TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Unlike any other indie bands existing in various cities in Indonesia, members of The Salemba Band are all prison inmates. The band was created in 2011 by Sutedi, a security guard in Salemba prison, Jakarta.
"First I heard the inmates were playing some guitar at night, and it was brilliant. So I thought, why don't we just guide them to form a band," said the 45-year-old prison guard on September 18.
Sutedi started to hunt other talented inmates inside the prison. "I held an audition just like the idol shows," he said. Initially, he gathered 30 members of Salemba Band consisted of the band players, promoting members, and technicians who handle the sound systems.
Over the time, some members were released or relocated to other prisons. Now there are only 20 members left which are all drug convicts. Among the core band members are Muhammad Sidqi (bass), Raditya Fajri (vocalist and keyboard), Subardi (drum), Ressy Wattilete (vocalist), Jessy Panggalila (guitar), dan Alden Luhukay (guitar).
Not being able to get funds from the government, Sutedi managed to finance the band's activities using his own money. He borrowed money from a cooperative office in Senen Market, Central Jakarta, and spending it on second-hand music instruments.
"Last time I checked, I still have to pay installment for the total of Rp30 million debts," he said, laughing.
Using the money, Sutedi also provides a simple recording room in his office. "There is no sound-proof layering. Sometimes noises from outside leaks into the room," said Sutedi, who also printed the album cover himself.
The band first album is titled: Yakinilah (Have faith), which consisted of six songs which were partly composed by Sutedi. Considering the minimum equipments used for the recording, the quality of the sound is not too bad. In just two years, the band had produced seven albums from behind the bars. Pop, rap, and reggae colored their various themed songs. From love, nationalism, religious, to their life experience inside the prison.
The albums were then sold at Rp20,000 to the prison's visitors in a CD format as a souvenir. The money from the sales was used to pay meals and cigarettes for the band personnel. Sutedi had also tried to promote the albums by sending them to radio stations. The single Yakinilah were played in Indonesian radios for several times.
The band is now finishing their eighth album entitled Ampun Bui (Prison, please have mercy) and planning to copy it into CD format on October. According to Sutedi, he will need a budget of around Rp4 million to Rp5 million to produce 500 CDs.
"At first, people threw their prison foods to us and forced us to step down," said the 27-year-old Rio Mukmin, a member of the band's promotion division. "It took us a year to make the people to applaud us," he added.
All of the band personnel are expected to be released in two more years, and they are hoping to continue their music activities together.
"We become brothers. Here, I learned a lot about team work and discipline," said Subardi, the drummer.
"I was a drug dealer before and had no purpose in my life. When I joined the band, I become focused on it. My family was even surprised to see me like this," said Rio.
RATNANING ASIH
