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Debu : Hep Beraber (INDO,2007)**°
Indonesian group Debu made 3 albums before this one with Islamic inspired songs in Indonesian mostly and in Arabic. I think with this new album they reached a new point of making good, optimistic, accessible World Music, reaching to a global accessibility with their “Turkish” album. They want to make a point to bring an Islamic word of peace to the world, using traditions to do so, with use of a variety of exotic instruments from different origins.
While I am personally very much into philosophy to open up ranges of possibilities, not feeling limited by idealistic versions, that keep certain traditions sacred and undiscussible, I am always a bit careful of such approaches, that often still divide good and wrong instead of opening doors to make previous contradictions in a renewed and inspired way possible, a quality of a true bridging spirituality. But also optimism of a reaching hand can be able to create certain possibilities, slowly and spontaneously. Also within the range of certain traditions there could be welcome surprises. The personal songs (in English) still for me are the strongest expressions, songwriter tracks played by acoustic guitar and ethnic instruments. I also very much like the opening track, “Ancak Ak” which mixes beautifully Indonesian elements in flute with oud, zither, hand percussion, an English song written in dedication to Allah with Fusion ideas and personal inspiration. The Turkish traditional tracks are mixed with the (for Debu) typical Islamic Arab style. Turkey has a bit more distance from religious ambitions nowadays, in music and society, leaving the work to the music expressions themselves mostly, in a true Sufi fashion of the direct approach. In that way Debu’s music is still more a variation of some Arab-Middle Eastern tradition, mixed with Indonesian openness, and with the eyes open and hopeful to the world, reaching their hands in musical dedication.
PS. Various members come from different world origins. What I still think is strange is that all members are going for the ultra-traditional Islamic clothing and for some rather newly reborn, radical and extreme traditions of Islam, with everything dedicated to devotion. This leaves me with some careful scepticism towards the groups' limitations of their mainsprings. I can assume this can often leave fewer options of an inner learning process in all what exists, but often tends to measure with a human controlled good and evil, something which I think can be hardly something of a true and intelligent live experiencing spiritual power. There's a Sufi-based Islamic story that the Islamic version of the angel of Lucifer, was an angel who was completely devoted to God. And yet, God instead chose Man to be the witness and procreator of his presence. This made this angel into an angry God, just like with the story of Lucifer, in essence became Satan. This is what can happen with humans too. If they are blindly devoting themselves to God they will not understand why other humans will get all the chances to change and grow, and have free choice, and they become angry and destructive towards these people. This is what always tends to happen. But by doing so they themselves will have become the devils in society, and not those who do not worship any restrictions of dominated and prescripted visions told by those who use religion to proclaim these limitations. This Turkish music CD by Debu to me sounds the one of them with the most open musical vision, amongst the more extreme dogma provoking devotional music.
