Slamet Abdul Sjukur shows the art of noise in Bandung

By Aendra H. Medita

BANDUNG (JP): Simple sounds made by a human mouth have created new possibilities in music for one contemporary composer- musician. It should be stressed that not every sound emitted by vocal chords would belong in this innovative field because a seemingly simple sound is not necessarily a retreat from the often complex patterns of contemporary alternative music.

Listen to the variety of sounds in this performance piece: comical noises, the sounds of joy and laughter and there is even a peculiar sigh with its implications of depression and sexual temptation.

Last week, Slamet Abdul Sjukur presented all those voice gradations in the auditorium of the French Cultural Center, Bandung. He was just one of the performers (hailing from six countries), who are participating in the European Union Musical Festival. The event will tour to major cities in Indonesia.

Slamet, 64, has an impressive musical pedigree. He began his musical training in Surabaya at the age of nine. He subsequently spent 14 years in France and studied under Messiaen at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique, Dutilleux at Ecole Normale de Musique and with Schaeffer when he joined Groupe de Recherches Musicale de l'ORTF. The world famous experts satisfied every question the young Slamet posed.

Upon his return to Indonesia, Slamet has consistently explored the boundaries of musical compositions. The discipline of his training provides a backbone to his works. Every piece he breathes is filled with an infectious enthusiasm which is then passed on to his enraptured audience. It is true that one may be puzzled when first hearing a Slamet composition, however scores of devoted listeners prove that understanding the sometimes complex and always unusual musical structures is possible over time.

Slamet has also developed what he terms the "minimax" musical concept. This idea allows him to tap the potential effect of a sound, no matter how insignificant it might appear in musical terms. His referential pattern or style ensures that his involvement at performances is always intense. None of it is easy work, but Slamet continues to push boundaries.

His current fascination is the development of musical patterns with supplementary visualizations. Current performances are marked by either a dancer or a light show: both additions follow the rhythm of his music. The extension of his performance into these fields creates powerful mood pieces and ensures a captivated audience to the end of his performance. Although Slamet used these noise-light and noise-movement methods in early works, his present productions are tuned to feed a variety of senses performances.

Slamet is an expert in contemporary experimental music and he joins a dedicated group of other experimental musicians: Suka Hardjana, Ben Pasaribu, Harry Roesli, Franki Raden, Djaduk Ferianto and Rahayu Supangah.

Slamet is keen to explore not only a variety of musical forms, he also vigorously pushes the boundaries of definitions of music.

He investigates the possibility of various body parts in the production of music with truly astonishing results. The mouth played a dominant role in his 1992 Uwek Uwek. In this work, Slamet exploited a variety of voice vibrations with great potential.

In a 1998 composition, Gelandangan (Tramp), a piece of bamboo was blown for 15 minutes, followed by the recorded sound of a woman having sexual intercourse. Clearly, Slamet is interested in exploiting all kinds of noises! The audience was transfixed!

Slamet's third composition, entitled Yu-Taha, was a solo for piano. The name is taken from three syllables of a Japanese name - Yuji Takahashi and was commissioned last year by the Sendai Asian Music Festival. Pianist Iswargia R. Sudarno performed the piece. Slamet says the work is comprised of distinct sections which in turn are divided into returning musical themes. The composition did not knock out the audience with sensational sound effects; it insistently engaged this reviewer with it's returning melodies. The piece was akin to a sort of minor rite performed in a stress free space. The competing musical themes eventually converged and freed the audience from the puzzle of the piece.

This work was a departure from previous compositions. Its singularity was not only a result of the unusual absence of the performing musician. Although the piece was flawed in parts, it clearly demarcated a new musical direction for Slamet.

Dissatisfaction with the piece may well be attributed to Slamet's use of an interpreter other than himself. Audiences have long enjoyed Slamet's signature performance style.

In Bandung, Slamet premiered a composition entitled Wangi (Fragrance). It was especially written for the occasion.

The audience was mesmerized by dancer Ratna Ulli R's symbolic visualization of the work. Unlike previous pieces -- in which the sound interaction is a result of careful calculations -- Slamet even allowed Ratna to move for a few minutes in the absence of any sound. Despite this freedom, each movement by the dancer was a careful interpretation, not only of the silence between sounds, but also to the accompanying music. Powerful lighting illuminated her movements.

Her tender dance shifted pace until the dance was explicitly sexual. Seemingly oblivious to her surrounds, Ratna lay on the floor rhythmically writhing. Her expression of desire was not a fleeting one; it pervaded every movement. The erotic interpretation kept the audience spellbound.

The music provided by Slamet was simple: he marked time by slowly striking a gambang pelog and slendro (seven-toned and five-toned traditional xylophones). The dancer followed the slow gambang tones. Her passionate breathing also defined the piece.

Irrespective of other musical traditions, Slamet maintains that a host of simple sounds - breathy or moaned -- can form a bouquet of sounds. This fragrance -- visualized by the dancer -- was spirited, touching and totally absorbing. Slamet is not afraid to discuss these passionate and sensual worlds. It is a grand theme; for him it isn't something to be ashamed of -- that's why he called his latest work Wangi (Fragrance).