Iwan Fals

Virgiawan Listanto or better known as Iwan Fals (born 3 September 1961) is an Indonesian singer, songwriter and guitarist of Javanese descent.

Iwan was born Virgiawan Listanto in Jakarta, on 3 September 1961, to Harsoyo, a soldier, and Lies Suudijah.

He studied at SMP Negeri 5 Bandung and SMAK BPK Bandung.

He continued his studies at Sekolah Tinggi Publisistik and then Institut Kesenian Jakarta.

At the age of thirteen, he appeared as a street musician at small wedding ceremonies and other social events.

While he was 18, Iwan Fals, Toto Gunarto, Helmi, Bambang Bule and Kakek Jagonk formed a group named Amburadul.

The group released the album

"Perjalanan" in 1979, which was not successful, but was re-released with the added track '3 Bulan' as '3 Bulan' (1980) in 1980.

The group disbanded and played no further role in Iwan Fals' career.

As part of his early career, Iwan Fals also recorded some comedy albums, after winning a comedy country singing contest.

He sang of comic situations and themes, and his first release was on Canda Dalam Nada (the A-side featured five songs by Iwan: Generasi Frustrasi, Dongeng Tidur, Imitasi, Kisah Sepeda Motorku (aka.

Kopral), and Joni Kesiangan while the B-side consisted of songs by Tom Slepe and Pusaka Jaya).

The songs Dongeng Tidur, Joni Kesiangan and Kisah Sepeda Motorku were released, with one new song, Ambulance Zig Zag, on the Iwan Fals mini-album Canda Dalam Nada, while Generasi Frustrasi and Imitasi were also included on the Yang Muda Yang Bercanda II multi artist comedy compilation.

During this time, Iwan supported himself by busking.

Iwan Fals continued to release albums throughout the 1980s, while in 1989 he formed the group Swami, which released two albums Swami I in 1989, and Swami II in 1991.

A similar grouping was Kantata Takwa, which contained several Swami personnel.

The musical style was "rebana rock", a blend of Jimi Hendrix and Rick Wakeman, to a Betawi rebana.

1981 saw Iwan Fals' breakthrough, when he signed to Musica Studio to record his first solo album, Sarjana Muda.

This album shows Iwan Fals' signature country music style, with the protest song Guru Oemar Bakrie, which talks of how a teacher is poorly paid but still responsible for educating future well-paid and successful people.

Guru Oemar Bakrie became very well known and popular in Indonesia, and helped established Iwan's name.

The album also contains several ballads.

It benefited from considerable investment by Musica Studio, who used high-quality musicians and producer for the album.

1982's Opini, also on Musica Studio, cemented Iwan's reputation as a protest singer, but also as a balladeer.

'Galang Rambu Anarki', for his newborn son, combined both elements, commenting on both the happy event of the birth of his first child, but also commenting on rising prices, saying that perhaps his child would be malnourished if they could not afford to buy milk.

1983 saw the release of Sumbang, while 1984's album releases were Barang Antik and Sugali.

In April 1984, Iwan was arrested and questioned for two weeks after performing the songs Demokrasi Nasi and Mbak Tini, both songs never recorded on an album, in Pekanbaru.

The song Mbak Tini (Tien) was about a prostitute with a road-side coffee shop, married to 'Soeharyo' (Suharto).

The album Kantata Takwa was released in 1990, featuring songs such as "Bento" and "Bongkar" ("Rip It Down"), two of several songs which they sang during a demonstration by college students.

To make up for the lack of new content, a number of Iwan Fals compilations were released in the 1990s and 2000s, including Best of the Best, Akustik (3 volumes), and Salam Reformasi ("Greetings Reformation"), which sold more than 50,000 copies.

Up to the release of Orang Gila in 1994, Iwan had released approximately two new albums per year for 15 years.

Since 1994, he has greatly reduced his release schedule, putting out only two singles in 1995, and one in 1996, while in 1998 Kantata Samsara, the second and final album by Kantata Takwa, was released.

In 2002, Time named him a Great Asian Hero.

In 2002, Iwan Fals released his first new solo album since 1994, Suara Hati.

In 2003 the album 'In Collaboration With' was released consisting of performances with other Indonesia artists.

Manusia Setengah Dewa, in 2004, was a solo album.

In 2005, he released Iwan Fals in Love, essentially a compilation of existing Iwan Fals romantic recordings, but with the new song "Ijinkan Aku Menyayangimu" ("Let Me Love You") as the main single, and five re-recordings of old songs.

Two songs, in collaboration with Indra Lesmana, Haruskah Pergi, and Selancar, were released as digital downloads in 2006.

In 2007, 50:50 was released by Musica Studios.

The album's themes were romance and social criticism.

The events were retold in the song '14-4-84' on 1986's Ethiopia.