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Beyond ‘Sisir Tanah’: Folk musician Bagus Dwi Danto moves on from his popular moniker
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Totally solo: Under his own name, Bagus Dwi Danto arranged and embarked on this tour by himself, without any crew members or managers. (Ivan Darski) (JP/Ivan Darski)
E
nding a decade-long journey as Sisir Tanah, Bagus Dwi Danto writes a personal album chronicling his pandemic struggles, using his own name.
Bagus Dwi Danto is currently on a break between touring his album Kudu, released only a month ago and the first under his own name. East Java was the first stop on his Kudu Wani Tour 2021.
“I have been living as a nomad for more than a year, from one city to another. For an artist like me, it's true that life is connected between one stage and another. Sounds tiring, you say? No doubt it is," he said as The Jakarta Post met him at Gubeng Station in Surabaya on Oct. 8.
Before releasing music under his birth name, 43-year-old Danto -- the name he goes by -- was more familiarly known as Sisir Tanah (Earth Comb). Armed with an acoustic guitar and a warm baritone voice that is sometimes reminiscent of someone reciting a prayer, Danto's music represents the plights of marginalized communities, such as villagers defending their living space from developers. He was an activist through songs and action.
Danto was a vocal presence at the Yogyakarta #ReformasiDikorupsi demonstration in 2020, where protesters spoke out against the proposed Job Creation Law. One of his newer songs, "Lagu Bebal" (roughly "Stupidly-Hard Headed Song"), became the song sung by women workers of Rembang regency in Central Java who were protesting for their worker rights against a cement company they worked at. "Konservasi Konflik" (Conflict Conservation) sees Danto singing about the issue of corruption within the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in 2018. And "Lagu Hidup" (Song about Life) became the fight song of the Kulon Progo residents of Yogyakarta, who demonstrated against the building of the New Yogyakarta International Airport (NYIA) in 2017, which they saw as taking away their land.
New era
Toward the end of 2020, Danto decided to stop using the name Sisir Tanah, a moniker he had used for a decade and that had brought him popularity as a folk musician. For him, 10 years has been too long. He wanted to write something more about his own plights, particularly during the pandemic.
