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| Project Pop Go Jungle-Wild in Malaysia! | |
by
Farah 'Fairy' Mahdzan
(20-May-2004) | Readers Say |
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 When I wrote about Project Pop's Dangdut is the Music of My Country video clip, little did I expect Project Pop road manager Handri Sidharta to email thanking me for the write-up on behalf of this popular comedy group from Bandung, Indonesia. Having stumbled upon my article through Google, Handri conveyed sincerest thanks and added that Project Pop was "impressed with my detailed walkthrough of the video clip." Wow, who would have thunk! I broke out in a smile so wide my cheeks ached for a week. However, nothing quite prepared me when Handri informed me that the group would be in Malaysia and I would have the opportunity to meet up Tika, Oon, Odie, Yosi, Gugum and Udjo in the flesh! Project Pop was invited to perform at and emcee Amazonia: Ajang Musik dan Zona Kreativitas Indonesia, a charity event for AIDS patients organized by the Indonesian students studying in Malaysia. Amazonia, a jungle-themed event, was to take place in Sunway Lagoon Amphitheatre on Friday (23/4), and so I arranged to meet Handri and Project Pop during their sound check at 3 o'clock that afternoon.
As we sauntered past colorful amusement park rides and flourishing forestry that made up the interior of the Sunway Lagoon, we finally approached the big round white architecture that was the amphitheatre. I saw Handri from a distance and we waved amicably. The 30-something-Jakarta-born man had set on his sunglasses backwards on his head and wore white Converse shoes. As we approached each other we grinned and extended our arms for a steady handsake while sighing, "Akhirnya, kita ketemu!" ("At last we meet!")
"Tika, ini dia Fai, she was the one wrote that video clip review you found on the Internet," announced Handri facing tired-looking Tika while lightly clapping my back. "Oh iya apa kabar Fai!" Tika exclaimed, shaking my hand vigorously while still sitting down. "Thanks ya udah bikin tulisannya tentang video clip kita, mendetil sekali!" ("Thanks for writing that article, it's really detailed!") Tika continued, dabbing her tears with a crumpled up tissue paper. "Ya sama-sama, I really like that video clip, soalnya," I replied, wondering why on earth Tika was tearing up like she was peeling onions. Was Malaysian air that overwhelmingly cleaner? :) Nonetheless I was grinning like a ninny, pleased as punch at the chance of meeting Tika Panggabean.
I just had to ask about the hilarious tattoos that Yosie and Oon sported during the Dangdut video clip. Yosie and Oon snickered and said, "Oh, those were temporary tattoos of course! They lasted on our arms for only two weeks!" Oon chuckled at the reminder of the Inul tattoo he had on his arm for the video shoot. To ensure a successful show, Project Pop ran through a series of routine sound checks, all well-coordinated with the help of Handri and the sound engineers who were in charge. While the committee of students in black t-shirts bustled around the stage preparing for the night's event, I took the opportunity to record some of antiques that went on during the sound check session.
You need Windows Media Player 9 Series!
After the soundchecks were completed, I followed Handri, the group and a couple of Indonesian students I had just befriended, Bobby and Ferdi, back to Bobby's apartment in Sunway for the performers to freshen up. While the boys changed, I sat with Tika in Bobby's room and watched her with deep interest as she expertly applied make-up. "Ya kan Fai, we had to minimize the number of crew people we could bring along on our Malaysian trip. Since our make-up artist's not here, I'll have to put on my own make-up," muttered Tika as she applied what seemed to me like a million layers of foundation on her face. "We wanted to bring our band too to play our music live tonight, but we couldn't, so we're just going to play our background music off a CD while we sing live," she added, staring at herself intently in her compact mirror.
Oon, who was in the background surfing on P-Project's website on Bobby's PC, turned to face me and with a wink he said, "We guys sometimes perform in drag, so all of us in the group know how to apply make-up too!" I giggled at the thought of the Project Pop guys in dresses, lipstick and high heels! But of course no one wore a dress that night; everyone had on rugged Indiana Jones-type costumes in the jungle spirit of Amazonia.
Finally everyone was ready, it was nearly 8 o'clock and the Amazonia show was soon to start! We promptly arrived back at Sunway Lagoon and all the performers started to take their positions. Project Pop was to emcee the event as well as sing some songs. The night was also to be filled with performances by the Indonesian students such as a funny play about Inul Daratista the infamous dangdut singer, some live band gigs and a traditional dance. I estimated almost a thousand attendees at the event, most were students. The Indonesian ambassador was also present to convey his support for the Indonesian students activities.
Apart from being reduced to fits and giggles by the ensemble of performances by the Indonesian students, the crowd was bowled over and happily danced to songs from the likes of Project Pop's dangdut-fused-rock hit ("Dangdut is the Music of My Country"), a number about loving smelly people ("Bau Bau Bau") and a staying-hip-with-70s-fashion song ("Tahun 70-an"). On top of that everyone was highly entertained by the creative games that Tika and gang played with the audience. The spectacular show ended with Project Pop's Jangan Piki-Piki as everyone danced away in front of the stage area after being encouraged by Tika to come down and "fill the space." It was way past midnight when Amazonia finally ended and it was time for us to clean up and help transport the group back to their hotel in Subang Jaya. I came back home, feeling very high spirited though drained, and I couldn't wait to spend time to process the videos and photos that you see right here in this very article. I hope you've enjoyed watching some of the very funny clips! All in all, it was terribly fun meeting up with Handri and the Project Pop members, and it's all thanks to a little write-up I called Project Pop Makes Dangdut Hip!
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| WHAT READERS SAY ABOUT Project Pop Go Jungle-Wild in Malaysia!: |
#52. PROJECT POP website : www.project-pop.comOur New Album Six A Six has been released, get it now. but no download please Posted by O2N - Website on 24-Jun-2007, 13:28 MYT
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Having arrived at the Sunway Lagoon entrance and announcing my arrival to Handri via SMS, I was greeted by a girl named Anggi, who was part of the organizing Indonesian student committee, and two tall boys in black t-shirt shuffling along as our so-called security guards. They were to escort me to the site where everybody was preparing for the show that night.
The first Project Pop member I was introduced to was Tika, the only female in the six-member group. She was sitting down on a cushioned chair in front of the stage with headphones on, looking sleepy and her eyes red and full of tears of irritation.
"Ooooh...," I replied, gaping as I watched Tika squint and delicately apply eye liner around and almost in her eyes. Ouch that looks painful, I thought.
Cool Dudes!.. Kalau mcm ni selalu kan best... mcm dapat ikut gi sana jer.. tambah2 kan la clip2 yang cambest nih.. ditto!! Salamz.... 
