Haus di Padang Tandus

Gito Rollies (1947 - 2008)

Hereby, I'd like to pronounce my best ever Indonesian song ever rated: "Haus di Padang Tandus".

Related to my previous post on "10 Fundamental Records", you'd find if I'm not really into my nation's music products. In fact, I didn't even care on what so hype recently in local music. I trapped in my box, and decide to limit my access (on local music). Among the few references passed by, I found several songs that in my opinion stand-out and have a high quality musical standpoint. One of them was this song, "Haus di Padang Tandus" which I found among numbers of cover version played by Indonesian hard-rock savvy, Boomerang in their underrated "Segitiga" album.

Originally, this song is popular (as its written by Johannes Purba) for being Gito Rollies' (from his The Rollies era with their multi-vocalists - Delly and Bonny beside him). This song made famous in "New Rollies" album released in 1976. Gito, then, turned into pop music in the next decade until early 90's. The recently passed away charismatic musician was rarely performing during his sobriety phase (in mid-90's) which eventually changed him into preacher. Thus, Gito Rollies would only appeared in several show that related to religious activity, such in a lucky Ramadan, back in 1997 perhaps where I saw him sang this tremendous song "Haus di Padang Tandus" in a TV show.

The song instantly clicked me, with the middle-east groove (suitable for Ramadan performance, I guess) blend smoothly with Malayan melody - a distinctive of regionalism in music which make this song is a standpoint.

In late 90'2 (98 perhaps, or even 99), Boomerang brought rock dimension in this particular song whose lyric I assumed is about relationship between the writer and something he addicted for (name it: lover, drink, drugs - all of those are addictive!). The Boomerang version were clearly more "easy listening" to X-Generation like me than Gito's version who probably were meant to be created in his baby booming generation (70's). But Boomerang maintained the groove and melody, as they also saw them as vivid signature of the song. The singer, Roy Jeconiah, even copy the way Gito Rollies sang this song, with his classical vibration.

And this post is my perfect salutation for Gito Rollies, who died for cancer last Thursday after struggling with the disease in two years. Rest in peace...

Download: Boomerang version of "Haus di Padang Tandus". I had to thanks people in Multiply, a Malaysian who archived many Indonesian music in digital version. Image: koleksikasetindonesia.blogspot.com -