Investigating Again Acculturation Of Traditional Music

Kojek Rap Betawi (Instagram/@kojekrapbetawi)

JAKARTA - The Music Committee of Jakarta Arts Council (DKJ) is optimistic that young Indonesian musicians develop music that is inspired and rooted in Indonesian traditions or culture.

"Actually, there are more and more young musicians here, the interest of young musicians to make Indonesian culture or traditions as inspiration so that they become music or works is increasing. Our traditions are a foothold in order to develop," said the Chairman of the Music Committee of Jakarta Arts Council (DKJ) Azfansadra Karim, as written by Antara, Sunday, March 28.

He expressed this when responding to the increasing number of music from abroad that has become popular and has influenced the music industry in Indonesia.

The man who is familiarly called Adra exemplifies two examples of his colleagues at Jakarta Arts Council (DKJ), namely Kojek Rap Betawi and Imam Firmansyah who still adhere to Indonesian culture in every piece of his music.

Widespread elements of regional music

Kojek Rap Betawi, which is known for combining the Betawi Language for its music works in the rap genre. Kojek's works that are well-known include Lo Kate Jakarte, Enjoy Jakarta, and Bajaj.

Meanwhile, Imam Firmansyah is a musician who has studied many regional arts, from traditional musical instruments to the development of traditional music.

Imam often produces musical works in the form of strains from gamelan, gambang kromong, to tehyan which is a typical Betawi musical instrument.

Through his community's Instagram account, @tukangtabuh, and the Tukang Tabuh YouTube channel, Imam shared a lot of musical results to a guide to playing traditional musical instruments according to the study of Music Science.

Imam is also an academic educating many young people to understand more instruments to traditional music at Mercu Buana University (UMB) and the Jakarta Arts Institute (IKJ).

"If Bang Kojek tries to introduce pop culture with the acculturation of Betawi culture, well Bang Imam is demonstrating cultural preservation and also developing it by sharing his knowledge so that it can be said that there are still many Indonesian musicians who are still rooted and use Indonesian culture as inspiration in music," said Adra.

Adra also believes that there are still many young people who follow the development of today's music, but do not give up Indonesian culture or music and can bring the music to the international scene.

Indeed, with the entry of culture from outside Indonesia, of course, there are things that change, however, this does not necessarily make Indonesian traditions forgotten.

"It is true that there is influence from outside that cannot be separated in our time, it's just that the Indonesian tradition is our strength. There are still many who are proud of Indonesian traditions and that makes us optimistic that these young people can develop music from our traditions," said the jazz musician.

The composer of the song also said that if more and more young musicians develop Indonesian traditions as inspiration for making works, it is possible that these songs can compete internationally.

"In facing the international world, it is our tradition that is our strength. Young musicians who adhere to Indonesian traditions, equipped with openness and exploration of the development of world music, can bring Indonesian music to compete in the international market," concluded Adra.

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