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."