Iwan Fals (born Virgiawan Listanto; September 3, 1961 in Jakarta) is an
Indonesian singer–songwriter. In 2002, Time magazine named him as a
Great Asian Hero.
Early life
Iwan was born
Virgiawan Listanto in Jakarta, on September 3, 1961 to Harsoyo, a
soldier,[1] and Lies Suudijah. He studied at SMP 5 Bandung and SMAK BPK
Bandung. He continued his studies at Sekolah Tinggi Publisistik and then
Jakarta Arts Institute. At the age of thirteen, he performed as a
street performer at wedding ceremonies and other social events..
Personal life
On
1 January 1982, his first son, Galang Rambu Anarki was born. One of his
best-known songs, Galang Rambu Anarki, was written for his birth and
released on 1982's Opini (Opinion) album. Galang was a guitarist who
became a folk musician in his own right, and he died on 25 April 1997 of
a suspected morphine overdose. 'Galang Rambu Anarki' translates to
"support the sign of anarchy" in English.
Three years later, his
first daughter Anissa Cikal Rambu Basae was born.[4] His third child is
Rayya Rambu Robbani. He and Rosanna, his wife live in Cibubur, West
Java.
Galan Rambu Anarki had started to follow in his father's
footsteps, playing in a band from a young age, but died in 1997, aged
16, either of asthma, or from a drug overdose.
Career
Aged
18, Iwan Fals, Toto Gunarto, Helmi and Bambang Bule formed a group
named Amburadul. The group released the album 'Perjalanan' in 1979,
which was not successful, but was re-released with the added track '3
Bulan' as '3 Bulan' (1980) in 1980. The group disbanded and played no
further role in Iwan Fals' career.
As part of his early career,
Iwan Fals also recorded some comedy albums, after winning a comedy
country singing contest. He sang of comic situations and themes, and his
first release was on 'Canda Dalam Nada' (the A-side featured five songs
by Iwan: Generasi Frustrasi, Dongeng Tidur, Imitasi, Kisah Sepeda
Motorku (aka. Kopral), and Joni Kesiangan while the B-side consisted of
songs by Tom Slepe and Pusaka Jaya). The songs Dongeng Tidur, Joni
Kesiangan and Kisah Sepeda Motorku were released, with one new song,
Ambulance Zig Zag, on the Iwan Fals mini-album Canda Dalam Nada, while
Generasi Frustrasi and Imitasi were also included on the 'Yang Muda Yang
Bercanda II' multiartist comedy compilation.
During this time, Iwan supported himself by busking.
1981
saw Iwan Fals' breakthrough, when he signed to Musica Studio to record
his first solo album, Sarjana Muda. This album shows Iwan Fals'
signature country music style, with the protest song "Guru Oemar
Bakrie", which talks of how a teacher is poorly paid but still
responsible for educating future well-paid and successful people. 'Guru
Oemar Bakrie' became very well-known and popular in Indonesia, and
helped established Iwan's name. The album also contains several ballads.
It benefited from considerable investment by Musica Studio, who used
high-quality musicians and producer for the album.
1982's Opini,
also on Musica Studio, cemented Iwan's reputation as a protest singer,
but also as a balladeer. 'Galang Rambu Anarki', for his newborn son,
combined both elements, commenting on both the happy event of the birth
of his first child, but also commenting on rising prices, saying that
perhaps his child would be malnourished if they could not afford to buy
milk.
1983 saw the release of Sumbang, while 1984's album releases were Barang Antik and Sugali.
In
April 1984, Iwan was arrested and questioned for two weeks after
performing the songs 'Demokrasi Nasi' and Mbak Tini, both songs never
recorded on album, in Pekanbaru. The song Mbak Tini was about a
prostitute with a road-side coffee shop, married to 'Soeharyo'
(Suharto). The events were retold on the song '14-4-84' on 1986's
Ethiopia.
Iwan Fals continued to release albums throughout the
1980s, while in 1989 he formed the group Swami, which released two
albums Swami I in 1989, and Swami II in 1991. A similar grouping was
Kantata Takwa, which contained several Swami personnel. The musical
style was "rebana rock", a blend of Jimi Hendrix and Rick Wakeman, to a
Betawi rebana. The album Kantata Takwa' was released in 1990, featuring
songs such as "Bento" and "Bongkar" ("Rip It Down"), two of several
songs which they sang during a demonstration by college students.
Up
to the release Orang Gila in 1994, Iwan had released approximately two
new albums per year for 15 years. Since 1994, he has greatly reduced his
release schedule, releasing two singles only in 1995, and one in 1996,
while in 1998 Kantata Samsara, the second and final album by Kantata
Takwa, was released.
To make up for the lack of new content, a
number of Iwan Fals compilations were released in the 1990s and 2000s,
including Best Of The Best, Akustik (3 volumes), and Salam Reformasi
("Greetings Reformation"), which sold more than 50,000 copies.
In
2002, Iwan Fals released his first new solo album since 1994, Suara
Hati. In 2003 the album 'In Collaboration With' was released consisting
of performances with other Indonesia artists. Manusia Setengah Dewa, in
2004, was a solo album.
In 2005, he released Iwan Fals In Love,
essentially a compilation of existing Iwan Fals romantic reocrdings, but
with the new song "Ijinkan Aku Menyayangimu" ("Let Me Love You") as the
main single, and five re-recordings of old songs. Two songs, in
collaboration with Indra Lesmana, Haruskah Pergi, and Selancar, were
released as digital download in 2006.
In 2007, 50:50 was released
by Musica Studios. The album's themes were romance and social
criticism. One single of the album, "Pulanglah" ("Go Home"), tells about
the death of Munir.[12] Six singles were written by himself and other
six singles were written by his fellow musicians. Two songs were
released in 2009 as Untukmu Terkasih.
In 2010, he released
Keseimbangan, and in 2011 he released new album titled "tergila-gila"
with 4 new songs inside. He has a large fans club which called OI (Orang
Indonesia).
Lyrical Themes
Iwan Fals has been
compared with Bob Dylan, who was one of his key influences, both on his
early style, which made heavy use of the harmonica, and on his lyrics,
which have frequently been in the protest song genre.
For
instance, "Kamu Sudah Gila" ("You've Gone Crazy") and "Apa Kamu Sudah
Jadi Tuhan?" ("Have You Ever Been as God?") criticized the New Order
regime.
Other songs are more observational, but still could be
seen as political. For instance, his song Galang Rambu Anarki, written
for his newborn son, talks of being too poor to raise his son, while
"Kembang Pete" ("Petai Flower") tells the story of the underestimated
poor.[1] "Aku Bosan" ("I'm Bored") is about a child protesting to his
parents because they left him alone at home. While "Hura-Hura Huru-Hara"
("Fake Riot") compares moneylender to blood-sucking vampires.
The
1988 song (and album) '1910', which could be interpreted as referring
to the year 1910, was actually a reference to the date 19 October, the
date, in 1987, of the Bintaro train crash, a disaster the song documents
in observational style. "Celoteh Camar Tolol dan Cemar", on 1983's
Sumbang, documented the sinking of the Tampomas II in Masalembu.
Aside
from his observational protest songs, Iwan Fals is known for his love
songs, which include "Yang Terlupakan" ("The Forgotten"), "Mata Indah
Bola Pingpong" ("Beautiful Eyes, Pingpong Ball"), "Antara Kau, Aku, dan
Bekas Pacarmu" ("Among You, Me, and Your ex-Boyfriend"), and "Pesawat
Tempurku".
Although a songwriter, Iwan Fals' status as one of
Indonesia's leading rock/pop performers has led to his recording
material from numerous other song writers. Some of his most notable hits
written by others include Barang Antik ("Antique"), "Kemesraan"
("Intimacy"), "Kumenanti Seorang Kekasih" ("I'm Waiting for a Lover"),
"Aku Bukan Pilihan" ("I'm Not an Option") and "Ijinkan Aku
Menyayangimu".
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