Mr. Iwan Fals [biography]

Name                                       : Virgiawan Listanto

Nick Name                              : Iwan Fals

Religion                                   : Islam

Place of Birth                           : Jakarta

Date of Birth                            : Friday, November 3, 1961

Nationality                               : Indonesian

Profession                                : Songwriter, singer, and actor

Father                                       : Haryoso

Mother                                      : Lies

Wife                                          : Rosanna or Mbak Yos 

Children                                    : Galang Galang Rambu Anarki (almarhum), Anissa Cikal Rambu      Basae, and Rayya Rambu Robbani

 

        Iwan Fals is a legendary Indonesian solo singer. He is known for his work which often describes criticism of social portraits in this country. His debut began with the release of an album titled Journey in 1979. His work was considered capable of representing the voice of the community. He is always active and is never afraid to voice opinions and criticisms through music. In fact, he often gets banned from most of the songs he wrote. As a result of the critical attitude inherent in him, several times he went in and out of prison. When they were about to hold a 100-city tour for promotion in 1989, the security forces unilaterally canceled it without any clear reason.Before being active as well as now, the childhood life they lived was quite different from other children his age. He took to the streets to become a street singer. This was done because he wanted to train his musical skills. His achievements in school are very contrary to his current profession. Noted he had won second place for Karate at the national level and in 1989, he also won the fourth place in the same category. At the STP (Public High School) campus where he is studying, he once attended national training and practiced karate. Iwan has also been a columnist for various sports tabloids. 
        Many consider the profile of Iwan Fals to be a music legend in the country. Through his songs, most of which are in the form of social criticism capable of representing people's voices. He was never afraid to voice his opinions and criticisms through music. In fact, he often gets banned from his songs. As a result, several times he went in and out of prison. When they were about to tour 100 cities for promotional purposes in 1989, the security forces canceled them unilaterally for no apparent reason. He also experienced a severe disaster that befell his family. In April 1997, his son, Galang Rambu Anarki was found dead at the age of 15 in his room. The family gave a statement, that Galang died of an acute asthma attack. However, there were rumors that Galang died of an overdose. Counteracting the news, the wife of Iwan Fals also said that Galang's condition at that time was indeed sick. Iwan also added that Galang's physical and digestion were rather weak. After the death of Galang, a musician born on September 3, 1961, had a vacuum from the music world for several years. Then, he began to be active again in the music world in 2002. Before becoming known to many people today, of course there were many twists and turns that he faced. And that is one reason there are still many people who idolize it until now

Iwan Fals

        The real name of musician Iwan Fals is Virgiawan Listanto, he is the son of the couple Colonel Anumerta Sucipto and Lies Suudijah. He spent his childhood in Bandung. Then he moved to follow his brother to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for 8 months. He began honing his musical talent since he was 13 years old. At the age of 13, he often spends his time busking in the city of Bandung. This is also used as a means to hone his ability to master the guitar and create songs. His ability to play music also made him lined up to become a guitarist for choirs at his school. At that time, while still in junior high school, he got an offer to play music in Jakarta. Then he recorded for his first album, which was done with his colleagues, namely Toto Gunarto, Helmi Bahfen, and Bambang Bule. Collaboration with his colleagues eventually became a group called Ambush and recorded at Istana Music Records Jakarta. But, the debut album titled Travel which was released in 1979 was not exactly successful in the field. The tape isn't selling well in the market. Iwan Fals also decided to go back to the streets. Not necessarily giving up, he also participated in several music festivals around the beginning of the 1980s. He also won the championship at the country music festival. After that, he returned to another music festival, a humorous song festival hosted by the Indonesian Humor Institute. This humorous song Iwan Fals was recorded with Pepeng, Krisna, and Nana Krip. This project was produced by ABC Records. But, as if repeating previous experiences, this recording was not successful in the market. Only certain people want to enjoy it. Finally, he did the recording at Musica Studio and the music began to be taken seriously. For example, on the album Iwan Fals, Young Scholar who was released in 1981 ago, which was handled by Willy Soemantri. But after the birth of his second child in 1985, he decided to stop his busking activities. He appeared on a television program in 1987. At that time he appeared in the Manasuka Siaran Niaga program which was broadcast on TVRI and performed the song Oemar Bakri. 
         During the New Order period, he got a lot of money from the government. Many of the concerts are banned and canceled. This is because the lyrics of the song are considered potentially provoking riots. Some of the songs can be categorized as songs that are too loud and critical at that time. Until the record company that sheltered it did not dare to enter the songs for sale freely. Iwan also admitted that he himself was also not interested in including the songs on his album. Records of songs that were not sold were also played on the 8EH radio station in the Bandung Institute of Technology. The song was also sung in several singers' songs. As a result, he repeatedly had to deal with security forces because the song was considered to be able to disrupt the country's stability. Some of the concerts in the 1980s were also sabotaged by the way the electricity was put out and had also been forcibly disbanded 
         After reviewing the complete biography of Iwan Fals, we become more aware of the profile of Iwan Fals and all the information about it that has been missed and has been several advantages of Iwan Fals in creating a work. To be successful like now, there are so many twists and turns that must be faced by music legends who also collaborated with Isyana Sarasvati. The journey is not necessarily smooth. His life struggle should be appreciated. In addition to the world of music, his figure in the family was very inspiring. Profile of Iwan Fals is a portrait of a popular figure who was not lost in his fame. He is still known to be grounded and very fond of his family. This is what we should take for example.