There is no such thing as “too old” when it comes to music. Such is the spirit that Diskoria — a DJ duo consisting of 46-year-old Fadli Aat and 40-year-old Merdi Simanjuntak — seemed to represent after bringing home two AMI Awards on Nov. 15 for "C.H.R.I.S.Y.E.",  a disco anthem whose sound and lyrics hark back to the 1970s. The members of Diskoria did not hold back during their in-person conversation with The Jakarta Post on Nov. 20.

 

"This is a movement. What we have been doing since day one is a movement," declared Fadli with confidence.

 

Dancing kings

Fadli and Merdi had been friends before the birth of Diskoria. Both of them had been active as DJs in local nightclubs while maintaining their respective day jobs: Fadli worked at a hospital whereas Merdi worked as the operations manager for Aksara Bookstore in Kemang, South Jakarta. They teamed up for the first time in January 2015 — both were asked to DJ at a party organized by musical collective Suara Disko (disco voice). "They wanted to throw a party, but the whole setlist had to be Indonesian songs," Fadli reminisced.

Performing as a DJ duo proved to be an unexpected success due to — as Fadli described it — their "powerful chemistry". Moreover, they were blown away by the crowd's response during their combined set.

"When we performed separately, we never experienced that massive euphoria. The crowd went so far as to stage dive at that party! Afterward, Fadli and I had a conversation, like, 'I think this format works!'" said Merdi. Soon enough, the two DJs decided to form Diskoria.

Both DJs had a lot in common with one another, particularly in how they love collecting Indonesian music memorabilia, and their shared passion for old-school disco music. Digging deeper, they also shared the same "restlessness". Turns out, there used to be a common rule: DJs must never play Indonesian music in the club — a dogma that had persisted "since [the early 90s] until we were active as DJs in the 2010s," said Merdi.

He continued, "There was this stigma that Indonesian songs were unsophisticated. They were considered either too common or too outdated [for nightclubs]."

Once Diskoria hit the ground running, its focus was singular: to introduce Indonesian songs with a disco twist to local nightclubs. Inspired by "punk philosophies" and independent musicians, Fadli offered his take on their bold venture: "If you want to create something, just create it. You don't need to think about whether people will accept it or not. Just go ahead and create. We don't care at all whether anyone will jump on our wagon or not."

Validation: Diskoria won two AMI Awards this year for their disco anthem C.H.R.I.S.Y.E. which featured Laleilmanino and Eva Celia (Photo Courtesy of Suara Disko). (Personal collection/Photo Courtesy of Suara Disko)

The risk that Diskoria took seemed to pay off. To their delight, local nightclubs around Jakarta warmly embraced their disco setlist, followed by a similarly warm reception from the clubgoers. In hindsight, Merdi believes that disco music offers something that most EDM bangers do not: "[With disco music] you can dance, but, at the same time, you can also sing along."

One of their most memorable nightclub gigs as Diskoria was when they were asked to perform at Musro Club & Lounge at Hotel Borobudur Jakarta for the 2018 new year celebration — a discotheque Fadli said was "probably the only club from the 80s that is still standing".

Turn the beat around

After nearly five years of playing the nightclub circuit, Diskoria decided it was time to "take steps further" by tapping into the pop music scene. Fadli cheekily quipped that it was important to "watch out for the clones": fellow nightclub DJs who might try to imitate their disco styling.

"We felt like we had to come up with our own stuff; something that truly belonged to us. There is a possibility that those 'polygons' will tap in, as well," he said, laughing.

Contrary to what the public might think, they both agreed, there was a stark difference between being a DJ and being a songwriter-producer. For the first time, the duo had to shift their perspective from what might cater to clubgoers to what might cater to pop music listeners. Additionally, age became a factor to consider as well: Merdi and Fadli were already in their late thirties and early forties respectively when they decided to release their debut single.

To complement what they were lacking, the DJ duo decided to work with established pop music producers, believing that instead of forcing themselves to craft pop hooks, they should position themselves as "the 'director', providing [disco] references, sound [direction] and such".  

With Suara Disko as its label, Diskoria released its first original disco bop "Balada Insan Muda" (The Ballad of the Young) on Valentine's Day 2019. The song was produced by Laleilmanino, a producing trio who have worked with Indonesian pop artists such as Marion Jola, Bunga Citra Lestari and JKT48. Unfortunately, their debut single did not catapult into a breakout success. More than two years since its digital release, "Balada Insan Muda" has barely cracked 5 million plays on Spotify.

Its follow-up single, however, managed to draw more attention. In March 2020, Diskoria released another disco track titled "Serenata Jiwa Lara" (Serenading Sad Souls), which was produced by Laleilmanino and featured Indonesian actress Dian Sastrowardoyo. Diskoria's choice for the latter was driven by the actress' "iconic" status. "Who hasn't watched Ada Apa Dengan Cinta? (What's Up With Love)?" Fadli rhetorized. "Serenata Jiwa Lara" soon drew more than 15 million plays on Spotify, making it Diskoria's first streaming hit.

Dian Sastrowardoyo shared how her collaboration with Diskoria was "an exciting new experience".

"Diskoria's music is unique and original and I enjoyed every step of the process. I'm not a professional singer — nor do I wish to be one — and this collaboration was definitely beyond my comfort zone, but they gave me the conviction and the support and I learned a lot from this collaboration," the actress elaborated.

Fly, Chrisye, fly

Discovering how unexpected featured artists can "turn heads”, Diskoria decided to apply a similar "element of surprise" to their future singles. In October 2020, Diskoria released "Pelangi Cinta" (Love Rainbow) which featured Afifah Yusuf, the daughter of Indonesian kroncong singer Hetty Koes Endang. Two months later, Diskoria collaborated with Indonesian actor Joe Taslim and Reality Club vocalist Fathia Izzati on another original disco anthem "Simfoni Rindu" (Yearning Symphony).

When 2021 came along, Diskoria gave birth to its biggest hit yet: "C.H.R.I.S.Y.E.", featuring its frequent collaborator Laleilmanino and jazz singer-songwriter Eva Celia. An ode to the late Indonesian progressive pop singer-songwriter Chrisye, the disco anthem became one of the biggest releases of the year, drawing more than 31 million plays on Spotify alone with the accompanying music video drawing more than 18 million views on YouTube. To Diskoria's surprise, "C.H.R.I.S.Y.E." also earned the duo its first AMI Awards for Best Collaborative Production and Producer of the Year.

Success: Diskoria talked about the success they have experienced in the past few years .(Photo Courtesy of Felix Martua) (JP/Felix Martua)

In hindsight, Fadli already knew that "C.H.R.I.S.Y.E." would be a goldmine.

"When that song was finished, we already had this thought that this song would end up an evergreen. The hook was impeccable and before the Spotify stuff and the AMI stuff and such, we could already feel the evergreen factor because we never got bored playing that song."

From Merdi's perspective, the song's accolades and popularity aside, he wishes for "C.H.R.I.S.Y.E." to not only be a disco anthem, but also a new club anthem.

Diskoria's latest single "Yth: NAIF" — which was released digitally on Oct. 22 — served as the pair's "most personal" project as the song was dedicated to one of their musical heroes: Indonesian rock band Naif, who announced their disbandment in May. The song featured jazz-pop singer Ardhito Pramono, experimental pop singer-songwriter Isyana Sarasvati, and the rock's fanbase community KawaNAIF. "For us, Naif is still intact — all four of them," said Merdi.

Ardhito Pramono touched on the "accomplishment" of working with Diskoria on the track. "I'm beyond grateful for that, especially considering how the song is dedicated to the honorable Naif," he added.

Stayin' alive

Diskoria concurs that being DJs who have won industry accolades such as AMI Awards is, for lack of a better word, "weird".

"We are in the middle," said Merdi. "We were once nominated at the Paranoia Awards [annual award ceremony for DJs], but we didn't bring home the trophy because we were considered too pop. On the other hand, when we entered the pop music scene, we were considered club DJs. We are in the grey area here, so that's why when we won — even just one trophy — it felt like validation."