Iwan Fals - Music Everywhere, Surabaya, Indonesia, 2013

Yesterday, I posted a concert with a full band by Indonesian singer-songwriter Iwan Fals. I mentioned that might not be the best album for first-time listeners, because it didn't contain many of his best known songs. That got me thinking what would be the best introduction to his music. That would be a collection of his best studio recordings. I'll have to put that together at a future date. But in the meanwhile, this is also pretty good.

First off, once again be warned that Iwan Fals is an Indonesian who sings entirely in Indonesian. So if you don't understand that language, you may not fully appreciate this. He's known as the "Bob Dylan of Indonesia" for his eloquent and often political lyrics, so you'll miss all of that if you don't speak the language. But I think he's very talented with melody and song construction as well. I believe he gets ignored by the "world music" crowd because most of his music has a Western music sound to it, just in a different language. 

Anyway, this is a short but good concert. It was recorded for the Indonesian TV show "Music Everywhere." And no, I don't know why that show has an English title. (That's very uncommon in Indonesia.) This concert was performed without an audience, with a small band. Again, it's not chock-a-block with hits, but it's all good, catchy songs. It may give you a general idea what he's about.

This album is 43 minutes long.

01 Ya atau Tidak (Iwan Fals)
02 Satu-Satu (Iwan Fals)
03 Nona (Iwan Fals)
04 Sore Tugu Pancoran (Iwan Fals)
05 Raya (Iwan Fals)
06 Negeri Kaya (Iwan Fals)
07 Surat Buat Wakil Rakyat (Iwan Fals)
08 Oemar Bakrie (Iwan Fals)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15291756/IwanF_2013_MuscEverywhreSurabyaIndnesia__2013_atse.zip.html

The cover photo is a screenshot I took from this concert, which can be found on YouTube. Oh, and I added an Indonesian batik pattern to the text.

Iwan Fals - Coretan Musafir, Depok, Indonesia, 12-30-2020

So far, I've posted five albums by Indonesian musical legend Iwan Fals. I'm going to keep posting some more in the hopes that there are at least a few people out there who dig it. But be warned that he's an Indonesian who naturally writes and sings all his songs in the Indonesian language. So if you can't speak that, you might not fully appreciate it. Personally though, I lived in Indonesia a couple of years in the 1990s, and I really enjoyed his music even before I understood the language.

The previous five albums I posted were a series of acoustic home recordings. This also is a home concert with no audience, done during the height of the Covid pandemic. However, this one is different from the others because it was done with a band, and a particularly large band at that. You can see what I mean from the album cover.

So, if you're looking for an introduction to Fals' music, this is probably a better place to start than those five acoustic albums I posted, since he usually plays with a band. However, keep in mind that this isn't anything like a collection of his greatest hits. He's been called the "Bob Dylan of Indonesia," and like Dylan, he has such a deep discography that one would be hard pressed to present all the "greatest hits" in one concert. But he seemingly avoided most of his best known songs. This is more like the songs he felt like doing at the time that worked well with that particular group of backing musicians.

The concert starts in semi-acoustic mode, and then generally gets more lively as it goes on. By the way, this is unreleased, but was posted on the official YouTube channel for Iwan Fals. Oh, and one other thing. The title he gave for this concert, "Coretan Musafir," roughly translates into English as "a traveler's notes" or "a traveler's scribbles."

I've created two versions. The first version is an hour and 37 minutes long. It contains all the talking between songs, the same as the actual concert. But if you don't speak Indonesian, that talking would be a meaningless waste of time for you. So I've created a second version, with just the music, that's an hour and 22 minutes long.

Here's the complete version, that includes the talking:

01 Belum Ada Judul (Iwan Fals)
02 talk (Iwan Fals)
03 Ujung Aspal Pondok Gede (Iwan Fals)
04 talk (Iwan Fals)
05 Coretan Dinding (Iwan Fals)
06 Orang Pinggiran (Iwan Fals)
07 talk (Iwan Fals)
08 Lancar (Iwan Fals)
09 talk (Iwan Fals)
10 Ada Lagi Orang Yang Mati (Iwan Fals)
11 talk (Iwan Fals)
12 Rindu Tebal (Iwan Fals)
13 Si Bujang (Iwan Fals)
14 talk (Iwan Fals)
15 Oemar Bakrie (Iwan Fals)
16 talk (Iwan Fals)
17 Musafir Anthem (Iwan Fals)
18 talk (Iwan Fals)
19 Kuda Lumping (Iwan Fals)
20 Doa (Iwan Fals)
21 Bagimu (Iwan Fals)

The download link for this version has been split in two.

Part 1:

https://www.upload.ee/files/16068290/IwanF_2020_CoretnMusafirDepokIndnesia__12-30-2020_Pt1_atse.zip.html

Part 2:

https://www.upload.ee/files/16068329/IwanF_2020_CoretnMusafirDepokIndnesia__12-30-2020_Pt2_atse.zip.html

And here's the version with the music only:

01 Belum Ada Judul (Iwan Fals)
02 Ujung Aspal Pondok Gede (Iwan Fals)
03 Coretan Dinding (Iwan Fals)
04 Orang Pinggiran (Iwan Fals)
05 Lancar (Iwan Fals)
06 Ada Lagi Orang Yang Mati (Iwan Fals)
07 Rindu Tebal (Iwan Fals)
08 Si Bujang (Iwan Fals)
09 Oemar Bakrie (Iwan Fals)
10 Musafir Anthem (Iwan Fals)
11 Kuda Lumping (Iwan Fals)
12 Doa (Iwan Fals)
13 Bagimu (Iwan Fals)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15288357/IwanF_2020_CoretnMusafirDepokIndnesia__12-30-2020_MusicOnly_atse.zip.html

The cover is a screenshot of the video of this concert that I found on YouTube. Iwan Fals is pretty hard to see in this big group picture, but he's the guy in the upper right corner holding an acoustic guitar.

Iwan Fals - Ngalor Ngidulnya, Volume 5 (2021)

I consider Iwan Fals one of my favorite musicians of all time. Unfortunately, he only sings in Indonesian, and his lyrics are a big part of his appeal. He's been called the "Bob Dylan of Indonesia." So this album only has a limited appeal, but hopefully those who enjoy it will really enjoy it.

In 2020 and 2021, like many musicians during the height of the Covid pandemic, Fals released videos of himself playing songs in solo acoustic format on YouTube. This is the fifth and last album in that series of videos, which he called "Ngalor Ngidulnya," an idiom which roughly means "my north to south," or "my here to there." I don't know why he stopped when he did exactly, but this goes to the end of the series. He's written so many great songs over the years that he could have gone on much longer.

This album is an hour and four minutes long.

01 Berapa (Iwan Fals)
02 Cik (Iwan Fals)
03 Damai Kami Sepanjang Hari (Iwan Fals)
04 Gali Gongli (Iwan Fals)
05 Aku Sayang Kamu (Iwan Fals)
06 Jangan Tutup Dirimu (Iwan Fals)
07 Kota (Iwan Fals)
08 Selamat Tinggal Malam (Iwan Fals)
09 Timur Tengah I (Iwan Fals)
10 Timur Tengah II [Bakar] (Iwan Fals)
11 Ya Hui Ha He Ha (Iwan Fals)
12 14-4-'84 (Iwan Fals)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16064370/IwanF_2021_NgalrNgidlnyaVolum5_atse.zip.html

As with the other albums in this series, the cover photo is a screenshot taken from one of his YouTube videos recorded here.

Iwan Fals - Ngalor Ngidulnya, Volume 4 (2021)

Indonesian singer-songwriter Iwan Fals is one of my favorite musicians, so I'm going to keep posting some of his music here, even though there may only be a handful of people who appreciate it. It really helps to be able to speak Indonesian to understand his excellent lyrics (something I kind of used to be able to speak... now, not so much).

This is the fourth of five volumes of home recordings Fals posted on YouTube during the peak months of the Covid pandemic. Like all the music in this series, it's just him and his acoustic guitar, singing only in Indonesian, drawing from his deep catalog of original material. If you liked the previous ones, you'll like this one too.

This album is one hour long. 

01 Rindu Tebal (Iwan Fals)
02 Maaf Cintaku (Iwan Fals)
03 Sugali (Iwan Fals)
04 Siang Seberang Istana (Iwan Fals)
05 Serdadu (Iwan Fals)
06 Nyanyianmu (Iwan Fals)
07 Sore Tugu Pancoran (Iwan Fals)
08 Aku Antarkan (Iwan Fals)
09 Ujung Aspal Pondok Gede (Iwan Fals)
10 Intermezo (Iwan Fals)
11 Tince Sukarti Binti Machmud (Iwan Fals)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15218713/IwanF_2021_NgalrNgidlnyaVolum4_atse.zip.html

As with the other volumes in this series, the cover image is a screenshot taken from a YouTube video of one of the songs here.

Iwan Fals - Ngalor Ngidulnya, Volume 3 (2021)

Here's the third volume in my series of Iwan Fals acoustic home concerts. Who is Iwan Fals? In case you missed my earlier posts on him, he's an Indonesian rock star, often called the "Bob Dylan of Indonesia." In my opinion, he's an all-time musical giant, and so far ahead of all other Indonesian musicians that he's in a league of his own.

Unfortunately, his chief strength is probably his lyrics, which address all sorts of political and social topics in addition to the usual romantic topics. If you don't understand Indonesian, that will slip by you, because all the songs here are in Indonesian. As a result, I suspect very few people will download this, but hopefully the few who do will dig it.

As with the other albums in this series, he played some of his best known songs from his vast back catalog, with a focus on the ones that work well in a solo acoustic context.

As with all the volumes in this series, I took all the performances from videos that Fals posted on YouTube. 

This album is an hour and two minutes long.

01 Asmara Tak Secengeng Yang Aku Kira (Iwan Fals)
02 Siang Pelataran S. D. Sebuah Kampung (Iwan Fals)
03 Berikan Pijar Matahari (Iwan Fals)
04 Semoga Kau Tak Tula Tuhan (Iwan Fals)
05 Puing II (Iwan Fals)
06 Jendela Kelas I (Iwan Fals)
07 Celoteh Camar Tolol dan Cemar (Iwan Fals)
08 Nak (Iwan Fals)
09 Adzan Subuh Masih di Telinga (Iwan Fals)
10 Berkacalah Jakarta (Iwan Fals)
11 Tolong Dengar Tuhan (Iwan Fals)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16064371/IwanF_2021_NgalrNgidlnyaVolum3_atse.zip.html

Like the other albums in this series, the cover photo is a screenshot taken from one of the YouTube videos of the performances here.

Iwan Fals - Ngalor Ngidulnya, Volume 2 (2021)

A few days ago, I posted Volume 1 in this series. I have several more to go, so here's the next one already.

If you don't know who Iwan Fals is, beware that he's an Indonesian musician who sings all his songs in the Indonesian language. So if that's not your cup of tea, you should skip this.

My Volume 1 post explained more about who he is and why I'm posting his music. Assuming you know all that, this is a reminder that this series is basically his version of the home concert recordings lots of musicians have done during the pandemic lockdown phase. He has regularly done one song a week, playing them in solo acoustic format (sometimes with harmonica). All these performances are unreleased, unless you count him posting them for free on YouTube.

It seems when he started this series, he tended to do a lot of his most famous songs early on (famous in Indonesia, that is). With this being Volume 2, these generally are all still well known songs. It's too bad if you can't speak Indonesian, because his lyrics are excellent. Although he does lots of romantic songs, he also does many social commentary ones. Take the first song here for instance, "Isi Rimba Tak Ada Tempat Berpijak Lagi." This song laments the cutting of the tropical forests in Indonesia. But the song came out in 1982, putting him ahead of most public consciousness on this issue, especially for Indonesia.

This album is 54 minutes long.

01 Isi Rimba Tak Ada Tempat Berpijak Lagi (Iwan Fals)
02 Sapuku Sapuku Sapu Sapu (Iwan Fals)
03 Tarmijah dan Problemnya (Iwan Fals)
04 Tak Bitu Lagi Lautku (Iwan Fals)
05 Ambisi (Iwan Fals)
06 Antara Aku, Kau dan Bekas Pacarmu (Iwan Fals)
07 Galang Rambu Anarki (Iwan Fals)
08 Obat Awet Muda (Iwan Fals)
09 Sumbang (Iwan Fals)
10 Kereta Tiba Pukul Berapa (Iwan Fals)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16064272/IwanF_2021_NgalrNgidlnyaVolum2_atse.zip.html

As with Volume 1, the cover art was made from taking a screenshot from one of the YouTube videos of these exact performances.

Iwan Fals - Ngalor Ngidulnya, Volume 1 (2020-2021)

I have to warn that this album isn't for everyone. Do you speak Indonesian? If so, you'll hopefully love this. But if not, you may well skip it, since all the songs here are sung in the Indonesian language. I figure very few people will download this, but who knows, maybe word will get out to some Indonesian groups and it'll find an audience.

Have you ever heard of Iwan Fals? Unless you've spent time in Indonesia, I highly doubt it. But I lived there for two years at one point, and in my opinion he's heads and shoulders above all other Indonesian musicians, a musical genius. He's often referred to as the "Bob Dylan of Indonesia," and with good reason. His music career started in the late 1970s, and he's still going strong today (as I write this in 2022), with a new album released in 2021. 

He's particularly known for the quality of his lyrics, and he's served as kind of the social conscience of the country, with many protest songs about poverty, injustice, corruption, and so on. (As an example, the second song here, "Ambulans Zig Zag," is a critique about the poor state of Indonesia's public health care system.) In 2002, Time Magazine listed him as a "Great Asian Hero." Also in 2005, the Asian version of Time Magazine published their opinion of the top 100 Indonesian songs of all time. Fals had the number one song, as well as the most songs on the list. Here's his Wikipedia entry if you want to know more about him:

Iwan Fals - Wikipedia 

If you've never heard his music before, this probably isn't the best place to start. These are all unreleased versions of songs he started posting on YouTube during the Covid pandemic, just as many musicians have done in other countries. They're all in a solo acoustic format. As such, there's more of a focus on the lyrics. Probably a better place to start for someone who doesn't speak the language is the full band stuff. which has often been rocking and catchy. I could try to put together an introductory best of collection of that kind of material, if people are interested.

Fals got started doing these acoustic versions in late 2020, typically doing one song a week. As I write this in January 2022, he's still going with it. So I have four more albums in this series after this one, hopefully with more to come. They're all original songs taken from his many albums. But the original versions were typically done with a band, and these acoustic versions are often quite different.

The YouTube videos these songs are taken from are usually quite long, typically ten to twenty minutes long. Most of that time t is him talking into the camera (in Indonesian), with one song performed at some point in there. So I've gone to some effort to extract only the songs and leave all the rest behind. The talking doesn't have much replay value, and has zero value if you don't speak Indonesian.

The sound quality is generally pretty good, but it's variable. Even though all the songs were recorded inside his house, it seems he's varied his recording setup and his location slightly from time to time, which has sometimes changed the sound quality. There are a few songs in this long series that I didn't include because the sound quality wasn't as good as the others. But overall, this sounds about the same as other 2020 home recordings I've posted at this blog.

This album is 50 minutes long. Most of the songs from this album are better known ones from the early part of his long career. Oh, and by the way, the name of this series, "Ngalor Ngidulnya" is the name Fals has given to all these videos, and roughly means "hanging out" in Indonesian.

01 Bangunlah Putra Putri Pertiwi (Iwan Fals)
02 Ambulans Zig Zag (Iwan Fals)
03 Puing (Iwan Fals)
04 Sarjana Muda (Iwan Fals)
05 Doa Pengobral Dosa (Iwan Fals)
06 Yang Terlupakan (Iwan Fals)
07 Oemar Bakrie (Iwan Fals)
08 22 Januari (Iwan Fals)
09 Bung Hatta (Iwan Fals)
10 Opiniku (Iwan Fals)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16064265/IwanF_2020-2021_NgalrNgidlnyaVolum1_atse.zip.html

For the album cover, I took a screenshot from one of the YouTube videos of the songs featured here. I think it was "Doa Pengobral Dosa."