Senior Singer Grace Simon Meets Fadli Zon, Discusses Indonesian Music Archives

JAKARTA - Senior singer Grace Simon asked that Indonesian musical heritage be more seriously cared for. He assessed that the work of musicians across generations needed to be documented so that it would not be lost from the public's memory.

The idea was conveyed by Grace when she met Minister of Culture Fadli Zon at the Ministry of Culture Office, Jakarta, Wednesday (20/5).

The meeting discussed the preservation of Indonesian music, the archiving of national musical works, and an appreciation space for senior musicians.

Grace conveyed the importance of preserving the memory of Indonesian music through the documentation of cassettes, vinyl records, and the archives of the works of musicians from various generations. He also showed a number of music collections and documentation that he had collected over the years.

In addition to the archive, Grace hopes that there will be more regular performance spaces. This space is needed so that senior musicians and the new generation have a place to meet, perform, and be appreciated by the public.

Fadli said that music is not enough just to be stored as an archive. According to him, music must remain alive through the stage, the audience, and a healthy ecosystem.

"So there is a living space for music, there are audiences, there are tickets, and it becomes part of the cultural ecosystem," said Fadli.

He assessed that music is an important part of the Indonesian cultural identity. Music can also be a medium of cultural diplomacy at the global level.

"Music is part of our historical and cultural journey. What senior musicians do is a major contribution to the identity of Indonesian culture and we must take care of it together," he said.

Fadli said that preserving music requires joint work between the government, community, musicians, and industry. Collaboration is needed so that the Indonesian music archive can be maintained and accessible to future generations.

The meeting was also attended by the Inspector General of the Ministry of Culture Fryda Lucyana and the Director of Film, Music, and Art Irini Dewi Wanti.