Elevation US Vinyl & CDs

Review: The musical orchestral form that is Orkes Melayu (the Malay Orchestra) finally emerges from the shadows. In the early 1960s, two of the foremost talents from the Indonesian music scene - songwriter and band leader Adi Karso, known for his hits 'Papaya Cha-Cha-Cha' and 'Balonku' and Gambus musician Munif Bahasuan - teamed up to form the Malay-Orchestral band Kelana Ria, known to some as the "Robert Johnson" of Indonesia. Between 1961 and 1964, they recorded 48 songs spread over four records - Kafilah, Yam El Shamah, YaMahmud and Ya Hamidah - which became the primary sources for this compilation. 'Renungkanlah (Think About It)', included on this compilation, is a love song with heavenly melodies and lilting harmonies; to an audience in the Western part of Malaysia, or people of Malay ethnicity in Singapore, most are predisposed to immediately hum along out of recognition.