Harvey Malaihollo Says Old Songs Still Have Fans, Kemenbud Siapkan Ruang

JAKARTA - Minister of Culture Fadli Zon supports the idea of veteran singer Harvey Malaihollo to give space again to Indonesian old singers. The idea is considered important so that the work and career of old musicians do not stop as nostalgia.

The support was conveyed by Fadli when he received a meeting with Harvey Malaihollo at the Ministry of Culture Office, Jakarta, Tuesday, August 4.

The meeting discussed strengthening the music ecosystem, the sustainability of Indonesian musicians' works, to how to reintroduce veteran singers to the younger generation.

"We strongly support Mas Harvey's idea to bring back Indonesian veteran singers. If packaged properly, they can regain the public's attention, including through collaboration with young generation singers," said Fadli.

Fadli said senior singers have an important contribution to Indonesia's music journey. Therefore, they need to get space to be known again by the next generation.

According to Fadli, the space can be opened through performances and cross-generational collaboration with fresher packaging.

Harvey welcomed the support. He said he was ready to help the Ministry of Culture develop the idea, including bridging communication with Indonesian veteran singers.

Harvey assessed that old songs still have a market and listeners. What is needed is an ecosystem so that works and singers do not disappear from the Indonesian music journey.

"Old songs will not lose fans. In fact, many people still love them. We need to build an ecosystem so that these old songs don't disappear," said Harvey.

The audience also discussed the importance of preserving the meaning of old songs when they are brought back. Fadli emphasized that the arrangement update can be done, but the character and soul of the work must still be maintained.

This is especially true for songs that have historical and nationalistic value. That way, the message in the song can still be understood by the younger generation.

Apart from the stage and collaboration, the discussion also touched on music archives. Fadli said that documentation of works, recordings, and traces of Indonesia's musical journey need to be maintained as a source of knowledge and reference for future generations.

The Ministry of Culture is also preparing an idea for the development of a music museum in Bandung. The museum is designed to contain memorabilia and music collections to introduce the history of Indonesian music to the public.

The audience was attended by the Director General of Development, Utilization, and Training of Culture Ahmad Mahendra and the Director of Film, Music, and Art Irini Dewi Wanti.

Fadli said that cross-generational collaboration could be a way for the works and careers of musicians from various eras to remain in place amid the development of Indonesian music.