Rock group /rif tackles environmental beat on 2nd album

By Helly Minarti

JAKARTA (JP): Since it captivated and divided the music scene 40 years ago, rock has kept its prominent place in popular culture. New generations of musicians interpret it in their own way and add individual touches.

In the late 1990s, rebellion does not always figure in the message. This is the case in Indonesia, where every genre of popular music assumes a local flavor. Indonesian rap music, for instance, bears little resemblance to its U.S. cousin.

Look no further than /rif's second album, titled Salami and released late in October. Salami literally means "greetings" but now it is used as an acronym for "save the planet",

The 11 songs in Salami are tales of our Earth: the environment, AIDS, drugs, war and a bit of reflection on life's vanity. All are packaged in expressions of youth.

Heavy themes, granted, but there is nothing preachy or patronizing in the lyrics. All are well written, well composed and well arranged, qualifying as simply beautiful rock songs.

Some, like the mainstream Jigsaw and The Game, both in English, maintain the hard rock stance. Others are blended with pop, bossanova, reggae, funk and even vocalist Andy's whistling and affable cacophony.

/rif comprises Andy, Iwan (bass), Jikun and Denny (guitars) and Magi (drums).

In Salami, group added keyboards to their classic rock music consisting of bass, two guitars and drums.

"We just want to add some sounds to our songs," said Jikun. For recordings, Magi plays keyboard but the group hires an additional musician for shows and "we do away with the keyboard for small gigs," added Jikun.

The guitar duo has included more solos in almost every song -- "we're more solid now," Jikun noted -- and they do not need to stare at each other on stage to perform the same tunes in time.

/rif released its first single Si Hebat (The Great) in October last year as an allegory of an evil spirit which is the source of despair for humanity. It was accompanied by a fast-cutting video clip showing band members in MTV style, interposed with documentary footage of world news. Scenes of war and famine juxtaposed with /rif's signature color of red.

"The idea is ours, and thanks go to Dimas Jayadiningrat, the director, who bore with us. Gathering the footage was the longest part," said Iwan, 28.

Saving the planet, the concept they purposely chose as the theme of their album, is highlighted in five songs. Aku Ingin (I Want Too), Cerah (Bright), Tanah (Soil), Satu (One), and Biru (Blue). Andy, the lyricist, continued his distinctive writing style from the first album to describe the problems.

He speaks in the first person about the clear blue sky where the rainbow stays colorful in Aku Ingin and Cerah; the scorching land in Tanah; the one and only Earth for all people in Satu and the sea in Biru. He used the style in Bintang Kejora (Venus), a hit from /rif's first album.

No love songs?

"We tried, but came up with nothing," said Jikun.

Not a word about reform?

"It would be a glut of repetition," commented Andy.

He added that the group exposes problems not only affecting Indonesia but the world.

/rif, established in 1993, is one of the few bands which started its road to success traveling from stage to stage, playing cover versions of famous world singers in its hometown, Bandung, and Jakarta for years.

Members have been through just about everything which tests a band's survival -- the comings and goings of bandmates, gigs great and small and a host of rejections before they finally signed a contract with Sony Music, a major label. It was the first Indonesian band for Sony after it opened an office in Indonesia last year.

The group won MTV's Most Wanted Newcomer honor in 1998. If there is something lacking about the members, it's the usual arrogance of rock star egos. With Andy's boisterous 1990s stage act and the other members' stagecraft, /rif is a star who remains approachable on and off stage.

Its first album, Radja (King), released in October last year, sold about 150,000 copies, not bad considering the crisis. But a few pop or pop-rock groups could sell four or five times as many. Herein lies the irony. /rif is a young group which has found its own musical identity by not simply imitating a famous world group.

Not that the irony plays on the mind of band members.

"For now, we're happy with the 150,000. We hope to keep them (the fans) while trying to attract others," said Andy.