Words Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak Photos Seto Wardhana

There are rock stars, and then there are legends. After 43 years and becoming the benchmark of the rock music scene and stage performance in Indonesia, God Bless is far from retirement.

In fact, the band returned stronger this year with an album entitled Cermin 7 (Mirror 7) — more proof that progressive rock doesn’t age.

Launched earlier this month, the album was a remastering with a new arrangement of its second album Cermin, the magnum opus of the group, which upon its first release in 1980 didn’t do well in sales but was appreciated by fans as being a strong representation of the best the group had to offer, and went on to become one of its most-sought albums.

 “We’ve carried out a survey and most fans requested us to reproduce Cermin. The master album was no longer available,” said bassist Donny Fattah Gagola.

The number “7” added to the title of the album represents the journey of God Bless. It’s the group’s seventh album launched seven years after the previous one on its 43rd anniversary, the year when frontman and group icon Ahmad Albar turned 70.

“They are all coincidences, we didn’t plan this. But if you think about it, this album is meaningful for us,” said Ahmad at the album launch at Indosiar TV station.

With the latest formation of Ahmad as vocalist, Donny on bass, Ian Antono on guitar, Abadi Soesman on keyboard and the youngest member Fajar Satritama on drums, the group worked on the album for three months since mid-year. The recording and mixing took place in Jakarta, while the mastering work was done in Australia.

The album consists of new arrangements of nine songs from the old album, plus three new songs: “Damai” (Peace); “Kukuh” (Resilient) and “Bukan Mimpi Bukan Ilusi” (Not a Dream nor Illusion).

“Damai” was chosen as the first track on the album that expressed hope for a peaceful Indonesia amid the current political and religious tension.

The lyrics were written by Teguh Esha, the author of Ali Topan Anak Jalanan (Ali Topan the Street Fighter), while the music was created by Donny.

“The song sends our message for a better Indonesia. We hope it comes across,” said Donny.

Poetic

The use of narrative lyrics written by non-personnel was a distinctive feature of Cermin that was carried over to the remastered album. “Selamat Pagi Indonesia” (Good Morning, Indonesia) and “Balada Sejuta Wajah” (The Ballads of Million Faces) were written by Kompas music journalist Theodore KS, while lyricist Dedy Ismanto lent his works in “Tuan Tanah” (Landlord), “Sodom Gomorah” (Sodom and Gomorra) and “Insan Sesat” (Lost Soul).

The old songs were reenergized to give them a fresh sound that reverberates the new music of today.

“There are many good songs in Cermin that were originally produced using simple technology,” said Ian, who was responsible for arranging the music.

“I added funky music to match the music taste of younger people.”

When the group recorded Cermin, the songs were recorded using analog devices without using the metronome.

Ian said they had to shorten some of the band’s old songs to fit the new album. The 12-minute “Anak Adam” (The Children of Adam) was cut to eight minutes — still twice as long as a regular song.

Fajar, previously known as the drummer of hard rock band Edane, largely contributed to the album with his powerful beats on the snare.

For the album, God Bless also collaborated with the percussionist of music group Debu.

“They bring new colors to our music and I hope it will be well accepted by our new listeners,” said Ahmad.

New blood

God Bless was established in 1973, upon the return of Ahmad from the Netherlands where he started a career as a rock vocalist. He invited Ludwig Lemans to Jakarta to be the guitarist of the new band he founded with Jockie Soerjoprajogo (keyboard), Fuad Hassan (drum) and Donny.

First known as Crazy Wheel, the group changed its name, inspired by a greeting card it received at the turn of the year, according to Ahmad.

“We just thought it was a good name for the band,” he said.

They debuted the new name during a concert at the Taman Ismail Marzuki art and cultural center on May 5, 1973, and gained popularity at the now-defunct open-air concert Summer 28 in August of the same year.

God Bless opened the concert for Brit rock band Deep Purple in 1975 and became a solid rock band with the release of debut album Huma di Atas Bukit (Rice Field on a Hill) in 1976.

The formation of the band has changed several times in the course of 43 years, but the band still exists and performs every year. A performance it recorded to be aired by Indosiar in January showed that the band still ruled the stage. Addressing younger musicians, Ahmad shared the secret to the group sticking together. “Don’t ever lose your passion for music. Keep on playing and making music, there is always a way to let it out if you seek hard enough.”

That’s also the reason the group only focused on the musicality of its album, not worrying about sales.

“We were never record musicians. We exist on the stage,” said Ahmad.

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