Lorjhu's Contemporary Sound Echoes in Madura Through the Album 'PASESER', Its Songs Were Played on Polish Radio!

Kapanlagi.com - The Madurese music group, Lorjhu' (pronounced lorcuk), has just released a new album titled PASESER under the demajors record label. The album was released simultaneously on March 18, 2022, in digital and compact disc formats. The PASESER album contains 9 tracks that revolve around the dynamics of exploring the identity of Badrus Zeman, the main figure behind the Lorjhu' music entity.

For those of you who don't know, Badrus was born and raised in Sumenep, a coastal area of Madura Island, and later worked as an animator and teacher in the capital city. Life in Madura, especially the coastal areas, is the main theme of Lorjhu's songs.

The music produced expresses the Madurese coastal feeling with contemporary sensibility, aligning tradition sounds with young Jakarta indie-rock. Eight of the nine tracks on this album were previously released as individual digital releases. Starting from the first single released just before the pandemic, Nemor, to the most played on platforms like Kembang Koning. Interestingly, all lyrics are written in the Madurese language.

"Each song describes things that I have experienced as a child. There is also a longing and a call to come home. To express all of that, I am more comfortable with the Madurese language," said Badrus in a press release received by KapanLagi.com.

1. Recording Process Done Solo

Lorjhu's album 'PASESER' / Credit Photo: Personal Documentation

Lorjhu's journey coincided with the arrival of the pandemic, making almost all production processes done by Badrus himself at home using only a smartphone and a little help from a laptop.

All instruments are played by himself, except for some tracks featuring percussion played by a musician from Sumenep, Rifan Khoridi.

"Rifan recorded his percussion in Sumenep, we sent each other recording data. He played on the song Nemor and also the latest one, Can Macanan," explained Badrus.

Can Macanan is the latest song and also the main single on the PASESER album. This anthemic quality song tells the story of a Madurese barongan art form in the form of a tiger, which is also part of Badrus' childhood experience.

What's special is that the music video for Can Macanan was created directly by Badrus himself in Sumenep using only a smartphone camera.

2. Played on Polish Radio

Lorjhu releases album 'PASESER' / Credit Photo: Personal Documentation

The album PASESER, with its spirit of independence and raw potential, is expected to be the foundation of Lorjhu's exciting career in the music industry. Its unique package, which emphasizes local Nusantara ideas, is starting to attract the attention of not only domestic music fans. "During the pandemic, everything is online and independent, so appreciation seems more global, like there's an online radio in Poland playing Lorjhu's songs," explained Badrus.

3. Want to Hold a Concert with Full Band Concept

Along with the pandemic that is increasingly felt to be over, in the future Badrus wants to expand Lorjhu's scope of expression.

"Lorjhu has not had the chance to perform properly, I really want to be able to perform their songs with a full band. Lorjhu can become a complete band group, or can remain solo with a band accompaniment. What is certain is that I will try to bring the experience from my village into Lorjhu's performance package," said Badrus enthusiastically.

The release of the Paseser album in the form of compact discs and digital data is available in various record stores and music streaming platforms. To strengthen the expansion of the song 'Can Macanan', demajors also collaborates with Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) which is committed to advancing music from cultural and entertainment paths by playing the song on all RRI stations throughout Indonesia.

(kpl/gtr)