Exclusive, Rieka Roslan Follows a Winding Path as a Songwriter

JAKARTA - It is difficult to forget the name Rieka Roslan in the development of the modern Indonesian music industry. She was the initial vocalist of The Groove, a band that paved the way for many bands and singers who carried acid jazz in Indonesia after that.

Debuting with the album Kuingin in 1999, Rieka Roslan is not only the frontman, but also the figure behind The Groove's hit songs which can still be found in many music performances today, namely Dulu and Khayalan.

Two and a half decades later, Rike Roslan's passion for music has not died. She is here for the Story Of My Life project, an album containing the hit songs she has written so far. To date, three materials for this project have been released, namely Khayalan (2021), Dahulu (2022), and Sepi (2023).

"I just released the song Sepi as the third single after the journey to Story of My Life. Because I've really wanted to make a Story of My Life for a long time," said Rieka Roslan when met by VOI in Jatimelati, Bekasi some time ago.

"Story of My Life is the story of my journey as a songwriter, because so far I feel that songwriters are less recognized by art lovers. Sometimes they know the song, they know the singer, but they don't know the songwriter," she continued.

According to Rieka, the beauty of a song is created from the story that includes the songwriter behind it. However, many people don't know the story behind the song. In some cases, the meaning of the song is unavoidable.

Therefore, Rieka Roslan wants Story Of My Life to be presented as a complete story of her musical journey. She not only showcases the songs, but also her experience as a singer and songwriter.

"For the Story Of My Life journey, because I want everyone to be able to appreciate the songwriter, so I tell it really like what happened," said Rieka.

"So, I want to explain to everyone that all songs must have a background and story," she added.

Imagination, the hit from The Groove's second album, Mata, Hati & Telinga, was released first as the first song written by Rieka Roslan. At that time, Rieka was still in high school in Bandung.

Rieka Roslan wrote Imagination with a typical teenage perspective on love full of innocence and purity. As the title suggests, Rieka displays the imagination of a teenager.

“For the first song from Story of My Life, I released Khayalan. Why Khayalan? Because the first time I wrote it was in high school, that's where I first started writing songs," said Rieka Roslan.

“The song Khayalan is my first love song. Because as a high school student, I just experienced what it is called falling in love and fantasizing about having a beautiful love," she continued.

Next, Rieka released Dahulu, the song that made her name known as one of the genius songwriters in Indonesia. She also wrote this song when she was still a student at SMAN 2 Bandung.

“In high school, I was at SMAN 2 Bandung, I sat in a tree where I often wrote love poetry. Then our class is still the same. All the names in the video clip are also true, that I once had a boyfriend named Riki, then there were my friends like Wulan, Nuy, Ussy, those are all in the video clip," said Rieka, telling what was shown in the video clip Dahulu.

Meanwhile, Sepi is the third single released for the Story Of My Life material. Similar to the two previous songs, Sepi is a hit from The Groove which has been re-arranged.

If Khayalan and Dahulu were written in high school, Sepi was written when Rieka Roslan was a student. She was faced with two choices, getting married after graduating from college or fighting for The Groove to enter the national music industry. This story is also presented in the video clip Sepi.

"At that time I considered, if I had a dream from childhood to high school, I wanted to be a singer-songwriter, until the video clip I went to Jakarta several times and was rejected by the label, because I wanted to perform the songs Dahulu and Khayalan, not the songs as other people's songs. I was so determined, once I got to the point, I had to give up my dreams as an artist," said Rieka.

"So in the end I chose to stay with The Groove and chose to become a songwriter, but in the end, I didn't get married," she continued.

"Well, that's the loneliness of Rieka who feels that being honest is difficult. When I want to be honest with what my dreams are, I have to lose something. We've been dating for a long time, 9 years, and it just ended. So, the song Sepi happened because I felt lonely."

Through the release of these three songs, Rieka Roslan also wants to tell how The Groove cannot be erased from her journey as a songwriter. Even though their relationship has been strained in recent years, Rieka was the leader of The Groove during its golden era in the early 2000s.

"Well, this feels connected to my current condition, where I have been struggling with my friends (The Groove) for 26 years, creating music that people say is the band The Groove, the acid jazz of Indonesia, then I am also determined to have a really groove attitude in every appearance. But now I finally have to run aground, I have to go solo, and I can't close my eyes, usually, I'm in a band, but suddenly all my friends are gone, so it's lonely," said Rieka.

"But it really fits with the year 2023 that we are leaving behind, that's why I wrote 'We must end this loneliness and we must welcome happier times in 2024 with better prayers, better friends, and a better life. So, I said it seemed right if I released Sepi as the third single for Story Of My Life," she continued.

"For this to be a suitable story, in high school there were two songs, in college there was one song, and then I created the next song after becoming a public figure. So, I arranged the Story Of My Life according to the year and feeling when I wrote it. That's Rieka, Rieka can't lie, if she says what she really is, she can't cover it up. You can't be ordered around either, if you don't want to talk then don't talk, if you want something to tell, then tell it."

Fight for Songwriters' Rights

Story Of My Life is not only a collection of songs and stories, but also a form of Rieka Roslan's struggle to fight for the rights of songwriters. She admitted that she was increasingly aware of the important role of songwriters, which until now was still under-regarded in the Indonesian music industry.

In the Sepi video clip, Rieka Roslan involves many songwriters who together with her are members of the All Indonesian Composers Association (AKSI), an association consisting of several Indonesian songwriters who assess that copyright protection is weak for creators of musical works.

Ari Bias acted as director and helped a lot in producing the video clip. Meanwhile, Piyu as Chair of AKSI, and Mario Kacang, also starred in the Sepi video clip.

"During a meeting at the AKSI office, there were all AKSI friends there, and I said to everyone, 'Would you like to accompany me in the video telling me that I will end this loneliness with new happiness?'. That life must be ready for things to come and go and things to come again. It's real in this video," she said.

"So I made this concept, Rieka in one building, because I've been in the music industry for 26 years, suddenly two years ago I disappeared, I didn't make anything because I was studying copyright, finally I came back again because I miss the stage, I miss the lights shining on us, and I miss the audience."

It's not just the AKSI members who she calls her "new family", the Sepi video clip also features many singers who have studied vocals with Rieka. Apart from that, there are also other young musicians who Rieka thinks are suitable for Sepi's new arrangements.

"I was really moved, that's how much my friends at AKSI love me, and they said yes. Echa Soemantri, when I asked, he said he could. Then I met a young bassist, his name was Tata, he was 14 years old, and I was really looking at him because he played really well. Then there are my students too. So it seems like everything is complete," said Rieka.

“Alhamdulillah, I am very happy because the story is fulfilled. That after I sang alone, I entered the stage still alone, then I met Mario, the screen opened and all my AKSI friends were there. When else will I try to ask Mr. Piyu to go on stage just for a video clip," she continued.

"But that is a sign that they want to say that humans cannot be alone, they still have friends to accompany them. Actually, I want to tell you that the journey of human life cannot be cut short, we cannot forget that we have struggled. So, in my opinion, this video clip is really perfect."

Then, Rieka Roslan ended the discussion about her music project this time with her views regarding the rights of songwriters. She sees what is happening to her now, as a way from God who opened her eyes to see the fate of many Indonesian songwriters who are not well.

"Maybe this is God's way, my problem with The Groove is also maybe God's way, so I also start reading the Law on Copyright in Indonesia, what are the obligations, what are the rights, and what can we get," said this Sundanese singer.

“During those 26 years, I was blind, I was given anything, just whatever. Anyone can sing my songs, that's all. And I never cared about other people's lives. Because maybe I'm both, I sing and write songs, so I don't feel about this economic right. And I also don't feel that if my song is sung without permission. As soon as there was a case that happened to me, I started to look into it, it turned out that there was extraordinary inequality in the lives of songwriters who had not received the full rights that they should have."

On many previous occasions, Rieka Roslan has often spoken out about copyright issues, especially royalties for songwriters. According to her, songwriters receive a lower share of economic rights when compared to singers and other music actors.

“The songwriter is not doing well at the moment, the state is taking care of it and I will continue to speak out loud. If someone says that the songwriter is difficult, yes we need to eat, this is the solution. Don't keep blaming but there is no solution. I'm not speaking on my own behalf, I thank God I live well enough, but I'm speaking for all songwriters in Indonesia, we have to make things even," concluded Rieka Roslan.