The Groove: Getting into the nonmainstream beat

The Groove: Getting into the nonmainstream beat

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

When Bandung-based band The Groove first took the leap into the
music scene back in 1997, it was a go-with-the-flow or
stick-with-your-heart kind of thing.

They had to pick between cashing in by playing mass appeal
pop, or take the risk of finding a more limited audience for
their jazz/funk inflected pop music.

They chose the latter, their albums sold quite well -- the
third Hati-hati (Be Careful) was released earlier this month --
and earned some respect for delivering a different sound in the
music industry.

Of course, the journey was not that easy.

"The struggle was painful," vocalist Rika Roslan recalled of
the rejection they received for not playing to the masses.

She and her seven bandmates always believed there must be an
audience somewhere for their music.

There was, for as they began to perform in cafes and clubs,
people packed the places to hear the band play acid jazz numbers
from the likes of Jamiroquai, Incognito and Brand New Heavies,
and also their own.

With six instruments -- guitar, bass, drums, piano, keyboard,
and percussion -- plus two vocalists, the band offers a richly
textured groovin' and upbeat sound.

From their success on the Bandung club scene, the offers
started coming in from Jakarta where the band caught the
attention of songwriter Yovie Widianto, who brought them to the
attention of Sony Music.

As the band signed album deals, they first learned to
compromise and limit their creativity. Used to playing a long
improvised song, they had to rein themselves in to make a more
radio-friendly track in the studio.

Rieka had to be less showy with her voice and the band needed
to write songs with more simple structures to make them more
catchy. The results, however, were not compromised works, let
alone selling out.

The band's 1999 debut album Kuingin (I Want) was filled with
catchy numbers, mixes of pop, jazz, funk and dance music, yet its
charm did not fade with repeated listening.

The album earned rave reviews, although as they predicted,
they found themselves segmented to the upper class market.

They released a critically acclaimed sophomore effort called
Mata, Telinga dan Hati (Eye, Ear and Heart) two years later, with
numbers highlighted by brass and string sections.

The band members' individual skills are also recognized, as
they are often invited as solo guest musicians for other artists.
Rieka has written hit songs for singers like Shanty and Malaysian
Sheila Majid.

They suffered a big blow when bassist Yuke left the band and
joined Dewa, reportedly the country's highest paid band. It was
an ironic move amid The Groove's earlier commitment.

The band moved on, recruiting a new member and went back into
the studio to record its third album, which came out earlier this
month.

It is a more back-to-basics album, with smooth jazz rather
than upbeat acid jazz if previous works. The band sticks with the
eight-member formation to "get the accurate sound".

They also brought in a pack of noted jazz musicians as
collaborators, like Indra Lesmana, Idham Noorsaid and Aksan
Syuman.

Each member's personal taste veers into jazz, such as Sarah
Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Herbie Hancock and Bill Evans.

The Groove was featured in the noted local festival Jazz Goes
To Campus (JGTC) in 1997. Rieka also sang in the jazz band Jam O
Bembe which rocked the stage of JGTC the end of last year.

"We still call our music pop. We love jazz, but we still can't
play it well. We always learn, though," Rieka said.

One thing for sure is they will always struggle to hold to
their beliefs, a music idealism that unfortunately has faded in
their hometown, even though Bandung has a long established
reputation for producing noted musicians and groups, such as
Harry Roesli, Gigi and Yovie.

"They (Bandung musicians) now play the same kind of music,
R&B. Apparently, local cafes and clubs now give less freedom to
play the music they want. That's understandable because there are
not as many clubs there as in Jakarta. But it's very unfortunate
and not conducive for new musicians," Rieka said.

She urged young people to be stubborn in playing the music
that they like.

"From the beginning, we want to be different and we play what
we like. There's a risk involved, but turns out that it sells,"
Rieka said.

According to her, their audience started to expand, including
to the lower economy bracket, as well as teenagers.

Their recent gig in the easternmost province of Papua opened
their eyes to the possibility of looking beyond the usual
markets.

"The people there like our songs and looked for our records
after seeing our gigs. Our target now is to play as many gigs as
possible in the regions so that people see there is another
genre, rather than what's played in the television and radio."