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AlbumREVIEWS: 'Sembojan' by Tigapagi
Before we talk about Tigapagiâs new EP Sembojan (Motto) at length, it is important to point out this record is only 10 minutes long
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Before we talk about Tigapagi's new EP Sembojan (Motto) at length, it is important to point out this record is only 10 minutes long. If you you're wondering why I'm bothering burning 500 words on a three-track EP, I can only give you two reasons.
First, it finally gives me a chance to talk about Tigapagi's criminally-underrated LP Roekmana's Repertoire. Built under the surface of pentatonic, Sundanese folk, Roekmana's Repertoire is music at its most beautiful and challenging.
The one-track LP stitches together 14 songs chock-full of retrospective poetry and regal instrumentation. It not only requires repeated listens, but rewards them at the same time. Roekmana's Repertoire is a classic album, and remains so two years after its release.
It could take me hours to lament the LP's obscurity, so when word spread that Tigapagi was releasing a new EP ' less than a week before dropping it for free ' I was deeply thrilled. I promised myself I'd write something about it; I even thought of the words before listening to a single note of this EP. So, on to the second reason.
'Wajah yang hilang berkisar di angka 500,000 jiwa (Faces that are gone amount to 500,000 lives),' is how Tigapagi greet listeners after a two-year absent.
Released on the 50th anniversary of an attempted coup on Sept. 30, Sembojan is a topical release from Tigapagi. The cover, featuring six bloodied bodies being dragged into a hole, leaves us in no doubt that to commemorate a tragic date, Tigapagi has a few words to say.
Given the 10-minute limit, it makes sense that Tigapagi had to jam-pack everything into Sembojan. This means whistles, strings, pentatonic guitars, forlorn vocals and gorgeous lyrics weaved together seamlessly; the complexity washes you over, but never overwhelms you. Plus, each song segues into the next and the instrumentation is air-tight all the way through. Sound familiar?
Then what separates Sembojan from Roekmana's Repertoire? In terms of musicality, probably nothing. Which is to say, it's as terrific as I'd expect a release from Tigapagi to be. But the EP's brevity features its most distinguishing strength: the lyrics. You've seen a sample from an earlier paragraph and that's only one sentence.
Taken as a whole, Sembojan is not so much a protest record as it is merely a socially-conscious one. And take it as a whole you must; it won't work in fractures. But there's one lyric that encompasses the annual grief and confusion that most Indonesians feel on Sept. 30th: 'Atas asas satu-padu / tak usahlah diadu-adu / guna meramu pasal baru / sisihkan merah putih biru'. (In the name of unity / don't pit them against one another / in order to create new laws / get rid of red, white and blue).
One more thing: The fact it was released for free ' lifting the weight of the superficiality of a commercial-release ' doubles down the marvel of this EP. Perhaps the whole reason why Sembojan is yet another Tigapagi excellence, despite its meager length, is of the motivation to make it. What came out is simply an inspired and inspiring work of art. Two years, ten years, who cares? Its new music from Tigapagi, count your blessings.
