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WPS1 Art Radio is the Internet station of P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, a MoMA affiliate, featuring an MP3 stream of music, talk, and historical recordings and a free on-demand archive of over 1200 programs.
The Mercy's was one of Indonesia's legendary bands from the 1970s. Created in 1969, the band had its first start at the city of Medan in North Sumatra. The original members were Rinto Harahap, Erwin Harahap, Reynold Panggabean, Rizal Arsyad, and Iskandar aka. Bun. However, after an offer to perform in Malaysia, Iskandar opted to resign from the band to continue his studies in medicine. He was then replaced by Charles Hutagalung, who was featured on the previous edition of Madhurya.
Throughout their years, The Mercy's released 30 albums which covered various genres such as pop, dangdut, religious, and more. After Charles Hutagalung left the band in 1976 which was followed by his subsequent return 1978, The Mercy's released their final album Mimpi (Dream). The band had never officially and publicly declared their separation, but the members did embark upon their separate and successful solo careers in the music world.
To this day, The Mercy's popularity and influence on Indonesia's modern music has yet to diminish, and its music is well-loved and much appreciated by the Indonesian public.
Playlist
01 Tiada Lagi
02 Women
03 Ulang Tahun
04 Usah Kau Harap
05 Ayah
06 Hey-Hey-Hey
07 Bebaskanlah
Charles Hutagalung (1948-1988) was an illustrious Indonesian singer and song writer. He was a member of one of Indonesia's 1970s pop bands, the legendary The Mercy's. Charles left The Mercy's in 1976 and created another band called Ge & Ge. He shortly returned to The Mercy's in 1978 which led to the band's final album release. The reunion of the band members was brief, as they soon branched off and began their separate journeys as solo artists.
Throughout his career, he had not only collaborated with many other notable Indonesian artists; the prolific Charles Hutagalung had also written over 200 hundred songs in various genres (pop, keroncong, religious, etc.). His songs were sung not only by himself, but also by many other renowned Indonesian singers such as Hetty Koes Endang and Emilia Contessa. The following selections are from his solo vocal album Flower Sound. Recorded in the 1970s, Flower Sound is a collection of Malayan songs that dated back to the 1960s. The songs are slightly different than his typically pop vocal style, in that they have the infusion of dangdut elements to them.
Playlist
01 Hitam Manis
02 Saloma
03 Seringgit Dua Kumpang
04 Tanjung Katung
05 Harapan Hampa
06 Duduk Melamun
07 Halimun Malam
Keroncong is a genre of Indonesian music with a great deal of influence by the Portuguese, whom dominated Southeast Asia in the late 1500s, and introducing to the local culture their indigenous styles and western elements of voice and instruments.
In its early form, keroncong orchestras had the Indian sitar, rebab, gong, bamboo flute, and the Indonesian gamelan. Throughout the years, modern keroncong gradually replaced those instruments with other western instruments and may even include, accordion, violin, cello, electric guitar, bass, and cuk and cak, which are respectively, 3-string and four-string ukulele.
The following selections of keroncong, recorded in the 1960s, were sung by the legendary keroncong artist Mariati (accompanied by Orkes Chandra Ayu). During this musical period, keroncong still had yet to fully incorporate the western instruments that are more prominent on today's style of keroncong.
Playlist
01 Rindu Malam
02 Sapu Lidi
03 Di Bawah Sinar Bulan Purnama
04 Tanam Padi
05 Bandar Jakarta
06 Tersenyum
07 Di Mana
08 Malam
Gordon Tobing (1925-1993) was an iconic singer from Indonesia, a native of the tribe of Batak who was renowned for bringing to the international scene Indonesian folk songs, especially those from Batak, and in particular the song "A Sing-Sing So." Tobing first created the Impola Group (Impola in the Batak language translates as "the best of the heart or foundation, which itself had come from the very best") in the 1960s. Among the group members was his wife, Theresia Hutabarat, who was the only female artist in the group. Other members of the Impola Group who would later also become famous singers and artistic figures in Indonesia were Koes Hendratmo and Hakim Tobing.
With the Impola Group, Gordon Tobing (who was nicknamed "The Indonesian Troubadour" due to the constant presence of his Spanish guitar) performed in foreign countries such as Germany, Poland, Australia, Cuba, Egypt, China, Thailand, Greece, Japan, and more. During these travels, they would sing not only folk songs from Indonesia, but also those from the country that they were visiting at that moment. Tobing was even quoted to say that he could sing any folk song from any country, except those from Nigeria and the Middle East.
Gordon Tobing died in 1993 after an onset of breathing difficulties. His and the Impola Group's music however, to this very day, are still hailed as the works of THE Ambassadors of Indonesian folk music to the world.
The following selections of Gordon Tobing and the Impola Group were recorded in the 1970s.
Playlist
01 A Sing-Sing So (Batak/Tapanuli)
02 Bolelebo (Kupang/Nusa Tenggara Timur)
03 Burung Kakak Tua / Naik-Naik Ke Puncak Gunung
04 Berbendi-Bendi (Minangkabau/Padang)
05 Ayo Mama (Ambon/Maluku)
06 Ca-Ca Marica / Nona Manis / Potong Bebek Angsa (Nusa Tenggara)
A genre of Indonesian music, dangdut is a style that evolved from Orkes Melayu, or Malay Orchestra. Orkes Melayu was a fusion of Indian Bollywood music, Middle-Eastern pop, and western rock. It was highly popular during the 1950s and 1960s, as it was encouraged by the government of Indonesia (under its first president, Sukarno) as a way to cultivate the nation's cultural identity, as by then Indonesia had only gained its independence in 1945. The following are selections of dangdut from around 1970s - 1980s, accompanied by the band Orkes Melayu Omega. Hosted by WPS1's Lucy Simanjuntak.
Playlist
01 Elvy Sukaesih - Taman Impian
02 A. Kelana - Maafkan
03 Elvy Sukaesih and Ruston Nawawi - Jangan Malu
04 Idris Daeng - Pesan Terakhir
05 Ruston Nawawi - Abad Modern
06 Elvy Sukaesih - Tangisan Asmara
07 Ruston Nawawi - Pedoman Remaja
08 Elvy Sukaesih - Penyesalan
For Venice Biennale 2007, WPS1's own Lucy Simanjuntak created a compilation that features traditional and contemporary songs from the islands of Indonesia.
Playlist
01 Kecak Puspita Jaya - Kecak: Scene I (The Trap) (Excerpt). Bali.
02 Various Artists - Pembukaan Arja. Sunda.
03 Gesang - Bengawan Solo. Keroncong. Indonesia.
04 Amiruddin Datuk Kamuyang & Mariana - Muaro Labuah. West Sumatra.
05 New Jakarta Ensemble - Mantra Parompak (Excerpt). Indonesia.
06 Priangan Katresnan - Kastawa (Grand Pole in Puppet Stage) (Excerpt). Java.
07 Various Artists - Sorban Palid. Sunda.
08 Inul Daratista - Mat Sawer. Dangdut. Indonesia.
09 Kampung Gallu-Matolang - Tabung (Funeral Gongs) (Excerpt). Sumba.
10 Jamang Daeng Pasang - Kacaping: Tokko Deng Riak. South Sulawesi.
11 Varous Artists - Teke Song. Flores (Ngadha).
12 Various Artists - Gondang Sarune / Gondang Marundur-undur. North Sumatra (Batak, Toba).
13 Court Musicians of Dufa-Dufa - Cikamomo 1 (Kulintang). Maluku.
14 Dewa - Mukadimah / Roman Picisan. Indonesia.
