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"Robert Johnson" of Indonesia's Orkes Melayu music finally comes out from the shadows
After months of woodshedding, the band gathered enough materials that they would use to join a recording session at Irama Records studio in Menteng, Central Jakarta, supervised and engineered directly by founder of the legendary label, Suyoso "Mas Yos" Karsono.
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In this undated photo, Orkes Melayu singer and composer M. Mashabi performs for an audience. (The Jakarta Post/Courtesy of Abu Bakar Mashabi)
I
n the early 1960s, two of the best talents in the Indonesian music scene, songwriter and band leader Adi Karso, known for his hits "Papaya Cha-Cha-Cha" and "Balonku" and Gambus musician Munif Bahasuan, the son of a rich businessman from Tanah Abang, Jakarta, teamed up to form Orkes Melayu (Malay Orchestra) Kelana Ria.
After months of woodshedding, the band gathered enough materials that they would use to join a recording session at Irama Records studio in Menteng, Central Jakarta, supervised and engineered directly by founder of the legendary label, Suyoso "Mas Yos" Karsono.
Between 1961 and 1964, Kelana Ria recorded 48 songs that were spread over four records, Kafilah, Yam El Shamah, Ya Mahmud and Ya Hamidah.
The four recordings changed the trajectory of Indonesian popular music.
Songs like "Termenung, " written and performed by Ellya Khadam became an instant hit and were staples on the playlist of state-run broadcaster RRI. Many deem "Termenung" as the first proper Orkes Melayu hit.
Another song, "Ratapan Anak Tiri," became so popular that a film producer decided to make a movie based on its lyrics. The film became a blockbuster in the early 1970s.
The album also turned Munif – who composed and sung a number of songs on the four records, including two with Arabic lyrics – into a superstar and his name will forever be associated with the mix of Arabic, Indian and Latin music that Kelana Ria popularized.
