Page 24 - JaKita 07th Edition 2021
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           24     COLUMN





          JINGLE











             ast month, my friends at the Jakarta provincial   The sounds of Betawi’s rebana biang and Kalimantan’s
             government office and I had series of online   keladi were played in harmony. Such a beautiful music
         L meeting with the music committee of Jakarta      to hear.
         Art  Council (DKJ).  The Plus  Jakarta does  not have a
         jingle yet, so we try to collaborate with our DKJ friends.   Later at the office, I let an older friend who is good at
         Unexpectedly, I could meet and had discussion with   playing guitar to hear the jingle. Upon hearing it, he said
         Cholil Mahmud, the vocalist and guitarist of Efek   “You’ll get the message—the lyric is beautiful.” Just as
         Rumah Kaca band who I adore so much. He is not only   the songs of Efek Rumah Kaca, Cholil wrote the jingle in
         a musician but also an intellectual, who just came   poetical lyrics: “Kreasi berkecambah/ jiwa bergairah/
         back from America after finishing study. He was also   Kota jadi berbunga/ begitu pun kita.” I told Cholil, “It
         an activist who is often seen in various numbers of   has been ages since I heard the word ‘berkecambah’
         demonstration.                                     (Indonesian word for sparks). Your lyrics reminded me
                                                            of the writing of Remy Sylado for Prisma magazine. He
         “What kind of music do you wish to have for this   criticized the Indonesian pop songs today that always
         jingle?”  asked  Adra  Karim,  head  of  DKJ  music   uses the word ‘mengapa’ (why).”
         committee.  None  of  us  from  the  Jakarta  City  Hall
         has better understanding of music. Armed with just   Alhamdulillah, the jingle received lots of love after we
         an experience of listening to it and watching several   published it at Jakarta government’s social media
         music concerts, I took the courage to answer him. “I’m   accounts. It was not an easy job considering the very-
         sure you have heard of the instrumental music from   tight deadline. The collaboration was also challenging.
         David Foster, the Winter Games, which was created for   Adra, Cholil, Imam and the Kojek Rap confessed that
         the Winter Olympics? I think we want the jingle to be   despite all the challenges, they really enjoyed doing
         as great and modern as that, with a touch of Betawi   the project. In the meantime, I realized that having
         music like gambang kromong or tanjidor.”           a hobby for listening and watching music concerts
                                                            might be useful in later advances, including at work.
         They worked on it for around two weeks, to meet the
         deadline which is June 22 , 2021, the 494  anniversary   During this testing times, we need more and more of
                                              th
                                nd
         of Jakarta. There were ten of musicians involved in the   collaborations. Covid-19 have tightened our social
         project, including Adra who is still studying at a music   solidarity. Our fellow activists collected their own
         school in Netherland and Imam Firmansyah who is    money to buy oxygen stocks, medicines and foods
         specialized in Betawi music. The main vocalist is Cholil   for the people affected by the disease. The Jakarta
         with his unique falsetto voice, supported by Kojek   government agencies had also collaborated in
         Rap. The sounds of keyboard, synthesizer, flute and   transporting the empty oxygen cylinders to Krakatau
         cello mixed with gendang, rebana, kecrek, gambang,   Steel factory in Cilegon, a five-hour trip from Jakarta,
         kromong, tehyan, sukong, and kongahyan. When I hear   to be refilled and restocked them back into hospitals
         it for the first time, I was amazed. It reminded me of the   in Jakarta. It was a touching moment amidst many
         concert once held by the Indonesia National Orchestra   sad news.
         (INO), initiated by an ethnomusicologist Franki Raden.                                Ramdan malik







                         7th EDITION 2021
                         7th EDITION 2021
         Sarana Informasi Pemerintah Provinsi DKI Jakarta
         Sarana Informasi Pemerintah Provinsi DKI Jakarta
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