God Bless and Beautiful Memories with Malang City

Kapanlagi.com - Legendary rock group God Bless reminisces the heyday of rock music in Malang City in the 1970s-1980s era. The attending personnel, Ahmad Albar, Doni Fatah, Ian Antono, and Abadi Soesman share stories about the rock movement that became the top genre of music at that time.

"When I first performed in Malang, the young people here were always critical, always following the music development, and they knew their taste, had a taste for music," said Ahmad Albar at the Godbless Ngalam NgerocKembali Press Conference in Malang City Hall on Tuesday (3/3).

"Pop musicians rarely dared to perform in Malang at that time, in the 1980s. Then in the 1990s, it was slightly different. Then in the 2000s, it started to rise again," added the 73-year-old singer.

1. Some Members of God Bless, Native of Malang

God Bless © KapanLagi/Boni Susanto

Memories were also shared by Ian Antono, who is a native of Malang. The guitarist of Godbless expressed his pride in having the opportunity to make music again in his hometown, which also contributed to his career.

"Around 40 or 45 years ago, together with Abadi Soesman, who is also a native of Malang. Throughout my career, I have only had about 2-3 concerts in Malang. It rarely happens, hopefully tomorrow's concert will be enjoyable," he shared.

Not to be left behind, bassist Doni Fatah revealed that he has had several concerts in Malang since 1975 with Ahmad Albar. When Doni's hair was still long, reaching his waist, but as time passed, his hair fell out, as it is now.

"As far as I can remember, my hair was still as long as this, but now it's like this (bald). So, Malang is number one. Alhamdulillah, we can meet again, see you tomorrow," he continued.

2. The Eternal Story of Soesman as a Native of Malang

Abadi Soesman, who is also a native of Malang, does not want to be defeated in telling the story of his past with his birthplace. Abadi feels very proud of the development of Malang City, which he thinks is very different from what he knew before.

"I am very proud that Malang has become like this. I left Malang in 1970, if Malang was already like this in 1970, I would not have left Malang. Godbless can be based in Malang," continued the keyboardist, greeted with laughter.

"At that time, I was looking for a teacher, but there was none. I met Ian Antono, we talked and argued, it was chaotic, we fought. At that time, I was learning music, and finally I migrated," he recalled.

3. Malang, the Barometer of Rock Music

God Bless © KapanLagi/Boni Susanto

Abadi initially migrated to Surabaya. However, because he felt that he did not find any significant challenges, he decided to fly to Jakarta. Of course, he is now very proud to be able to return to Malang, especially in a successful condition.

"Well, finally I went to Jakarta. I won't return until I succeed. Alhamdulillah, the prayers of friends in Malang can visit together with the great Indonesian band, Godbless," he said.

Ahmad Albar has a very positive view of Malang City. According to him, this Apple City is a barometer of rock music in the country, from the past until now.

"I started coming to Malang in 1973, and until now I still feel that Malang is the barometer of rock music in Indonesia. Rock never dies in Malang. It continues to live, always. There are ups and downs, where music is sometimes quiet and then rises again. Not only in Malang, but also in God Bless itself. We have experienced several times of hiatus, but we still have the spirit until now," he recounted.

4. Ngalam NgerocKembali Godbless Concert

God Bless © KapanLagi/Boni Susanto

Godbless will perform at the Ngalam NgerocKembali Godbless Concert at Graha Cakrawala, Universitas Negeri (UM) Malang, on Wednesday (4/3). The concert is held as part of the National Press Day (HPN) series organized by the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) Malang Raya.

Godbless promises to give their best performance by preparing 12-15 songs. They are truly ready, especially after previously performing with Scorpions in Yogyakarta.

"The maturity of this preparation is not because we accompanied Scorpions, but because we are playing in Malang, we don't want to embarrass ourselves. I don't want to be jeered at, it would be embarrassing," said Abadi Soesma while laughing.

Their hit songs will definitely be performed, such as Semut Hitam (Black Ant), Panggung Sandiwara (Theater Stage), Rumah Kita (Our House), and others. However, they will also perform special songs for the people of Malang, namely Sesat (Lost) from their first album and Cermin (Mirror) from their second album.

"Hopefully the audience can still understand the songs, because these songs are quite long, specially for the people of Malang, we will perform these songs," said Doni Fatah.

Ahmad Albar ensures that his performance will be at its best with the support of a standardized sound system and lighting provided by God Bless management. The stage is also spacious, allowing the audience to jump and dance along.

"Hopefully in the future, there will be rock music festivals that can promote rock music. So that the younger generation has the opportunity to perform and be more creative in music, especially rock music like in the 1970s-80s." That's what I expected," concluded Ahmad Albar.

(kpl/dar/gtr)