Home Recordings of Indonesian Songs

Jangan Menyerah is a beautiful song by the Indonesian band d’Masiv. Jangan Menyerah means “don’t give up” or “don’t surrender”. The band has produced a video clip with beautiful images of life in Indonesia, inspired by a true story of a friend.

In this song I play 4 acoustic guitar tracks. Being inspired by the original video clip of d’Massiv, I have added photos of people that I met during my travels in Indonesia.
Read the rest of this entry »

I will give a live performance on Friday the 18th of September on an Indonesian Evening, organized by PPI Enschede. You can find the details at the PPIE website. The evening starts at 18:00, and my performance will be from 18:15 till 18:30. I will play some Indonesian songs that I did not yet publish on the Internet.

Entrance to the event is free. Hope to see you there!!

See also: UT-Nieuws

I am happy to announce that on thursday 30th of July I will be interviewed by Ranesi radio, live from their studio in Hilversum, Netherlands. The broadcast starts at 13:00 CEST (Central European Summer Time), in Indonesia this is at 18:00 WIB. You can listen to the interview worldwide: Internet, satellite, shortwave radio (Indonesia only) and over 80 Indonesian radio stations. Furthermore, in case you are located in Surabaya, the radio station Suara Surabaya has invited me for a talkshow at 16:00 CEST (21:00 WIB). I have added more information about the broadcast below.

Latest news: I have uploaded photos of the interviews, you can view them below.
Read the rest of this entry »

The song Usah Kau Lara Sendiri was originally sung by Ruth Sahanaya and Katon Bagaskara. The translation of the title is “Don’t despair all alone”. This cover version with the accompanying video was made in memory of the tsunami in December 2004 and is dedicated to all victims of this tragic disaster. The video also represents the personal story of Ella Meilianda, from Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Since 2004 Ella is doing her PhD research in the University of Twente in Enschede, Netherlands. Her research is about the changes of coastal morphology in the tsunami-affected area. Today, the 19th of June 2009 is the day of her PhD promotion. The tsunami has heavily affected her life, her family, her city, and her research. Ella wants to do something meaningful for the victims of the tsunami, therefore she dedicates her research to them. Furthermore, directly after the PhD defence ceremony Ella and me will give a live performance of this song with the video projected on the background. This is one of my biggest music projects until now, in the recording I play all instruments myself, without any other musicians. You can read the full story and watch the video in this blog entry.

Read the rest of this entry »

Reporters of Ranesi, Radio Nederland Siaran Bahasa Indonesia, recently visited me in my hometown Enschede. First they shot a video while I was singing in the streets of the city centre. At the same time Dutch people were interviewed about Indonesian pop music. You can watch this video here. Later they made a second video in my home. They filmed my studio, and I played a few songs live on the piano. One of the songs is Desaku, that I sing together with my girlfriend Lucie. Read the rest of this entry to watch the video. It also contains an interview with me in Bahasa Indonesia.
Read the rest of this entry »

It is more than a year ago that I heared the song Ada Cinta (by Acha Septriasa and Irwansyah) for the first time. I immediately liked the vocals and the beautiful guitar combined with the orchestra. At that time I didn’t seriously plan to make a cover of the song, but I tried to learn the guitar. I like this classical style of playing, and I started playing along with the song. Than, a few months ago, I got in touch with Ella Meilianda. Ella is from Banda Aceh and lives in Enschede in the Netherlands now, and her voice appeared to be the perfect match for this song.
Read the rest of this entry »

Today, 2 years after the legendary Indonesian musician Chrisye passed away, I would like to look back on his life and career by writing about 2 wonderful products, the Chrisye Masterpiece Trilogy and the book Chrisye, sebuah memoar musikal. I would also like to point you to the song Telah pergi sahabat tercinta, a cover that I published exactly one year ago in memory of Chrisye.

Read the rest of this entry »

On the 14th of march I gave a live performance on the Borneo Identity Event in Enschede. This was my first live concert in the Netherlands with Indonesian songs. The audience consisted for a large part of Indonesians. Two friendly gentlemen from the Indonesian Embassy had come all the way from Den Haag to Enschede to enjoy the shows and performances, and to express their support for this cultural event. I played four songs, which were clearly recognized by the inspiring audience. I have posted a number of photos and two videos of the concert. It was a very pleasant afternoon for me, it felt like being in Indonesia. I would like to thank the PPI Enschede for inviting me. The University Magazine UT Nieuws has published an article about me (in English)
Read the rest of this entry »

On saturday 14th of march I will give a live performance at the Borneo Identity Event. This event is organized by the Indonesian Student Association PPI in Enschede, to promote Borneo (Kalimantan) island for its rich cultural diversity. You can find more information about the program on the website of the Borneo Identity Event. The event is open to anybody, and admittance is free. Hope to see you there.

Semua Tentang Kita is on the Taman Langit album, recorded by Peter Pan in 2003. I bought this album in Indonesia 2 years ago. On my recording I play 2 guitar tracks on my Fender Stratocaster and 2 string tracks on my Roland synthesizer.
Read the rest of this entry »

I wrote this song to wish you a very happy new year!!
May all your dreams come true
A new version of this song is now for sale on-line, go to my shop page.

Read the rest of this entry »

In Jakarta I was invited to visit the concert of Peter Pan on 19th of october in Ancol, Jakarta. And not just visit……. I could go backstage, and there would be an opportunity to meet up with the musicians. So I went there early evening, accompanied by Sandy from Delta FM radio. Upon arrival it was immediately clear that this was a large event: a huge open area, spotlights, camera’s, the crowd slowly moving in while the band was still doing soundcheck. The entire show would be broadcasted live on RCTI tv.
Read the rest of this entry »

My South East Asia trip in october 2008 started in Singapore. I had planned a meeting with Rane and Wayan. They are experienced Indonesian presenters/reporters, both living in Singapore, and they had contacted me for an interview about my love for Indonesian music. Rane runs an interesting blog at http://suarane.org. Wayan works for Warna radio, an Indonesian language radio station based in Singapore. We met in a coffeeshop, and after a coffee and entertaining chat the interview started, in bahasa Indonesia. It was broadcasted on 27th october 2008 on Radio Warna 94,2 FM Mediacorp, Singapore, presented by Wayan.
Read the rest of this entry »

During my stay in Jakarta I was unexpectedly contacted by the producer of the RCTI tv show Nuansa Pagi. He asked me to appear live in the studio, and he also wanted to send a TV crew to my hotel. You can watch the resulting video below. It was broadcasted on RCTI television on 25th of october 2008. RCTI is one of the largest nationwide television channels in Indonesia, also available on cable in Malaysia and Singapore.
Read the rest of this entry »

Two days before my live appearance on the TV news program Nuansa Pagi, RCTI sent a TV crew to my hotel in Jakarta. The reporters filmed me while playing on the piano, and later they interviewed me in my hotel room. The following pictures give you a small glimpse “behind the scenes” in the making of a RCTI television news item.
Read the rest of this entry »