Iwan Fals
| Iwan Fals | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Virgiawan Listanto |
| Born |
September 3, 1961 Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Origin | Jakarta |
| Genres | Dangdut, koplo, Pongdut, folk music, country, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Associated acts | Kantata Takwa, Swami |
Iwan Fals (born Virgiawan Listanto; 3 September 1961 in Jakarta) is an Indonesian singer–songwriter. In 2002, Time magazine named him as a Great Asian Hero.
Iwan was born Virgiawan Listanto in Jakarta, on 3 September 1961 to Harsoyo, a soldier, and Lies Suudijah. He studied at SMP 5 Bandung and SMAK BPK Bandung. He continued his studies at Sekolah Tinggi Publisistik and then Jakarta Arts Institute. At the age of thirteen, he appeared as a street musician in wedding ceremonies and other social events.
While he was 18, Iwan Fals, Toto Gunarto, Helmi, Bambang Bule and Kakek Jagonk formed a group named Amburadul. The group released the album 'Perjalanan' in 1979, which was not successful, but was re-released with the added track '3 Bulan' as '3 Bulan' (1980) in 1980. The group disbanded and played no further role in Iwan Fals' career.
As part of his early career, Iwan Fals also recorded some comedy albums, after winning a comedy country singing contest. He sang of comic situations and themes, and his first release was on 'Canda Dalam Nada' (the A-side featured five songs by Iwan: Generasi Frustrasi, Dongeng Tidur, Imitasi, Kisah Sepeda Motorku (aka. Kopral), and Joni Kesiangan while the B-side consisted of songs by Tom Slepe and Pusaka Jaya). The songs Dongeng Tidur, Joni Kesiangan and Kisah Sepeda Motorku were released, with one new song, Ambulance Zig Zag, on the Iwan Fals mini-album Canda Dalam Nada, while Generasi Frustrasi and Imitasi were also included on the 'Yang Muda Yang Bercanda II' multiartist comedy compilation.
During this time, Iwan supported himself by busking.
1981 saw Iwan Fals' breakthrough, when he signed to Musica Studio to record his first solo album, Sarjana Muda. This album shows Iwan Fals' signature country music style, with the protest song "Guru Oemar Bakrie", which talks of how a teacher is poorly paid but still responsible for educating future well-paid and successful people. 'Guru Oemar Bakrie' became very well known and popular in Indonesia, and helped established Iwan's name. The album also contains several ballads. It benefited from considerable investment by Musica Studio, who used high-quality musicians and producer for the album.
1982's Opini, also on Musica Studio, cemented Iwan's reputation as a protest singer, but also as a balladeer. 'Galang Rambu Anarki', for his newborn son, combined both elements, commenting on both the happy event of the birth of his first child, but also commenting on rising prices, saying that perhaps his child would be malnourished if they could not afford to buy milk.
...
Wikipedia