Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine March 2015 | Page 91

Explore | Interview

89

© Harry Triendl

HERMANN DELAGO

BRIDGING
MUSIC
Interview by Arya Arditya

Delago’s musical journey had always been
highly adventurous and experimental. It
started when he was ten, taking lessons in
accordion and piano. His lessons were cut
short, but that didn’t stop him from learning
to play trumpet, drums and keyboard on his
own. Two years later, he made his debut as
a flugelhorn player in his home town’s brass
band, Landeck-Perjen – today he is the
official bandmaster!
Teenage Delago played drums in a rock
band, and while studying at the Music
Academy of Innsbruck he formed Klockwerk
Orange, playing lead guitar, trumpet and
keyboard, together with three fellow
students. The band became the first to
release a Tyrolean progressive rock album
in 1975, called Abracadabra.
As his musical scope broadened, Delago
decided to study music education, taking an
interest in avant-garde contemporary music
and jazz at the Mozarteum Academy of
Music and Performing Arts in Innsbruck.
Upon his graduation in 1980, he founded the
first Tyrolean brass quintet, Pentaton, and
produced his first compositions.
He became renowned as a musician,
conductor and music educator in Europe as
his career flourished. Then on one fortuitous
occasion Delago reconnected with an old
childhood and home-town friend who shared
stories of his latest travels to Bali. He told
Delago of the beautiful landscapes, warm
people and fascinating culture he
experienced on his trip.
Intrigued, Delago packed his bags and came
to the Island of the Gods in 1995. He became
friends with a local musician. “He played
guitar and sang very well. I asked him to sing
a few Indonesian songs for me. Of all the

traditional songs he played, the Batak songs
stood out to me the most,” Delago recalls.
To this day ‘Butet’ is still Delago’s favourite
Batak song. He often plays it at home for
visiting family and friends with an acoustic
guitar. He even played the song during his
performances in Italy and Germany. ‘Butet’
was the first Indonesian song he learned.
It means ‘daughter’ in the Batak dialect,
and it is said the song was written in the
1930s during the colonial era. The song is
about a mother telling her daughter of her
father’s bravery on the battlefield; it is
traditionally sung by women.
“There is something simple and striking
about the lyrics, melody and rhythmic
structure of Batak music that resonates with

Delago’s musical
journey had always
been highly adventurous
and experimental.

me. I felt very fortunate to journey into the
land of the Bataks and learn about their
fascinating culture and experience a folk
genre that was completely new to me. The
mountainous landscape there reminds me of
my native home. The more I listened to
Batak songs, the more I fell in love with the
culture,” says Delago, who now speaks fluent
Bahasa Indonesia.
Since his visits to Indonesia, Delago has
travelled the world, and as such refers to
himself as a world musician, taking

inspiration from different cultural
instruments, such as Australia’s didgeridoo,
and musical styles, such as Batak music,
and mixing the traditional sounds in
modern arrangements.
In 2010, he collaborated with renowned
Indonesian musician, songwriter and
arranger Viky Sianipar and a number of
Batak singers and international musicians
to produce Tobatak, an album that blends
the Batak music with modern instrumentals
and world music sounds. The duo created
an updated vernacular of Batak music.
Tobatak was released in 2012, with worldwide
distribution handled by BSC Music Germany.
‘Butet’ was the album’s first single.
After the successful collaboration, Delago
moved on to a bigger idea inspired by his love
for Batak culture and beautiful Lake Toba.
Working with two Austrian symphonic
orchestras, Stadtmusik Landeck-Perjen and
Stadtmusik Imst, together with local concert
manager Henry Manik, he planned and
organised a joint performance in Indonesia.
The concert of Batak melodies in orchestral
arrangements was held last year in North
Sumatra in the capital city of Medan and
in rural Samosir.
After many years of working closely with
the Batak community, Delago became an
honorary Batak after being given a Batak
surname, Manik. He received the name
upon marrying his Batak wife, Rosdiana.
“I’m really proud to have this family
name. I’m proud to become a Batak. I love
Batak culture beyond just its music; I love
the arts, the traditions and the close kinship
of family relations. This is my second
homeland,” says Delago.