Yang Abadi from “The King” Black Finit

By: Eka Putra Nggalu : Active in the KAHE Community. Currently studying theater / performing arts as a discipline. He is now the director and leader of the program Crossing Borders, a participatory art project involving activists of the KAHE Community and residents of the Bajo community in Wuring-Maumere Village. This project is a KAHE Community initiative, in collaboration with Teater Garasi and supported by Voice Global.

One of the unique things about Black Finit's music is the original guitar riddim touch from him which is often the foundation of the rhythm of the entire song. The model can be various.

Maumere, June 2019. Gerson and I sat face to face in one of lopo Biggong Tedang Coffee cafes, in the Lokaria area.

The space between us was filled with a bottle of moke red, several cups, and sour sauce made by Mama Jabok, the chef at the café. It was very late at night, around two o'clock Central Indonesian Time, but the sound system was not completely dead. Black Finit — Gerson's stage greeting who is recognized as an Indonesian reggae musician — still embraces his guitar. We were drunk together. And for the people of the East, it is the most appropriate condition for issuing the voice of the angel that God has entrusted from birth in our bodies. Not only twice, we were able to sing five times more melodious than usual.

Black Finit asked me to turn on the voice recording app on my old samsung. He wants to sing a song that is rarely heard in public. The song is only used for the soundtrack of a short film by a friend in Jogja, where Black has been living and working. And that night, he will sing especially for me. So he said; things that may not happen next time. I just believe.

While preparing the voice recorder, I looked for something to be used as percussion, accompanying the guitar. After that, since the first guitar playing, I just closed my eyes, sat enjoying the deep and husky sound of the Black Finit that cut through the night, filling it with the subtle swish of the waves, forgetting the chills caused by the cold wind blowing from the edge of the beach where we sat towards the dense Flores sea. stretched.

Take love, take it with you. You and I are forever at heart. I'll play happily on the street. Until that time, you will not be forgotten.

The Story of Pioneering a Street from the Street

Black Finit came to Jogja in 2002. Since spending his first night on the streets of that city, he has believed that his dream of becoming a musician will come true. There. He paved the way as a musician from one angkringan to another. With a used guitar for Rp. 50,000.00 which was bought from a busker, he started busking in the Code river area, which at that time was still busy with places to eat.

In 2003, he started writing songs and was active with a melodic punk band he founded with two of his friends. The band was named St. Jimmy, was inspired by one of the songs from Green Day, an Americanband punk that was currently on the rise. Because there are only three of them, they often ask the recording studio guard they hire to become an additional player. Sometimes filling the position of bassist, sometimes keyboardist. On the way, he met several reggae bands such as the Marapu Band, and formed his own band called Revolution, which consisted of fellow nomads from Maumere. One of singles Revolution's, Love is Spread Out, was hit on Jogja radios, which had a special session to play indie songs. In those days, the money from the busking was spent more on renting the studio than for eating.

Not only busking, he also often works as a parking attendant to make a living. Not infrequently he was beaten by local thugs, tegal parking lots. However, he never gave up and always came back tomorrow. The principle is simple. Do not know, then do not love. According to him, the thugs didn't really know who he was. He came looking for friends, not for enemies. Later, when he started performing in cafes, these thugs became fans as well as his first publication team. Stories about Black Finit began to circulate by word of mouth.

In 2009 he started hooking up with the Shagy Dog gang, working odd jobs at Doggy House, the band's basecamp . There, he met Heruwa, the vocalist of Shaggy Dog, who believed that Black Finit had extraordinary musical potential andtalent performance . In 2012 he participated in the Hard Rock Rising event. Although not a champion, he received a favorite award certificate from 5 national labels at once. The name Black Finit is on the air.

It's hard to tell about Black Finit from his discography, because he hasn't published many albums. Many of his singles are scattered on various digital platforms, either in the form of finished, demo, or live jamming sessions. But simply put, Black Finit's discography can be traced starting from November 25, 2011 when he released the EP album containing 6 songs, Kiri Kanan, using the label Gong Waning Production — which he himself initiated. A fuller compilation of his songs was released in 2015 and remastered in 2019 on an album called Digiyo Digiye, under the label DoggyHouse Records. From there, we can feel the thick and unique reggae atmosphere of Black Finit. He gave a different color to topartists Indonesia'sreggaesuch as Tony-Q, Steven & Coconut Treez, Gangstarasta or Ras Muhamad.

In the days after, Black Finit did not create an album, but many of itssingles hitcan be tracked on spotify, and several youtube platforms such as Eastbae Project, Soba Studio, DoggyHouse and his personal account, Black Finit in various nuances and forms.

Discography across genres

One of the unique things about Black Finit's music is the touch of the riddim original guitarfrom it which is often the foundation of the rhythm of the entire song. The model can be various. Can be a melody pattern that moves constantly in several song bars. This guitar melody pattern, on several songs is replaced with a variety of varied sound effects . Another model is the beating accompaniment that shapes the tempo and regulates the flow of the entire song. Some of the most striking are the songs Bang Pello, Blague Indo, or Easy and Slow. Everything is on thealbum Digiyo Digiye.

In his newest songs which are released to the public more independently, the melody and rhythm patterns he plays are very close to folk nuances, especially from the nuances of ethnicmusic krowe, Maumere-Sikka Regency, where he was born and raised. In the song Damai Natal, or Tana, which is played in a collaborative format with Ssaksin and Gaya Jing, for example, the folk touch appears very strongly both in rhythms that are thick withmotifs gong waning, song melodies, singing methods, to bilingual lyrics, Indonesian. andlanguage krowe. It is as if we are hearing aman krowe singing along with the sako jung, a practice of working in the garden with the singing accompaniment of his workers, which is carried out cooperatively by theethnic community krowe.

Fromsong Tana this, we can then get to know one of the Back Finit tendencies to cultivate constant, simplicity, a repetitive pattern in his songs, like the mantras in Middle Eastern meditation. Almost no reggae rhythm can be heard in these model songs, which he has recently been working on intensely with several local artists and music producers, Maumere. Although constant and simple, the music is not bland and boring. The aura of depth and power of reflection from Black Finit is still very sharp, manifested in the choice of sounds and lyrics.

In some of his newest songs, such as Sadang Bui which was also sung by Dian Sorowea and produced by Eastbae Project, typicalfolk nuances krowe, simple melodies, easy to repeat lyrics are remembered, a slightly heavy and subtle tempo that does not cause drowsiness but instead brings listeners to the scene. sublime and calm situation, very well prepared and displayed. The same simplicity exist on other songs with the touch of each characteristic, such as Bring with you and I'll Talk Time reflective,Dreams are childish and similar lullaby, until a touch of country in song gardens were created many years ago and the only popular one concert stage to other concert stage. These songs are far from reggae nuances. Other songs with a simple look but still have a reggae feel, for example Etudepen and 420 Sore. Even if you listen to it more closely, both of them will be more pleasant and progressive if they are played with a little touch of blues or jazz.

Later, Black Finit experimented with electronic music or what is known as EDM (Electronic Dance Music). Some of his songs, such as Mims, No Rules, and Pink Dinner, or Here I am which are the result of a collaboration with Soba Studio and 8 Digit Music are examples. In these singles, we hardly find thereggae identity stereotypical with Black Finit, apart from his black skin and curly hair which can only be seen during a live jamming session. Synthetic sounds, sounds that are explored from nature and the environment, tones from conventional musical instruments, to human vocals are combined into one composition that offers a completely different listening experience and experience of music from the color, style of music, as well as the previous Black Finit musical way. .

Black Finit, as many times, has managed to tell and prove to those who like to listen to him sing that there are many roads leading to Rome, there are many ways of appreciating music, there are many ways of experiencing music, there are many ways of playing, listening to and enjoying music. Only rainbow can stop the rain.

Songs Tell the Story

Black Finit's works are also very strong because they contain lots of interesting metaphors, allegories, and references.

His experience on the streets made him sensitive to the situation of the people around him.song Dedy goddesshitis recording his experience with a friend who became a construction worker daytime, but the evenings hung red lights as a transvestite. In the song he wrote: nothing is wrong, nothing is right, life is a choice. People who know Black Finit will immediately smile at a sentence that is very typical of him. Black Finit, really appreciate differences, and critical thinking. He rejects the status quo and dreams of an equal society. When he was asked to sing the song Bukan Puisi (2019), he felt the song suited him. Not only aesthetically, but also politically. The same nuance can be felt in several other singles such as Bang Pello, Love is Spread Out and other songs on his mini album with Revolution.

In the song Sadang Bui, he displays a deep literary quality in the lyrics. Even though at first glance it sounds like a love song, the song Sadang Bui is one of Black Finit's criticisms of the government's haphazard place-name change policy. Sadang Bui is alanguage phrase Krowe which simply means leaning (sadang), waiting / waiting (jail).

Sadang Bui itself used to be the name of the port in the city of Maumere. Several years ago, the government changed the name of the port to Lorens Say, which refers to the name of one of the regents of Sikka Regency. For Black Finit, the name change simultaneously erases collective memories, historical stories, and cultural values ​​of the place which are closely related to the life of the people of Maumere city and Sikka Regency in general. For him, the name of the former regent was no more important to replace the name Sadang Bui, who was named by the village people, leaned back and waited. Sadang Bui has already lived in the hearts and hearts of parents who are waiting for their children to come home from college, mothers and children who are waiting for their men who go abroad, become migrant workers in Malaysia, lovers of men and women who are separated. for a variety of reasons, from economic to political.

In the song, Black Finit wrote: sadang bui / sadang e wulan / sadang e leron / waten bui megu mai. Sadang Bui can mean the name of a place, the name of the port in Maumere City which is full of memories, it can also be translated as lean and wait. Meanwhile, sadang e wulan can be translated as leaning on the moon. The word moon can be interpreted literally as a celestial body that shines at night. However, the word month in the sentence structure can mean leaning on / putting longing for months. Furthermore, sadang e leron can be translated to leaning on the sun. Here, the same pattern is repeated. Sun literally means a celestial body that illuminates the day / day. However, the equivalent words in the sentence can mean leaning on / putting longing day after day. Interestingly, the words wulan and leron are very synonymous with the highest persona of thegenus masculineand are mentioned in the phrase Ama Lero Wulan Reta (Father of the Sun Moon Above) who is paired with Ina Nian Tana Wawa (Mama Bumi Tanah, Who is in Under). The verse that follows the two verses above reads, waten bui megu mai, which can be translated as a heart waiting for a lover to come.

All of the above verses have deep interdependence of meanings and are open to various interpretations. One of them can be read like this: at the port of Sadang Bui, someone with a passion, is waiting for his lover who is far away to come / return. In his long waiting, day after day, month after month, he entrusted all his longing to God, who was both far in the sky and close to the heart. This stanza is emphasized by the lines in the next verse that are no less poetic: apu piru megu 'e waten na'i reta dala poi tena' au. This sentence simply means a hug, kiss, love that is in the heart, (I) put on the stars just for you. Interestingly, dala or star in the cosmology of thetribe Krowe also means hope. The star does not merely refer to celestial bodies, but also means that all of the lover's love, prayers, and waiting are placed on the hope that is always shining in the dark. Hope that never fades.

In the song Sadang Bui, Black Finit plays with metaphors, cosmology, and rich visual images that are based on cultural wisdom. He plays with connotative and denotative meanings, language that is arbitrary at the same time contextual and imaginative. I don't know if Black Finit is diligent in reading the Bible, but what is certain is that the lyrics of this song are very poetic and contain three important cornerstones of Christianity: love, faith, and hope. Religious culture which also helped shape him. But surely, he is beyond a musician: he is an artist. In his hands the limited language became so rich and could represent many feelings and thoughts.

On September 26, 2020, Black Finit passed away. His body, which was flown in from Jogja, was picked up by all of his colleagues, friends, friends and fans at Nian Tana Sikka. The Frans Seda Maumere Airport is overcrowded. The crowd paraded, delivered his body to RSUD TC. Hilers Maumere. It doesn't matter the situation of the Covid-19 pandemic, it doesn't matter that the police have to dismiss them many times. The mass remains solid. All Maumere musicians come from various generations, from those who often hang out in party tents, cafes, election campaigns, channels YouTubeto those who go in and out of TV. Everyone gathered at the funeral home, sang and played his songs, paying their respects and final farewell to the Legend. Those who often elbowed and cursed became melted in a circle, who often looked for their own way to take turns while sharing stories.

The chat with Black Finit at the KAHE Exhibition Children and Home 2019, led us to draw this conclusion together: the art of healing wounds, enabling people to find themselves, giving courage to forgive and accept themselves. And Black Finit may have experienced that. He wants everyone who believes in art to experience this. The art of unifying. Art dissolves tension, breaks through barriers. Black Finit is one that makes this happen. It is art, it is a masterpiece in itself.

That night, after singing Bawa Sertamu to his drinking companion, Black Finit repeated the wish he had conveyed so many times, both as advice and as a curse. He had expressed his wish again when we spoke on the phone some time before he said goodbye forever. He said that everyone has a time, and at every age there is a person. That sentence can only be said by people who believe and dare to make history. After you die, what do you want to be remembered for? In what way?

Then it's lonely. Only the wind and the sound of the motorboat drifted away…

Unfortunately, he was gone, without having the chance to feel and experience what he is remembered for by all who mourn his passing these days. Or maybe it is true, everything in this world, including the deepest desires of every human being, is nothing but mortality.

“Everything will be beautiful in its time. All glowing in time. Do what you can. Be who you want. Let time do the talking.”

Goodbye Wue ami du megu. Hello da'a reta seu, lape pitu! (*)