Talking about Chaseiro means talking about a legendary harmony vocal group that always stands as one of the milestones in Indonesian music history. It’s been a long journey with many ups and downs. Still no matter what, they are never forgotten. Their long time fans still love them, still faithfully stand beside them over the years. Some of their songs remain ageless. We still sing their songs now and then, we still hear their songs on the radios and that’s no wonder, since the ear-catchy melodious composition, terrific vocal harmony and smart lyrics served in wide range of rainbow-like genre crossover have been their strength from the beginning.
Let’s go back in time 32 years ago, Saturday, May 6, 1978. It was the day when a group of young college students from Universitas Indonesia (UI) made an important start by winning the vocal group competition held by Amigos Radio. It was the day when they started to proclaim themselves as a unit, it’s the beginning of a journey for a long time to come, it was the day when Chaseiro was officially born.
A few months later they made another memorable appearance. It was at the very first Jazz Goes to Campus (JGTC), an event that was inspired by Chaseiro’s own Candra Darusman. Their performance was classic. Many people still remember that moment even until now. Jack Lesmana, the father of Indonesian jazz brought them into the national television, at the famous “Nada dan Improvisasi” show. And not long after that they made their debut album, “Pemuda” in 1979.
The name Chaseiro was taken from the abbreviation of the personnel’s name. Candra Darusman (keyboard, vocal), Helmie Indrakesuma (vocal), Aswin Sastrowardoyo (guitar, vocal), Edi Hudioro (flute), Irwan Indrakesuma (vocal), Rizali Indrakesuma (bass, vocal) and Omen Sonisontani (vocal). They were the group that dared to combine the elements of many music styles, from pop, jazz, bossa to country folk and the vintage Indonesian pop style, besides of course focusing on the vocal harmony as their main weapon. Idealism has been an important factor for them too. Chaseiro was born under the repressive situation made by the ruling regime at that time. “We couldn’t give critics openly, but still we really had to say something about the condition.” said Omen of Chaseiro once during an interview with us. “And we thought we could express our minds ellegantly through music.” he continued. That’s why we found many socio-political critisms on their lyrics, while they also wrote some inspirational songs such as “Pemuda” that urges all the youths to join hands together and never stop thinking of giving out something for their country. The message is simple, but it’s still relevant until now. (check out our exclusive interview with Omen Sonisontani of Chaseiro)
3 decades have passed, today Chaseiro is known as a legendary super group that remain timeless. They made a surprise when they made a memorable reunion on the prestigious Java Jazz Festival’s stage in 2009, followed by handing a special gift to the friends with “Chaseiro untuk Sahabat” (Chaseiro for Friends) in GoetheHaus on June last year. They also brought back all the sweet memories to Bandung through a special performance at the fully crowded Jazz Break Revival XVIII.
This year Chaseiro is celebrating their 32 years anniversary. Being together in friendship and brotherhood for 32 years is something special, still solid after more than 3 decades is something worth to celebrate. And they want to share this happiness to us, all Chaseiro friends. And here’s a big news: CHASEIRO WILL APPEAR IN THE COMPLETE FORMATION for the very first time in the last 10 years. Candra Darusman and Rizali Indrakesuma are coming back to Indonesia to complete the formation just like the golden days. Special performance by Bonita will definately give more flavor to this concert. And you will get the first bite of Chaseiro’s new songs from their upcoming new album, along with their classic hits. One thing for sure, this will be a memorable concert. And nothing would make them happier than celebrating their anniversary together with you.
article from jazzuality.com
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