Danis Sugiyanto. JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi

Danis Sugiyanto, a top composer from Surakarta, Central Java, never dreamed of becoming a musician. As a high school student, he aspired to be a member of the Indonesian Military (TNI).

Nonetheless, years of taking part in school art performances and his association with famous traditional and contemporary musicians, later prompted him to study at the city's Indonesian Arts College (STSI) instead of the military academy.

'Ever since I was a child I've been fond of gamelan and keroncong (Portuguese-tinged pop) music. Every day, dancers, musicians, gamelan players and shadow puppet masters would practice in my home. I grew accustomed to living in an artistic atmosphere,' said Danis.

His father, Sugiman, was a skilled Javanese drum player in the Ramayana dance-drama group at Prambanan Temple, Central Java. He would take Danis along with him to watch dance rehearsals and shows. While classical art exercises were underway in his house, little Danis also learned how to dance and sing poetry.

Sugiman himself taught Danis the basic technique of playing gamelan instruments when he was in primary school. Apart from technical matters, his father also nurtured the proper attitude that an artist should maintain.

'An artist should be prepared to keep learning to stay up-to-date with current developments. My father was a total classical artist. He beat drums as skillfully as he played other gamelan instruments,' noted the man born in Solo on March 2, 1971.

Despite his familiarity with gamelan, Danis studied music formally and more seriously as part of his extracurricular subjects in junior high. His first instructor was Katiman, an art teacher.

After junior high school, he studied keroncong music. Moreover, the area in which he lived at the time, Kampung Mangkuyudan, was where keroncong musicians would practice every evening or staged mini shows.

'Ibu Waldjinah (the keroncong diva) also resides in Mangkuyudan. It feels like something is missing in Mangkuyudan without keroncong,' the husband of dancer Lien Monika Widiasih said as he laughed.

While in high school, he joined Teater Golek, a theater group, not as a player but as a musical illustrator. His compositions received Best Musical Score awards numerous times.

Danis further demonstrated his talents following his acquaintance with gamelan maestro Rahayu Supanggah and experimental music exponent, the late I Wayan Sadra, two musicians who considerably influenced his works.

After graduating from STSI, Danis left Indonesia when he was appointed as a local staffer for the Indonesian Embassy in Santiago, Chile. He was tasked with introducing Indonesian culture and providing art training for three years.

'I got bored with my job as it was monotonous and tended to be formal. I would have lost my musical capacity if I remained there. So I decided to return home,' said the composer, who created the music for keroncong songwriter Anjar Any (1996) and Waldjinah (2008).

Upon returning from Chile, he enrolled in a postgraduate humanities program for the performing arts in the School of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Yogyakarta.

Apart from his creative activities, Danis has also been a frequent speaker at gamelan workshops. In 2001, he attended a workshop at the University of Taipei, Taiwan. He also took part in a workshop along with Theater Works Singapore in New York in 2011. At home, Danis is a classical art tutor for the Art Appreciation Training Program at Muhamadiyah University in Surakarta. He was also previously an art teacher at the Child Reform Institution of Central Java and Yogyakarta.

With Orkes Keroncong Swastika, an orchestra he set up with several musicians in Solo, Danis has often conducted keroncong music experiments. In 2011, he appeared with Swastika at the Knejpe Festival, Helsingor, Denmark.

In the art of gamelan, Danis has produced a phenomenal composition entitled 'Bahana Gita Persada' (The Song of the Fatherland). Combining various types  of music, this creation involved 75 players  to present the beautiful tones of gamelan, keroncong, and western string instruments. In collaboration with composer Dedek Wahyudi, this composition opened the Indonesian Cultural Park Meeting in 2011.

'Diversity was the inspiration of 'Bahana Gita Persada'. By blending traditional and western musical genres, a new variety emerged without losing the original colors of its sources,' said Danis, now preparing a Drupadi concert with Rahayu Supanggah to be staged at Teater Jakarta next February.

 'All my musical compositions are mostly based on gamelan and keroncong. Any other musical colors usually come from the development of the two,' explained Danis, who in September took part in the Spoleto Festival, Italy, with Garasi Benowo, a group under Rahayu Supanggah.

Keroncong and gamelan have taken Danis around the world and earned him recognition. His musical pieces have also been incorporated in various major art events in Indonesia. While lecturing at his alma mater, he continues to engage in the creative process involving three different worlds: keroncong, gamelan, and contemporary music.

'My concept of music creation has always been growing and continues to grow.

The creation of music should be a vibrant process so as to produce endlessly enjoyable works,' added the father of two, who once learned experimental music at the Sono Sini Ensemble.

Popular

Lawmakers urge modesty for regional leaders after Samarinda unrest

Inflation won’t stop at pump

Forecast for strong El Nino fans worries about global crops as Iran war bites