KELUARGA KARAWITAN STUDIO RADIO

Here's a nice Gending record from the Lokananta label, music from Middle-Java....

And the Lokananta label is now gone.... Quiet tragic if you think about it. I know they sold the place (in Surakarta also known as the city of Solo). Somebody from Singapore bought up all the records, from what I've heard there were tons and tons of records, somebody who went there told me it was overwhelming, he estimated there must've been a hundred thousand records there at the least, from the 60's till the 80's. lots of the big rock n roll groups from the 60's, lots and lots of traditional music, and it's all gone now. Another true treasure lost.... They say the place will be destroyed and a big hotel will be build there.....

So, ok, George just send me this article from the Jakarta Post, december 4:


Surakarta administration ready to support Lokananta
Kusumasari Ayuningtyas, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Archipelago | Wed, December 05 2012, 8:50 PM

Following the 56th anniversary of the country’s oldest recording studio, Lokananta, last month, Surakarta municipal administration has promised to support the struggling studio.

Surakarta municipal secretary Budi Suharto said on Wednesday that the administration would improve the access to and from the state-owned studio, located on Jl. Ahmad Yani, as well as promoting it.

The administration, however, did not have the authority to intervene with the management of the studio, which was founded in October 1956 as a pressing plant for vinyl records and a repository for records played on air by the state-owned broadcaster RRI, he said.

“We can’t fiddle with the studio. We have to wait for the managers to make a move [on revitalizing the studio] before we can throw in the necessary support,” Budi said, adding that the studio is under the authority of the State Printing Company Consortium (PNRI).

The head of the State Printing Company Consortium (PNRI) Surakarta Branch, Pendi Heryadi, said that the studio, which known for its recordings of old keroncong songs and gamelan orchestras, should change its image.

According to him, despite its run-down condition, the studio is perfectly capable of producing modern music from a variety of genres.

“Unfortunately we haven’t been able to promote the studio because we don’t have the budget to do it,” Pendi said.

In its attempt to survive, the studio has home to a futsal space over the past three years. The space’s rental fee has been Lokananta’s main income.

To cover operational expenses, the company needs between Rp 40 million (US$4,100) and Rp 45 million monthly. The majority of which covers the salaries of its 20 employees with payments ranging from Rp 600,000 to Rp 1.4 million per month each.

Other expenses include maintenance, cleaning and the annual property tax of Rp 137 million for the 21,500 square-meters plot. The tax is paid by PNRI’s central office.

Lokananta has over 40,000 recordings, which include some 5,200 commercial labels, in its collection. The studio keeps the master recordings of the speeches of Indonesia’s first president Sukarno, the national anthem Indonesia Raya,Bengawan Solo (created by noted composer Gesang) and Walangkekek (by noted singer Waldjinah). (han/lfr)

Im hearing all these stories from the record sellers here in Bandung, it would be great if the information I heard is wrong and Lokananta would manage to stay a float!, And thanks, George, for letting me know about this!

Anyways.... Here's the record.....

http://www.mediafire.com/?2qxdtj2rfntfo2o

Enjoy!!!