After 12 years away from the country's music performance stages, veteran musician Sawung Jabo made a comeback with a splash by holding a concert and launching his latest album.
The musician titled his recent 14-song and two-hour concert "Sawung Jabo and Friend's Memasuki Lorong Sunyi (Entering the Silent Tunnel)", which is also the title of his new album.
Clad in red T-shirt, black loose-fitting trousers and a colorful bandana on his head, the 57-year-old Jabo elegantly kicked off his performance while seated and holding his acoustic guitar.
The performance was unlike his previous shows but the audience did not leave until he finished belting out the last song.
Accompanied by another guitarist, three violists, a cellist, three backing vocalists and two guest flutists, Jabo performed in an all-strings ensemble that evening, presenting no beating or stamping drums.
"This is a chamber music performance, actually. It might be difficult in terms of composition but it is more touching to the heart.
"Through this, I want to create a spiritual dialogue with the audience," Jabo said before the performance.
Jabo said the lyrics of his latest songs, unlike his earlier ones that mostly were full of criticism of the social and political conditions from the 1970s to early 1990s, were more personal.
"They (the songs) are now more like a confession, through which I reveal more about myself as an ordinary human being who commits countless mistakes and wrongdoings in my life," the husband of Australian Suzan Piper said.
In the song "Kubuka Topeng Di Wajahku" (I Take Off My Mask), which he said was especially written for his wife, Jabo reveals his fear of making his wife miserable because of his own foolishness, while in "Memasuki Lorong Sunyi", he describes beautiful friendships.
Born as Mohammad Djohansjah on May 4, 1951, in Surabaya, East Java, Jabo started his career in music in a relatively unique way.
Upon finishing his study at a vocational high school (STM) in 1971, he left for Jakarta for a better life but ended up only as a street musician.
Three years later he bought himself a one-way train ticket to Yogyakarta and enrolled at the Indonesian Academy of Music (AMI) Yogyakarta.
He eventually made his own way to success although he never was able to finish study at AMI Yogyakarta.
He helped set up the Circus Barrock band in 1976. He also joined WS Rendra's theater group Bengkel Teater where he developed his vocal capability in 1977, the same year he decided to drop his studies.
He also joined or helped set up several other music bands, including SWAMI (1989), Kantata Takwa (1990) and Dalbo (1993).
In 1978, he met Suzan whom he married in 1979. They have a son, Johan Sanjaya, 25, and a daughter, Shanti Rosina, 21. Both live in Australia with their mother.
Jabo said he had spent half his life in Indonesia and half in Australia.
His marriage did not stop him from making music, and his theater knowledge and experience enriched his stage performances as he became known for his theatrical music performances.
When asked about the changes both in his latest music and lyrics, Jabo said he had come to a point where he told himself that before criticizing anybody else he better criticize himself even though it was more difficult to do.
He said he did not worry about the reaction of his fans regarding the change in both his music and lyrics.
"I was initially nobody. Then, I became someone. If my choice of music now makes me become nobody again, it's fine with me. What is more important is that I'm not losing myself now," Jabo said.
For his latest album, Jabo said he did not really think about making a profit. He initially even wanted to make the CDs free as a gift to his fans.
"But due to the limited budget for the concert, the organizing committee finally decided to charge Rp 15,000 per copy to cover the expenses. Still, the first 200 in the audience can get the CD for free," Jabo said.
After the concert in Yogyakarta on Feb. 27, he plans to stage similar concerts in other cities, including Surakarta in Central Java, Jakarta, Bandung in West Java and Surabaya in East Java.
"These cities have a special meaning in the life and career of Sawung Jabo," he said.
He said the production of his album and the concert were all made possible because of his friendships.
"I think this could indeed be both a turning and a starting point as the two points for me are basically the same. I am standing on a point," said Jabo.
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