Talking About The Pandemic, Iwan Fals' New Song '16/01' Is Almost 8 Minutes Long

Iwan Fals (Photo: Puput Puji Lestari/VOI)

JAKARTA - Legendary musician Iwan Fals has released his latest work entitled "16/01". This song is sung with a pleasant tone to listen to but actually has a very deep meaning because it is a reflection of Iwan Fals' thoughts in the midst of the chaos of information and also the COVID-19 pandemic situation that the Indonesians are still facing until 2021.

"This is more of a personal matter. I feel like suddenly there are a lot of confusing stories, so we eat it every day. When I hear others tell the same thing, yes, there are similarities. This is my concern. I didn't engineer this song, so it really describes the mood, suddenly this song became", said Iwan in his virtual press conference on Friday.

He admits that he is not confident to release this song, because the situation is still very chaotic in society. However, he still tried to be sure, dared to speak and incubate his thoughts in the form of a song that lasted almost eight minutes.

The 59-year-old man hopes that his listeners can use the song "16/01" as an encouragement to continue to think positively and maintain conditions to stay sane in the midst of the onslaught of information and the uncertain direction of the pandemic situation.

The reason for the long duration of "16/01" was immediately caught when the song started, the lyric part shows that this song was written by Iwan Fals on November 16, 2020.

While some of the lyrics and notes were added on June 1, 2021, so that the title "16/01" was obtained, indicating the two dates the song was made.

If someone thinks Iwan Fals is no longer good at criticizing through his works, maybe you should listen to this song. There is a lyric section that satirizes the Indonesian people who were divided due to the heated political atmosphere that was created.

Not only for the people of Indonesia, but this song also satirizes global problems related to war narratives in other countries that have never found common ground.

Overall this song accurately describes love, it is in accordance with the initial intention that Iwan Fals wanted to highlight in “16/01”.

"Essentially, this song is about love, there are various kinds of love language, yes, if there are no boundaries and frames, it will be troublesome", he said.

Not alone, Iwan Fals sang with Sandrayati Fay in this song. Getting a chance to do a duet with Iwan Fals, Sandra didn't believe it at first.

"When I was offered a duet, I wasn't confident enough. But after doing it, it flowed. even I was asked to make a song, I was hesitant at first. Just as soon as I heard the music, the lyrics immediately appeared", said Sandra.