G-Pluck Visits 2 Indorock Music Legends In The Netherlands

Two Indorock legends, Hans Bax (left) and Eddy Chatelin (right) in The Hague, Wednesday (6/9). (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Beatles music group from Jakarta, G-Pluck, has seen two Indorock musicians living in the Netherlands since the early 60s, namely guitarist Hans Bax and Eddy Chatelin.

The music unit consisting of Awan Garnida (bass), Gilang Pramudya (guitar/vocals), Fery Gustian (guitar/vocals), Beni Pratama (drums), and strengthened by Aufa Kantadiredja (keyboards/vocals) fulfilled the invitation from the two legendary Indonesian musicians while in the city of The Hague.

"It is an honor to be present to visit two great musicians who are the pride of Indonesia. They can be said to be the two 'general' people who are still left of the Indorock scene," said G-Pluck bass player Awan Garnida opening a conversation with ANTARA, Wednesday (6/9).

Awan continued that Hans Bax and Eddy Chatelin were two musicians who had a strong influence on Indorock's music scene since the early 60s.

"They are both 'crazy', already occupying the stage at many European clubs such as Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and much more. Our presence to visit the two Indorock legends is a form of highest respect for them," Awan added.

Receiving a visit from G-Pluck personnel with simplicity and simplicity at the residence of the Polonenhof area of the Hague, Hans Bax also invited compatriot Eddy Chatelin to let go of their longing and share stories of their youth culture.

"We often appear in clubs crowded with soldiers from various countries, including America. One day we played in front of about 200 people, then there was a commotion and in a few minutes everyone had run out. Indeed, there was a lot of madness that we experienced in that era," Hans Bax said with a smile.

Hans Bax is the only band member outside the clan The Tielman Brothers who strengthened three band formations in 1965 when he was 18 years old. The Tielman Brothers is a family band of Tielman from Surabaya and then moved to the Netherlands at the end of the '50s and became very famous through Indorock music.

Indorock is a term referring to rock n 'roll music played by Indonesian people who live in the Netherlands about a decade after Indonesia's independence. The musical hybrid forms include Indonesian rock n 'roll, keroncong, hawaiian, and gamelan.

"At that time, we had received an honorarium of about 35 million a month for five people. We played for two days for a week in Scandinavian countries, even to Israel," Hans said.

Apart from Hans Bax, musician Eddy Chatelin who was born in Palembang then moved to the Netherlands at the age of 11, also gained popularity in mainland Europe through an Indorock band called The Crazy Rockers.

"We were invited to appear on Dutch television several times. There was one momentum when the video clip was recorded, I was told not to look at the camera lens. But I smiled and deliberately kept looking at the camera lens," explained Eddy with a loud laugh telling the story of what was behind making the video clips "The Third Man" and "Carioca" which can now be accessed via YouTube.

Guitarist Hans Bax and Eddy Chatelin will appear in collaboration with G-Pluck at the Netherlands' largest annual art and cultural festival, Tong Tong Festival on September 8 tomorrow in the Malivield area, The Hague.

The appearance of the G-Pluck at the Tong Tong Festival 2023 this time is part of a series of their European tours that have received full support from the Ministry of Education and Culture, Research, and Technology, Bank BCA, and JavaMifi. Previously, Awan Garnida et al. successfully enlivened the Liverpool International Beatleweek Festival in the UK late last month and will continue to tour at the Late Feuerwache Köln and Indra Club Hamburg, Germany.