Unlimited Concerts Of God Bless And Sonnet Group, When Music Is No Longer Stigma Of Animal Manure And Satan's Trumpets

God Bless (Photo: Evan Antono)

JAKARTA - Borderless, that's the most appropriate word to describe the music performance Re:creating God Bless - Sonnet Group which was held at Bengkel Space, SCBD on Monday night. The concert initiated by Boss Creator is not only a historical event, but also a medium that shows how music no longer needs to be isolated by trivial things.

Whether it's coincidental or not, borderless, the word which in Indonesian means 'without borders' is also often spoken from the lips of the writer and two music observers; Denny MR and Mudya Mustamine who attended this event. Actually, not scripted. But, the word continues to accompany our steps.

It started with one of the WhatApp groups we live in. A member commented on the well-known British media, NME citing articles belonging to local online media, Musikeras. The article discusses the new single by metal band from Bandung, Burgerkill, entitled Roar of Chaos, in an exclusive interview with guitarist Agung Hellfrog.

"Wow, mantep...go international," he commented.

In fact, currently, the term go international is very ambiguous because everything can be accessed globally. Roughly speaking, we defecate, record it, and then post it on TikTok, automatically becoming a foreigner for public consumption.

Yes, we can easily promote, exhibit, disseminate everything to the world audience without being hindered by space and time. There is no limit alias borderless.

After discussing the issue of going international, the writer - together with Mudya Mustamine - arrived at the venue at 16.00 WIB. We received a special invitation from God Bless and were asked to arrive early so as not to crowd the audience when entering the performance area. In fact, the concert kick-off is still four hours away, you know.

We decided to stop at the coffee shop first while waiting for Denny MR - media relations and God Bless 'insider' - to join us. Once our formation is complete. While sipping coffee, the word borderless came back even though the topic of conversation was no longer about going international.

We asked about the terms 'indie band' and 'major band' which some people often use to refer to their favorite bands. Denny MR said that the term is no longer valid because the music industry has experienced significant developments.

Bands that move independently, may be much bigger than bands that are actually fenced off by big record labels. It all depends on the man behind the gun. In essence, indie and major (non-indie) are just an umbrella.

The coffee ran out, we went to the backstage (backstage) even though the actual position where the God Bless personnel were resting was on the top floor which was directly in front of the stage. After greeting the members of God Bless, we mingled and snacked while chatting about the terms 'capital musicians' and 'regional musicians' which emerged during the New Order era.

Like the terms go international, indie band and major band, these two terms are no longer relevant today. In fact, in the past 15 years, musicians who live in Jakarta have competed to perform at music events held in cities outside Java.

The evidence is clear because we have attended outdoor music performances such as Rock In Borneo (formerly called Kukar Rockin' Fest) in Tenggarong, Rock In Celebes in Makassar, Rock In Solo, Bandung Berisik, Jogjakarta, and the Volcano Rock Festival in Boyolali. I don't know how many bands and musicians from Jakarta are competing to appear in this music event.

Again, the word borderless came out of our mouths. In the past, it was musicians from the region who carried out the exodus to the capital city. Now, there is no limit. As long as rock music resonates, that's where the glory of loud music shines. There are no longer any restrictions on who musicians from Jakarta are or who are musicians from other regions.

The time is eight o'clock in the evening. The venue, which is a historic place for the appearance of two Indonesian music icons, God Bless and Sonnet Group, has begun to fill with audiences.

God Bless appeared first, with the formation of Achmad Albar (vocals), Ian Antono (guitar), Abadi Soesman (keyboards), Fajar Satritama (drums) and Arya Setyadi (bass), a replacement for Donnie Fattah, who had health problems.

To War, Licking the Sun, and Mirrors break the silence. After the audience was rocked by the Poem of Life, Stage Play, and Rumah Kita, the venue roared again to welcome the Street Wolves, Life, City Bus, and Black Ants.

Want to know what fans of Rhoma Irama and Sonnet Group did when Achmad Albar et al sang the Poem of Life, Stage Play, and Our Home? They sing along!

It was time for the Sonnet Group to appear. Viva Dangdut was asked to open the curtain for their performance. "Assalamualaikum," said Bang Haji, Rhoma Irama's greeting.

"Dut-ta-tang, dang-dut-ta-tang, dang dut-ta-tang, dang dut-ta-tangdang-dang-dang tang-tang-tang, dang-dang-dang tang-tang-tangdang-dut dang-tang-tang-tang, dang-dut dang-tang-tang-tang, dangdut the sound of the drums....."

The audience swayed and sang. Seen, God Bless fans have not moved from where they stood since Achmad Albar broke the silence with the song To War which was actually recorded as Gong 2000's again, not God Bless, that is.

In every corner of the venue, you can even see young people wearing trendy clothes, both boys and girls with fragrant perfumes, swaying to enjoy every note that comes out of Rhoma Irama's iconic headless Steinberger guitar and 15 accompaniments including four backing singers.

After briefly presenting the intro and chorus of Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water, in the song Nafsu Serakah, Sonnet Group presented a number of their hits including Terajana, Judi, Mirasantika, Ani and Blood Muda. Then the encore, and closed by staying up late. The audience went home, all happy.

Obvious. There is no limit who is a fan of God Bless, who is a fan of the Sonnet Group. There is no limit where rock music enthusiasts, dangdut music devotees. There is no limit which is the old, which is the young. Everyone enjoys without being hindered by the stigma of 'dangdut music t** anj***' or 'devil's trumpet rock music'. Borderless aka unlimited.

Why God Bless and Sonnet Group?

Many people forget, or maybe don't know. God Bless and Rhoma Irama and Sonnet Group are legends. They are reformers, pioneers, music icons and two kings of different genres.

In 1980, long before Dream Theater, a role model for modern metal children, was born, God Bless had taught Indonesian music audiences how to play progressive rock music properly and correctly.

Achmad Albar (vocals), Ian Antono (guitar), Donny Fattah (bass), Abadi Soesman (keyboards), and Teddy Sudjaya (drums) have traveled through space and time through progressive rock songs of five-star quality such as Musician, Anak Adam and of course the title track Cermin.Cermin is wrapped in a complicated rock formula, but structured by prioritizing neat aesthetic elements and full of dynamics throughout the texture of the song.

Obviously, this album was engraved with the vision of totality working in the name of the idealism of the musicians who could not simply be tempted by the coffers of money belonging to the recording barons so that they would also sell themselves to tarnish their freedom of work. Unfortunately, the album's master recording was damaged.

At the request of the fans, God Bless re-recorded and re-released this album with the title Mirror 7 in 2016. Be grateful, O devotees of Indonesian rock music, this holy grail of rock and roll has survived and is here again in a fresh and kicking version plus three additions. new song.

Meanwhile, in the same era as the birth of the original version of the Mirror album, the dangdut music derived from traditional Malay music in the hands of Rhoma Irama appeared more elegant. Dangdut is no longer dominated by the sound of tabla (a typical Indian instrument), but the deep purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's roar has become a new subgenre of music.

Rhoma Irama displays a distorted taste of rock guitar on numbers belonging to the Sonnet Group, namely Begadang 2, Takwa, Judi and Kiamat. The influence of Blackmore's guitar solo or vocalist Ian Gillan's distinctive shriek is evident in Bang Haji's works.

The Feud of Rock and Dangdut that Ended in Peace

In the 1970s, Rhoma Irama's dangdut music confronted the rock music that was currently endemic. The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple became teen idols and brought other genres of music to death.

Rhoma Irama also strated. In order to compete with the popularity of rock music, he infused the Malay orchestra with hard rock DNA. He replaced the melodious rhythm with fast beats and the sound of the tabla was replaced by drum instruments. As a result, the public welcomed it with great fanfare.

However, not so with rock musicians. One of them was Benny Soebardja, the frontman of the band Giant Step, who criticized Rhoma Irama by calling dangdut 'ta* anj*** music'. Not staying silent, Bang Haji replied by calling rock music 'devil's trumpet'.

“Sonnets are war music. That's when I confirmed, Sonnet is ready to die! In the past, when a gig was in the wrong place, rocks and sandals flew at me. Rockers often come on stage to interrupt our concerts. Physical contact has also occurred," said Rhoma Irama, quoted from GitarPlus magazine.

"In Bandung, at the Giant Step place I was also stoned. But the show must go on! Likewise with rock, when playing rock and dangduter (Roma's nickname for dangdut music fans)."

A truce between dangdut and rock musicians was only truly reached in 1977. Lawyer Japto Soerjosoemarno arbitrated by challenging Rhoma Irama to 'a duel' with Achmad Albar and his God Bless, in a concert entitled Peace at the End of the Year in Senayan which was decorated with the release of dove as a symbol of peace.

History is etched. God Bless and Sonnet Group performed for the first time on one stage. Since then, dangdut and rock have reconciled where eight years later a concert with God Bless and the Sonnet Group was again held in the same place with the title Appreciation of Young People's Music 1985.

Now, in 2021, the God Bless and Sonnet Group concert hat-tricks have been created. History was written by the King of Rock and the King of Dangdut who returned to perform together. Long live...long live...long live The Kings!