The Rise of Village Superstars
Quietly, the local recording industry has gained much enthusiasm in a number of areas. In Banyuwangi, for example, home industry recording studios are mushrooming in villages. While three years ago only one or two albums were produced in a month, today it can reach up to 15 albums.
Many farmers are suddenly trying their luck by shifting professions to become recording producers. A solo organ musician, who usually performed on tour to various locations, sold his equipment to build a recording studio.
Tempo observes that the enthusiasm for local recording industries has also given birth to local superstars. Their albums are booming, they have thousands to millions of fans, and they are flooded with invitations from various regions—even abroad.
Ironically, as there is so much enthusiasm for local recording industries, Lokananta—the oldest state-owned recording company, which had a golden age in the 1970s and 1980s—is now fading fast. Lokananta is gasping for breath and on the brink of dying.
May 18, 2011
IN a room of about 50 square meters in the recording studio of Lharos, Kalipuro, Banyuwangi, East Java, Victor Rayllaya listened intently to the song he was playing. Occasionally Victor fiddled with the program on the computer when the music of I miss u sung by vocalist Ratna Antika did not sound quite right to his ears. That afternoon at the end of last March, Victor had to finalize the process of mixing the Banyuwangi album titled Best of The B
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