Traditional Malay Music Reformer

KOMPAS/SYAHNAN RANGKUTI

Rino Dezapaty

Rino Dezapaty\'s love for traditional music has seen ups and downs along a road full of sharp gravel. Although often underappreciated, he continues to produce works so no one will doubt his efforts to promote Malay music without uprooting it.

"Satellite of Zapin" (Riau Rhythm), an unusual piece of music, is available on YouTube. The music is full of the traditional Malay spirit, but it is also different in its rich ensemble of instruments that produces a mesmerizing sound.

It has the feel of rock music, but the violin, the gambus (traditional bowl-lute) and other percussion softens it. The traditional and the modern are not restricted by a dividing wall. The universal language of music does not require any translator.

”Satellite of Zapin” is the work of Rino Dezapaty, 40, the leader and founder of the Riau Rhythm Chambers Indonesia (RRCi), which has become an icon of Riau Malay music since its establishment 15 years ago.

"Many people do not know that \'Satelite of Zapin\' is my work. Many institutions in Riau use my music without permission. The song is always played at malls, local TVs and cafes, but I do not question it," Rino said at a cafe in Pekanbaru, Riau, in the second week of July.

Not long after he finished speaking, the sounds of "Satellite of Zapin" suddenly filled the cafe. Rino laughed.

According to Rino, in 2005, a Malaysian man offered 3 million Malaysian ringgit (equivalent to Rp 10.65 billion today) for the use of his song in the “Malaysia, Truly Asia” tourism campaign. However, Rino declined.

Rino comes from an artistic family. His late father, Erahim Emby, was a choreographer who created Tari Persembahan (the offering dance), which is performed at every event that welcomes official guests to Riau. His mother, Badridar Hasan, is a dancer.

The blood of creativity flows through Rino’s veins. He has mastered several musical instruments since he was a child. In 1990, while still in elementary school, Rino won the Ibu Tien National Solo Trumpet Cup in Jakarta, a competition named after the wife of then-president Soeharto. He was awarded the best drummer in Pekanbaru in 1994, 1995 and 1996. Today, he plays the drum, piano, gambus, guitar, bass, trumpet and percussion.

In high school, Rino was part of a band, but while attending the Jakarta Arts Institute (IKJ) in 1997, his music declined. His studies were a mess. After surviving only two years, Rino left the IKJ without a diploma.

In 2000, Rino returned to Pekanbaru and there, he joined the Tari Laksamana Dance Studio to provide the music. A year later, the studio traveled to several cities in France, where Rino was invited to play at a club in Aix-les-Bains, a resort city in eastern France. He played jazz drums and R&B. However, the audience\'s response was lukewarm. For his second set, Rino performed traditional music and received overwhelming response from the audience.

His friend, Yvest Bleicher, advised Rino to learn more about traditional music. According Bleicher, traditional music could be turned into anything without necessarily being oriented in Western music.

Dismantling the tradition

Upon his return from France, Rino establish the RRCi along with Ali Yusra and Harry Sandra. The group focuses on Malay music. In 2002, Riau Arts Council chairman Taufik Ikram Jamil offered Rino the opportunity to play at the Idrus Tintin Arts Building in Pekanbaru.

Rino played his gambus like a guitar, while his band mates played the violin and clarinet, and he used a laptop to mix the electro-acoustic music.

A senior Riau artist belittled the band’s first performance. Rino was called “uncivilized” for playing the gambus while standing. Normally, a gambus player sits to play. In the age-old tradition, gambus players must also be mosque caretakers who are skilled at recitation.

"We say that if young people do not play the gambus, it will vanish. [...] The number of gambus players in Riau could be counted on one hand because the young were not interested in playing [the instrument]. We broke with tradition, and now there are many gambus players," said Rino.

After being challenged by another senior musician, OK Pulsiamitra, Rino composed "Satellite of Zapin" in 2003, which later became a phenomenon in Riau and Malaysia. Rino has been invited to Malaysia on several occasions to speak about his music as a guest lecturer.

Rino continued to write music, and in 2012, he created his fifth album, Svarna Dvipa (Swarna Dwipa). One of its singles, “Svara Jiva” (voice of the soul), tells a famous story of the same name in Riau’s ancient oral tradition, which is on the brink of extinction.

Svara Jiva is an oral tradition consisting of nondong, batimang, bagadumbo and ratok, and tells of a widower father raising a baby alone, until his child grows up and leaves home. Rino’s “Svara Jiva” is magical and mystical. The music gives voice to sadness that could invite tears.

RRCi brought Svarna Dvipa to the 2013 Indonesia Performing Arts in Jakarta, where 21 foreign music producers watched and listened. After the event, RRCi was invited to perform in Sydney, Edinburgh, and Singapore.

"However, we only played in Singapore. We missed the trip to Sydney because we did not see the email invitation. Our management was very bad back then. The plan to Edinburgh also didn’t work out because of the change in the presidency from Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to Joko Widodo," Rino said.

However, Rino was later invited to play at the 2015 Film Festival in Busan, South Korea, and in Turkey.

He and Pulsiamitra then founded the Black and White music festival in Pekanbaru, which several other regions imitated across the country.

In 2014, Rino toured several cities across the archipelago to introduce his music, such as Jayapura, Makassar, Surabaya, Solo, Malang and Padang. He sold his car to cover the travel expenses.

In 2017-2018, together with his colleagues Yusril Ardanis and Willy, Rino frequently assisted the Riau Tourism Agency to arrange a variety of promotional events for a minimal fee.

On Independence Day this year in Pekanbaru, RRCi will play with Spain’s 45-piece Orquesta de Camara de Siero (OCAS) in the Vinculous Program. RRCi features Sukri Cahyadi on drums/accordion, Giring Fitra (calempong/gambang/vocals), Viogy Rufiyanto (violin), Cendra Putra and Ade Syahputra (cello) and Violano Rufiyanto (gambus/guitar).

Rino is currently working on his latest piece, themed after the isolated tribes of Riau. "After I studied, it turns out that the isolated Sakai community is very tolerant in their nature. In contrast, those among our citizens that are said to be advanced are intolerant," Rino said about his latest work.

KOMPAS/SYAHNAN RANGKUTI

Rino Dezapaty

Born: Dec. 17, 1978, Pekanbaru

Education: SDN 1 Teladan elementary school, 1991; SMP Bhayangkari Pekanbaru junior high school, 1994; SMA BPI Bandung senior high school, 1997; Jakarta Arts Institute (withdrew)

Wife: RR Yuli Suliyanti

Child: Aleina Dinda Aryadiningrat Paty