[Unpad.ac.id, 01/06/2013] Anxiety. It’s the feeling expressed in many of the songs by the ballad musician Mukti Mukti. He composed his songs based on his own life experience when he went to Unpad Faculty of Arts during the 1980’s. Many of his relatives and fans enjoyed the 2013’s Mukti concert entitled “A Thousands Flowers for Iwa” at Bale Rumawat, Unpad, on Friday night of May 31.
Twelve numbers were performed at the concert. They are Mukti Mukti’s interpretations of love, social protest, and the resistance movement prevalent among students of the period. The songs are quite simple but rich in meaning, all of which he performed passionately. The feeling is aroused from all the anxieties he experienced throughout his life as an artist.
Mukti Mukti also performed the song “Seribu Bunga buat Iwa” to honor the memory of the first rector of Unpad, Prof. Iwa Koesoemasomantri, S.H., who is worthy of the title National Hero.
“The song was written in 1994 when I, with the students of Fikom, protested demanding Prof. Iwa to be honored as national hero,” recalled the musician, who is well known as an anti-mainstream artist. The song also became the theme of his concert this year, which marked the return of Mukti Mukti to Unpad after 25 years since his first concert at the corridor of the Faculty of Arts along with several other musicians.
“I’m very glad to be able to perform at Unpad again,” he said proudly.
Inspired by the resistance movement of his period, Mukti Mukti conveys high spirited message of optimism through his music, as in one his songs entitled “Menitip Mati.” The lyric goes like, “Kita yang masih bertahan, berdiri menatap matahari menitip mati, melumat sepi, esok hari revolusi.” It was the final number performed at the concert, during which most of the audience could not stand to sing along.
This year’s Mukti Mukti’s concert, as part the 60th “Pidangan Seni Budaya Rumawat Padjadjaran,” coincided with Prof. Iwa Koesoemasomantri’s birthday. The current rector of Unpad, Prof. Ganjar Kurnia, also showed his appreciation for the musician, who has produced 30 albums by now.
“We are very pleased that today one of our alumni and activists has returned here to perform at this campus,” the rector expressed.
The one and a half-hour concert was not only attended by fans and relatives of Mukti Mukti, but also by some fellow artists. One of them is fellow ballad musician Leo Kristi, who came all the way from Surabaya to watch the concert. According to Leo, the feeling of anxiety in Mukti Mukti’ songs is the defining trait of his ballad music.
“This is one of the aspects in the development of ballad music in Indonesia,” concluded Leo Kristi.
