 2X2 we'd like to counter the rumors that it was Thomas who played the most important role in composing the songs and musical direction in the first three albums," Armand said.

Tellingly, all five band members are listed as songwriters on the new album.

Armand also hopes 2X2 will dispell any lingering doubts about the band's future after the loss of its founding members.

"This album will be living proof," he said.