Thirty years on, Bimbo remains famous

JAKARTA (JP): Sunday night at the Fashion Cafe. Neatly dressed men and women were dining, drinking, chatting and listening to music. It was crowded as usual, but something different was in the air that weekend.

Had Fashion Cafe changed its worldly style into a heavenly and spiritual one? Not really. It was a special Ramadhan night and Musica Studio had organized a charity show called Gita Ramadhan, or Ramadhan Songs.

"It's strange playing religious music in a cafe like this," said Sam, one of the guitarists in Bimbo.

His first song, Israj Miraj, received a long applause. In his next number, he was accompanied by his daughter, Nurul Aulia Dewi, and his son, Daud Ibrahim. Nurul sang and Daud played keyboards.

It was a rare performance by the 54-year-old, who usually performs with his younger brothers, Acil and Jaka, and their youngest sister Iin Parlina. Sam's real name is Mohammad Samsudin, Acil's is Darmawan Hardjakusumah and Jaka's full name is Jaka Purnama Hardjakusumah. The three brothers play guitar and sing, Iin sings, and together they form Bimbo.

"The four of us usually perform together, but we also perform individually," Sam said after the show.

Sometimes they perform with their children, who are also talented musically. But Sam doesn't know if the children want to set up a Bimbo Junior group because they have different tastes in music. For instance, Acil's son likes alternative music, while Sam's children love jazz.

Bimbo means "poor" in Japanese, in Spanish it is a type of bread, usually eaten for breakfast, and in English bimbo is a derogatory term for an airhead of sorts, usually female. But what's in a name?

When Bimbo was formed 30 years ago by the three brothers, they were called Trio Bimbo. In the middle of the 1970s, Iin joined the group and since then it is has been known as Bimbo.

Sam, Jaka and Acil live in Bandung, Iin in Jakarta.

"It is not always easy to get together. If we have a song for Iin, we call her and ask if it is appropriate for her," Sam said.

When the time comes to record, Iin comes to Bandung to learn the song before going to the studio.

"She's a fast learner. Well, she has a lot of flying hours," Sam said.

Last month they released their 122nd album, Ramadhan 1997.

Bimbo has produced only 10 albums of religious songs, the rest are pop. During Ramadhan, their songs can be heard everywhere. Playing their music has become a tradition for many people as well as television and radio stations.

Non-Moslems have also been know to play Sam's songs. Bimbo's first religious song, Tuhan (God), composed by Sam in 1973, was played in a contest organized by a Buddhist group a few years ago.

Sam said Bimbo's songs are not Islamic songs. He does not mean to propagate Islam through the songs, but does not mind if his songs are considered dakwah (Islamic propagation).

"If they say my songs are dakwah, that's fine, but I myself do not think so. They are pop songs with Islamic soul. That's why my song Tuhan is universal. In my opinion, a good art work surpasses religious boundaries, territorial boundaries and ethic boundaries," he said.

Though he wrote the lyrics to Tuhan, the group has asked various ulemas and even poet Taufiq Ismail to write lyrics for many of their religious songs, which they have focused on for the past 10 years.

On average, it takes Bimbo a year to produce an album.

"I want my songs to be eternal, like Jingle Bells or Silent Night," he said.

So how long does it take to compose a song?

"It took me only 10 minutes to compose Tuhan. I was praying in the mosque when I found the inspiration, which made it difficult to concentrate on praying. So, as soon as the praying was over, I rushed home and made the song in 10 minutes," he said.

He said the inspiration could come at any time, even while in bed. It is not only his wife that accompanies him in bed every night, but also his tape recorder.

"When I get the inspiration in bed, I chant the tune and record it right away, otherwise, it could be gone by morning," he said.

Bimbo turns 30 years old this year. A private television station has asked them to create a special program in September to celebrate their anniversary.

This year, Bimbo plans to go back to composing pop songs "to meet the demands of our fans". Sam said the group is determined to be more productive this year and that the group may hire a manager. At the moment, they have to arrange everything themselves.

"I'm starting to feel the need for a manager. We don't want to have to plan so much before a performance. We just want to come and play. We need a manager to arrange our TV show and promotional things in the mass media. We want to be serious about composing new songs this year," Sam said.

The group's new pop album should hit the market next year.

"I'm still looking for a new 'color' for my music, because many musicians have copied our color," he said.

He recalled that in the 1970s almost all of the music being made in the country sounded the same, with most songs written about love. Bimbo composed songs with other themes, many of which were simple and funny, such as Kumis (Moustache). Others dealt with social criticism, like Tante Soen (Auntie Soen), and politics, such as Surat Buat Tuan Reagan dan Tuan Breznev (A Letter to Mr. Reagan and Mr. Breznev).

He praised creative musicians like Katon with his Kla Project, Gigi, Iwan Fals and Doel Sumbang. But he deplored the fact that many local musicians tend to follow others instead of creating their own style.

Sam's philosophy, which he learned from a Chinese businessman in the Glodok area of Jakarta, is: It's better to be a small snake than the tail of a dragon.

"A small snake has a head, while the other doesn't," he said.

Even though Bimbo has not produced many songs recently, the group still has little leisure time. The members have a tight performance schedule, especially during Ramadhan. As for Sam, now and then he speaks at seminars to discuss music and Islam.

At a seminar organized by Malaysian universities a few years ago, Sam was criticized for what some believed to be songs of prayer. He later explained that he was not praying in the songs.

"It is not a prayer because a prayer has its own regulations," he said, adding that his religious songs tell of the good relations among human beings and between human beings and God.

A Moslem should be able to enjoy the beauty of music, he said.

"Anyone whose heart is not impressed by flowers, or by musical instruments and their vibrations, has suffered...and their soul must be cured," he quoted Imam Gozali, a great ulema, as saying.

Quoting a verse from the Koran, he said: "Allah is beautiful and enjoys beauty."

Islamic art, he said, is art under the control of religion.

"For instance, when you sing, you can't jump from one side to another side of the stage. You can't shout. You can't even move your behind because this could turn on the audience," Sam said, explaining why Bimbo's members don't move around a lot on stage.

But such showmanship is unnecessary. The group's spiritual music and beautiful voices are enough to mesmerize any audience, just like they did the other night at Fashion Cafe.