History put gold ink on June 1990 when arguably the biggest supergroup in Indonesian music industry took our national Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta in their hands.

A crowd of more than 100,000 danced, sang and positively worshipped Kantata – still using Takwa in their name at that time.
Kantata Barock’s (from left) Sawung Jabo, Setiawan Djodi and Iwan Fals rock the Bung Karno stadium during their long-a waited concert. Antara/Yudhi Mahatma

The show was based on the band’s debut album Kantata Takwa, which had been released a year earlier. With every purchase of the album, fans received an invitation to attend the mega show a year later.

The band, which you have probably heard of somewhere, consisted of top names in Indonesian music — Iwan Fals, Sawung Jabo, Jockie Suryoprayogo, poet Willybrordus Surendra (or WS Rendra) and businessman Setiawan Djody.

They were backed up by strings played by top-notch musicians, such as the late Embong Rahardjo, Innisisri, Nanoe, Budhi Haryono, Donny Fattah, Totok Tewel, Raidy Noor and Eet Sjahranie. All these were famous names in their own right in the rock circus.

The band went on to release a few other albums during a career spanning two decades. The last album was Kantata Revolvere. A hiatus followed after that. There were many reasons why; primarily, most of the band’s members were busy with their own lives at that time.

But after several years, the public managed to see them on stage again. A few months ago, they officially reunited with three of their original members remaining on the squad; Iwan Fals, Sawung Jabo and Setiawan Djody. Keyboard player Jockie Suryoprayogo did not participate in this reunion, while Rendra recently passed away.

At the time of the concert, no new album was announced but they had decided to use a new name: Kantata Barock. But a plan for a spectacular gig — at Gelora again, on Dec. 30, 2011 — was released to the public.

The concert itself was a massive gig where rock music finally met its destiny in a stadium packed with spectators from all across the country. Local talent, Kotak, opened the gig at 7 p.m. while 30 minutes later Kantata took the stage and started the magic.

The set was begun with a speech from Jabo, with Nocturno followed briefly. Of course, euphoria was in the air. Everybody was happy despite a sound adjustment made by Rudra, the band’s longtime sound engineer on the front house mixer.

“Brothers, how are you doing? We were here 21 years ago. Who came to that gig and is still here tonight?” said Setiawan Djody, who took the main role at center stage.

After a brave fight for life, he managed to stand strong on stage with his guitar.

He was flanked on his right by Iwan Fals, who was busy with his acoustic guitar and sets of percussion, something that don’t exist in his own solo performances. On his left, Sawung Jabo found his spot, which kept him occupied for hours that night.

Songs like “Partai Bonek” (Bonek Party) and “Balada Pengangguran” (Jobless’ Ballad) came, followed by the strong voices of a choir contributed by the fans. When new song “Megalomania” played, the gig’s tempo was a bit out positioned because of the crowd’s not knowing it. But then, it’s Kantata — a supergroup that can blow everyone’s mind with their beautiful atmospheric work on stage.

They have the perfect blend of good music, brilliant lyrics — most of them contributed by Rendra and Iwan Fals — and top-class theatrical interpretations in all elements. It’s not just music; it is actually way beyond that: a simple form of cultural celebration.

One of the most notable points of the night was a reinterpretation of “Bongkar” (Demolish) of Swami’s —Jabo and Iwan Fals’ biggest single. It was called “Barong! Aku Bento”. The song stole a few excerpts from “Bento” but was fresher and more contextual in terms of lyrics.

In another spot, Djody acknowledged the late Rendra: “Rendra is only dead in terms of his body. His spirit is still here with us all”. He’s right. Rendra’s words and philosophical wisdom are carried on by the band.

One surprise that night was when the band performed one of Iwan Fals’ most popular songs, “Mata Dewa” (God’s Eyes), with a new arrangement, and Djody shared the plate on the lead vocals with Iwan. It was performed after another track from their debut album, “Badut” (Clown).

There was no stop or break for the fans; this group of old dudes was still speeding through a splendid corridor performing their hits. Iwan Fals looked different that night. He seemed to be high on a mixture of emotional feeling, playing all the instruments he could get on hands.

“Twenty one years ago, we played here as well. I remember Mas Embong (Rahardjo), Mas Nanoe and Innisisri. I miss them so much. They’re here probably watching us all. Especially Innisisri; because of him, I’m now able to play these percussion sets. He taught me well back in the day. Then I also remember Mas Willy (WS Rendra),” he testified to the audience with emotional in his voice.

The gig went on until the other band members left Iwan Fals alone on stage with his acoustic guitar.

“I wrote this song originally based on Rendra’s idea of Indonesia as a maritime country. It was actually titled ‘Samudra’ (Ocean) but I don’t have the courage to carry on with that title because I don’t have as profound an understanding of the issue as Rendra had, so I changed it to ‘Ombak’ (Wave),” Iwan Fals said.

The party was left stranded and waiting. But then, Iwan Fals knew well how to break the ice.

“Ok, enough with the stories. If I tell you everything then I’ll forget that I need to sing for you,” he chuckled. Then “Ombak”, arguably Kantata’s best new composition, emanated from Iwan Fals’ throat.

The heat rose while the wind grew stronger. A few enthusiastic fans from the front line started to shout as the gig became wilder, but in a good way.

The end was approaching as the original version of “Bento” was played. Probably more than 50,000 people sang out the words when the refrain played. It was beautiful. But then, the explosion came when two of their legendary hits, “Hio” and “Kesaksian” (Testimony) were performed. The last song, “Kesaksian”, was their biggest hit and it was played in a very sacred way that night.

Every single person in the stadium sought their last drop of energy to sing along. A few could be seen crying but they seemed like they were having the biggest night of their lives. Well, not every band in this country has the ability to do that to their fans.

After more than 10 minutes, “Kesaksian” ended. It was also the end of the concert.

Djody left a goodbye note, “You guys are great. Thanks for keeping the concert in a good atmosphere and we’ll see you again just before the election [in 2014].”

It’s a promise and we all need to get ourselves ready for the next cultural pilgrimage with Kantata.

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