Profile Of Adjie Soetama And His Journey As Songwriters

Adjie Soetama (most right), at Java Jazz 2018 (Ist)

JAKARTA - Adjie Soetama, a famous Indonesian musician and songwriter in the 1980s, has died at the age of 68.

He had a heart attack on Sunday, August 17 and was rushed to Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Central Jakarta. After being treated for several days, Adjie breathed his last on Thursday, August 21 at 19.40 WIB.

The name Adjie Soetama is not quite familiar with young people today. However, he is known for several hit songs in the 1980s, which are still being enjoyed today.

Adjie who was born in Jakarta on September 17, 1957, graduated from SMA 3 Exemplary, which is known to have given birth to many major musicians in the 1970s, such as Fariz RM, Addie MS, James F Sundah, Ikang Fawzi, Raidy Noor, to Deddy Dhukun.

While in high school, his vocal group managed to become a finalist in the 1977 Prambors Youth Song Creation Competition.

Furthermore, Adjie continued his higher education at the Faculty of Law, Parahyangan Catholic University, Bandung. However, his love of music since childhood has actually made him remembered as a hit songwriter.

Adjie's golden age as a songwriter took place in the 1980s. Two of his songs that Chrisye performed in 1985, 'Aku Cinta Dia' and 'Hip Hip Hura', received a very positive response.

Other songs he wrote were also popularized by a number of major artists, such as Vina Panduwinata, Ruth Sahanaya, Utha Likumahuwa, Titi DJ, Keenan Nasution, Trie Utami, to Atiek CB.

The figure of Adjie Soetama is an example of persistence and dedication in work, ranging from his love of music since elementary school, to successfully producing iconic songs that are remembered across generations.

When the Indonesian music scene was faced with copyright polemics, where many songwriters were dissatisfied with their royalties, Adjie had appeared to the public and talked about the lack of awareness of his song users, especially in music concerts, to comply with paying royalties.

The song Hip Hip Hura by Chrisye and Vina Panduwinata is the largest source of income from music royalties. Beyond that, the value is still not very clear, although he doesn't really mind it.

Now Adjie Soetama is gone, but his work will last forever. He is not only a songwriter, but also an unknown hero behind the scenes who helps shape the face of Indonesian pop music.