Krisna and all that Jazz

When the Indonesian Book of Records selected 10 “cool” guitarists to play together on stage in March last year, the youngest among them was Andika Krisna Dharmawan from Bali. Kadek Krishna Adidharma meets the youngest musician to ever play at Java Jazz to discover what spurs a child prodigy ever onward.

“To young musicians out there in Bali, keep on at it, don’t give up!” Krisna calls out before breaking into laughter. I’ve just made him repeat the familiar battle cry that he uses to conclude radio interviews.

This 14-year-old musician is a member of Pandawa, a rock group founded five years ago and inspired by Deep Purple, Dream Theatre and Dewa. Currently in his third year of junior high school, his typical day begins at 6:30 a.m.

“School starts at 7:30 a.m. With all the compulsory extra math, science and English lessons, it can go on to 2 p.m. most days of the week,” he says unenthusiastically.

“But after lunch, I try to fit in 2-3 hours of guitar or band practice,” Krisna adds, his eyes lighting up. “Most of my gigs start about 9 p.m. and go on to about 11 p.m., but sometimes they go to the early hours of morning. As long as I don’t miss watching Piala Asia [The Asian Cup], it’s fine.”

Krisna does not seem to care too much about being a very cool kid in his own backyard.

“Some of my friends support [my playing music], some are a bit jealous. My teachers are much the same. Some of them think I’m wasting my time on music.”

“As a musician, I get more respect in Jakarta,” he adds, reminiscing of his Java Jazz experience.

Gradually weaned of his early classic-rock addiction, his music tastes are maturing. Fast. This avid soccer fan who loves foreign films has developed a taste for jazz-rock in the past two years.

“I’ve played rock, pop and progressive jazz. You know, universal jazz with bits of pop, rock and ethnic [elements]. It’s fusion, really.”

Pandawa’s music is arranged by the band, while the lyrics, mostly in Indonesian, are written by the singer. “Skill” is the buzzword and developing musical ability is paramount. If a maestro crosses his path, Krisna will definitely ask for lessons. His long list of mentors includes Balinese jazz-guitarist “Magic Fingers” Balawan.

But he also is aware of the need to be original.

 “I’ve been working on an instrumental baby-rock arrangement with a touch of base drums and a lux sequencer to show off the guitar.”

After five years together, there are rumors that Pandawa may be breaking up. Three members of the band are at that age when most of their friends are pursuing tertiary study. And there are few options to study music in Bali.

“University is just a waste of money,” says Krisna’s older brother Iwan, the base player of the band who graduated from high school last year. “I prefer just playing music. We’re still indie but we have enough gigs. We’re still trying to break into the Jakarta bubble, though.”

Although he brushed aside questions about the band breaking up, Krisna did concede that he was forming a new band, called Boys Don’t Cry.

“We’re teaming up with Suta as the vocalist,” he says, referring to the 2005 winner of TV singing talent contest Akademi Fantasi Indonesia (AFI).

“Suta is writing lyrics, mostly in English,” adds Iwan, “so this should help us reach a wider audience.”

Krisna is already looking one step ahead: going international. He dreams of breaking into the U.S. music scene, and one day going to Hollywood to study with guitar legends at the Guitar Institute of Technology.

His goals are very different from those held by his father at the same age.

“When I was growing up,” says garment manufacturer Hendra Kurniawan, “we were all told to be engineers.”

Watching his two children’s growing love of music has brought him to a new realization. “Education is important, but most important of all is skill. With a future that is changing beyond our imagination, parents can no longer be dictators directing children to what they consider is important.

“We can only assist them in developing skills. Any skill. As long as they give it their best.”

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