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Not just outside the box, but denying the existence of boxes.
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Reviews

Iwan Fals — Orang Gila
(Nirwana NCD-940605, 1994, CD)

by Mike Ezzo, Published 1998-02-01

Orang Gila Cover art

I’m not sure how near Exposé’s ballpark this Indonesian singer-songwriter’s CD is, but hell, why not have a go at it anyway? The first question one may be inclined to ask is, “Is it anything to do with progressive rock?” To which I would answer, “On the periphery, maybe.” However, that bears no weight as criticism. The truth is that this album is much nearer pop music than most other entries in Exposé. The variance between it and Western popular music, however, became apparent instantly: where is the verse-bridge-chorus format? The foot-stomping sing-along melodies? The tug-at-your-heart vocal harmonies? He must have left them in the editing room; they’re absent here. Fals possesses a deep, rich-toned tenor, comparable maybe to Peter Gabriel or Cat Stevens (remember him?). Emotionally, he keeps his expression rather subdued and muted. I particularly enjoyed the CD’s first two songs, “Orang Gila,” and “Awang-Awang.” (Those zany repeated words seem to be everywhere in the Indonesian language, very often found in titles of musical compositions and poetry). The former shows a heavy rhythmic thrust that would do any Sundanese gamelan afficianado proud — it must be in his blood! The latter, however, erupts midway into a Dave Gilmour-style guitar solo skittering well away from the environs I imagined he’d venture to. Strong emphasis is on bass and percussion in these moody arrangements. Other songs feature a tasteful flair for acoustic and jazzed-based treatments, especially in the bass department. What is he singing about, though? Here, I can’t tell you. Lyrics are all in Indonesian, and I mean all. Fals shows no predilection for spicing the words up with English locutions as is so irritatingly trendy to do in Japanese pop music. But that is about as far native as he goes. I can’t detect much of a strain of any popular styles of Javanese music (I assume he resides in West Java), such as Jaipongan, etc. What is amazing is how he manages to sidestep anything reeking of commercialism. I can think of more than a few bands of lofty reputation, who don’t put a fraction of the craft into their music that Iwan Fals does. One can merely surmise as to what Western music he has imbibed in his native land... but I’d bet my Degung albums that Gabriel, Sting, and Pink Floyd rank somewhere on the list. More instrumentally cogent than the likes of, say, XTC, but not as distinctively inspired as something of Gabriel’s caliber, Orang Gila is nevertheless a most artistic pop album. It certainly surprised me

Filed under: New releases, Issue 14, 1994 releases

Related artist(s): Iwan Fals

 

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