H

How did the guitar become your instrument of choice?

D

Why guitar? I like it because I can hug it (laughs). In the 70s I grew up in what can be called a village called Klungkung in Bali. During that time in Bali, I guess you can say that there wasn’t anybody playing the guitar. I saw a band play; I wanted to learn the guitar.

H

Would You say that your time in Bali is one of the main influence in playing the guitar?

D

Absolutely, it was a huge influence.

H

As a musician, could you tell us your creative process? As you have learned jazz and improvisation.

D

I learned only a little bit of Jazz – I lean more towards composition. I took some of the basic principles of jazz – chord progression, improvisation, and freedom.

In life we must keep moving, we shouldn’t be static – that is why I keep producing albums. To me, artists must keep creating. When artists are static all they do is complain and then become sick – this is based on my observation. All of an artist’s dissatisfaction comes from not channeling their energy. Musicians are humans with extraordinary abilities, and when they don’t have the platform to create, they channel it by complaining, protesting.

This is why I keep making albums. Even if people say I’m spreading myself thin I will keep creating. This year I recorded two albums in New York – it is therapy for my mind, it channels my thoughts.

H

You were under the tutelage of jazz guitarist Jack Lesmana. Could you tell us what you learned from him?

D

You can say that what I learned from him was philosophical. When I knew him, I understood very little jazz techniques, and what I learned from him were basic blues chords and such. He would take me around the city and we just talked. He taught me about life – I’ve never had a teacher liked him.

I wanted to learn from him, and when I couldn’t afford it anymore, he even took me in as his own.

H

Could you tell us some of the ‘dream’ musicians you would like to play with?

D

At around 2011, I had the chance to record with Peter Erskine, Jimmy Johnson, and then with Vinnie Colaiuta. Every year I try to record with my favorite musicians, I had the chance to record with Antonio Sanchez and Ben Williams from the Pat Metheny Group, last year I had the chance to record with senior jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette and bassist Tony Levine from Peter Gabriel’s group. I have been very fortunate to be able to play with some of my ‘dream’ musicians. A ‘dream’ musician that is still on my wish list would be John Mclaughlin – he is a musician who changed the way I saw music back in junior highs school.

H

How did these collaborations come about?

D

The first person who accepted my request was Peter Erskine from The Weather Report. I was a big fan of his group since Junior Highschool, with late Jacob Pastorius. I was doing my third album in 2002, Samsara, at the time and thought to myself “man, I want to record with Peter Erskine”. I stayed in my friends place in Santa Cruz, and sent out letters, and he replied.

It was a very unique experience, I had never been in contact with a foreigner before, I didn’t speak the language very well, didn’t understand the business of music there at all. Peter Erskine was actually the person who helped me. He accommodated my all of my problems, was very friendly and we recorded in his studio. He is the most important person in my being able to record internationally. Now when I record abroad he helps by guiding me to different musicians.

H

From your experience here and abroad, is there a difference in recording music?

D

Deifnitely. When I recorded abroad, the only thing I had to do was bring the partiture and in one recording session of 8 hours we finished a whole album. They just read the partiture, and without practice immediately recorded it in one, or in rare occasions, two takes. They imagine the music and interpret it their own ways. So with them, I don’t need to tell them what I want out of the music.

H

So far, have you been satisfied with their interpretation?

D

A lot of unexpected things happen. I would wonder at how different the music sounds than what I have imagined, and then find how wonderful the interpretations were.

H

You are also part of the band GIGI. Could you tell us how it was formed? And how did you get involved as it seems to be very different from your solo material.

D

I have always loved all kinds of music since I was a kid, particularly pop. Growing up in Indonesia you listened to the same artists – Koes Plus, Panbers, Bimbo – so pop music will always be in your mind. When I lived in Surabaya, I was always listening to jazz, but when I moved to Jakarta I had to play pop music. I was on my own and made a living playing in clubs, etc – I had to learn to play Top 40 music.

As I met the other guys, who were session players, we decided to make a pop band.

H

GIGI has witnessed several different eras of Indonesian music. Do you see a shift in the industry and the Indonesian listener’s taste?

D

Yes, we have existed for several years, having seen each generation’s music – from glam, alternative, ska. As GIGI, though, we just continue to do our thing. There are, of course, some influences that stem from what is happening around us, but for the most part, we try to just do our own music.

H

How has it been since you left Sony Records?

D

Right now, the music industry is facing the same problems with the decline of cd sales. As a group, we are part of the music industry, and as it shifts, the group adjusts itself. Right now it seems that performing is the main platform for musicians, so we perform. There are a lot of events right now, and whether concerts, product launch, or even weddings. It is part of a change of an era.

H

Back to jazz. There are many different subgenres in jazz music, and two of the most popular in Indonesia seems to be fusion and pop. With them being the dominant popular jazz music, it all seem to sound the same. What do you think?

D

I actually think it is the opposite. There are many different bands with distinct different characters. Indonesia’s jazz scene has grown quite a lot, and I think it is because there are so many jazz events. It perhaps has the most events in the world – we have everything from Jazz Gunung, Makassar Jazz Festival, Bali, Banyuwangi, to Jazz pasar. With all of these platforms available, more people are playing different types of music.

Also, compared to when I was learning music, the youth today are a lot better musicians than we are.

H

Why is that?

D

Because of information – the internet. It is much easier to get information now, but on the other hand the competition is a lot more difficult as well.

H

You can be considered as a musician who has succeeded in making a living from your craft. As there are many who try the same thing but cannot get the success you’ve experienced, what would you say is the key to succeeding in the music industry?

D

That would be… I don’t really know (laughs).

H

Being signed to a label, perhaps?

D

Not at all. There are many artists who didn’t start as with a label that are now signed to one, and there are many who successfully continue with the independent route. Actually, if we think about it, the independent bands are doing a lot better at selling CDs than the major labels, so I don’t think that is a sign of success – signed to a label is just a part of some of the bands journey.

I think luck has a lot to do with it – it’s just part of life, not just music. People always say things like “there are a lot of great musicians here, but most of them are not successful” – but this is just part of doing music, it’s like this anywhere in the world. When I first started in Jakarta, there were definitely many guitarists who were better than me, I was lucky that the right people approached me – perhaps they felt sorry for me (laughs).

H

How has the reception been for your internationally distributed albums been?

D

I believe the most noticeable reception has been from the media. The albums have been in several international media. I have never thought that it would be possible, I just couldn’t imagine them writing about music from Indonesia – which feels wonderful. I don’t believe it is about how much money you make anymore. I mean, how much money can you make from selling albums nowadays? If we keep thinking about money we can never make records. You can make money doing other things.

H

A few moments ago, you said you were going to establish Museum Gitar Lukis, a guitar museum. What was the idea behind it?

D

There are many projects that I would like to do – make an album, a book. In 2013, I published a book of guitars that were painted. The book was the result of meeting an artist in 2002 that drew on my guitar, and it was quite good, and since I have many friends who are artists, I asked them to paint on my guitar. At some point I thought to myself “what am I going to do with all of these guitars?” and if I just kept them at home, what for? That was when the idea of compiling them for a book came about, and to put it in a museum – this actually made the artists more enthusiastic.

So far there are 34 painted guitars that have been on display in Jakarta, Bandung, and Yogyakarta. Next, the guitars will be on display in the museum in Ubud by the end of the year, which is currently in the process of being built.

H

You have also released your music on vinyl records. Could you tell us why you decided to do so?

D

This actually has to do with the Museum Gitar Lukis. Like I mentioned before, there are 34 painted guitars, and if I was to display my personal collection, it wouldn’t be enough items on display, so we thought that we should produce an LP. Right now my second and third international albums have been printed on vinyl, and my latest will be as well. They will be merchandise in the museum.

H

Any plans for GIGI to release music on vinyl records?

D

I believe that vinyl is just part of lifestyle, it isn’t really for the audio. Many of the artists here use the CDs master as their source.

H

They don’t re-master their material for vinyl?

D

I don’t believe so. As I recorded my music in the US, we immediately mastered it for CD, digital, and vinyl.

H

What are your future projects?

D

Releasing my 4th international album, which was recorded in New York last year, it features Antonio Sanchez and Ben Williams from the Pat Metheny group.

H

As for GIGI?

D

We have no plans to record an album yet, as we have just released an album last year.