Jurang Pemisah
Encyclopedia
Jurang Pemisah (ˈdʒuraŋ pəˈmisah; Dividing Canyon) is an Indonesian
pop
album recorded by Chrisye
in 1977
. It was Chrisye's first album. Jurang Pemisah was produced and released by Pramaqua Records.
After the success of Guruh Gipsy
and "Lilin-Lilin Kecil
", Chrisye was approached by Pramaqua records in 1977. They offered him a chance to record his first studio album. Working with Yockie Suryoprayogo, he recorded Jurang Pemisah. Chrisye performed the vocals and played the bass
, Jockie played the keyboard
, guitar
, and drums. Ian Antono and Teddy Sujaya played the guitar and drums respectively for the songs "Mesin Kota" (City Machine) and "Dia" ("Her").
According to Yockie, Jurang Pemisah was "a portrait of social reality", dealing with themes such as the environment and politics. The eponymous song, for example, was about class discrimination causing a divide between the different social strata. Another, "Jeritan Sebrang" (Shriek from the Other Side) was considered a portrait of supporters of the Republic of South Maluku. Yockie took inspiration from and blended elements of Rick Wakeman
and Jon Lord
to create and arrange
the album.
The album was released that same year with "high hopes", with the songs "Jurang Pemisah" (Dividing Canyon) and "Jeritan Seberang" planned to become singles
. However, sales were lackluster. In his biography, Chrisye commented that Jurang Pemisah sold "like chicken shit"; warm at the beginning, but cooling off quickly.
It did not receive any critical praise upon release.
Music of Indonesia
The music of Indonesia demonstrates its cultural diversity, the local musical creativity, as well as subsequent foreign musical influences that shaped contemporary music scenes of Indonesia. Nearly thousands of Indonesian islands having its own cultural and artistic history and character. This...
pop
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
album recorded by Chrisye
Chrisye
Chrismansyah Rahadi , better known by his stage name Chrisye , was an Indonesian progressive-pop singer and song writer of mixed Chinese-Indonesian descent. He was born in Jakarta on 16 September 1949, and died there on 30 March 2007 following a long battle with lung cancer. He recorded 21 solo...
in 1977
1977 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1977.-January–February:*January 1 – The Clash headline the gala opening of the London music club, The Roxy....
. It was Chrisye's first album. Jurang Pemisah was produced and released by Pramaqua Records.
After the success of Guruh Gipsy
Guruh Gipsy
Guruh Gipsy is a 1976 Indonesian studio album released by Guruh Sukarnoputra in collaboration with the band Gipsy, consisting of Keenan Nasution, Chrisye, Roni Harahap, and Oding Nasution. Mixing modern instruments with traditional Javanese and Balinese music styles, it is now considered a landmark...
and "Lilin-Lilin Kecil
Lilin-Lilin Kecil
"Lilin-Lilin Kecil" is an Indonesian pop song written by James F. Sundah for the Prambors 1977 Teenage Song-Writing Competition and performed by Chrisye. To date it has been covered over fifty times. Rolling Stone Indonesia listed it as the thirteenth best Indonesian song of all...
", Chrisye was approached by Pramaqua records in 1977. They offered him a chance to record his first studio album. Working with Yockie Suryoprayogo, he recorded Jurang Pemisah. Chrisye performed the vocals and played the bass
Bass (instrument)
Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...
, Jockie played the keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, and drums. Ian Antono and Teddy Sujaya played the guitar and drums respectively for the songs "Mesin Kota" (City Machine) and "Dia" ("Her").
According to Yockie, Jurang Pemisah was "a portrait of social reality", dealing with themes such as the environment and politics. The eponymous song, for example, was about class discrimination causing a divide between the different social strata. Another, "Jeritan Sebrang" (Shriek from the Other Side) was considered a portrait of supporters of the Republic of South Maluku. Yockie took inspiration from and blended elements of Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...
and Jon Lord
Jon Lord
Jonathan Douglas "Jon" Lord is an English composer, pianist and Hammond organ player.Jon Lord, also known as 'Hammond Lord', is a classically trained piano player. He is recognised for his Hammond organ blues-rock sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms...
to create and arrange
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
the album.
The album was released that same year with "high hopes", with the songs "Jurang Pemisah" (Dividing Canyon) and "Jeritan Seberang" planned to become singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
. However, sales were lackluster. In his biography, Chrisye commented that Jurang Pemisah sold "like chicken shit"; warm at the beginning, but cooling off quickly.
It did not receive any critical praise upon release.