According to statistics from the Ministry of Labor, as of the end of August 2015 there were about 580,000 foreign migrant workers in Taiwan, with the nearly 240,000 Indonesian workers outnumbering other nationalities. But while they spend many hours working to fulfil their contracts, what interests do they have outside their day jobs?
The five members of Relix, for example, enjoy making music and spend all their spare time after work rehearsing.
Establishing the band
Relix began in 2006. Its members are all male workers from Indonesia who share an interest in music. In 2009, a few players had to leave the band to return to Indonesia as their work contracts had expired, so the current lineup is the result of a number of changes. Where did the name Relix come from? Band member Haris tells us that it came from the English word “relics,” the remnants and heritage of the past, often possessing a human spirit. The band was called Relix in the hope that members would pass on their passion for music and maintain its spirit and strength.
Haris is the band’s lead singer, though he began as keyboard player. Born into a musical family, he learned piano from a young age, and was creating his own music at age 15. Haris writes most of the band’s lyrics and melodies.
The oldest member of the band, Dody, has long, straight hair and previously worked in South Korea for two years. His Mandarin is not fluent, but he’s an excellent drummer, completely self-taught. His wife Atik, band manager, is in charge of organizing their gigs.
Vicky is the youngest band member, and with Haris and Dody belongs to the first generation of Relix. Vicky plays excellent guitar and his family are also musical and actively involved in the music scene. Although he came to Taiwan to make money, luckily he met a group of people who also love music, so he’s been able to continue to practice his love.
Henky is proficient on a variety of instruments. He was originally the band’s bassist but changed to keyboards before returning to Indonesia after his work contract expired. The current keyboard player is Haris’s brother Anggi. Haris came to Taiwan first and then called on Anggi to join him as the band needed a keyboard player.
Currently the band is still short one player as bassist Tian had to return to Indonesia when his visa expired, and it takes some time to renew a visa. Band manager Atik has to deal with the issue of the constantly changing lineup. They often have to impose on talented friends to replace missing players. While Taiwan has extended the length of time that migrant workers can work on the island, the regular loss of players remains a challenge.
Music is everything
They came to Taiwan as laborers, working an average of ten to 12 hours a day six days a week (and occasionally on Sundays), and earning about NT$20,000 per month. In their limited leisure time, music is the centerpiece of their lives.
Haris often shares videos of the band’s performances on his Facebook page. Sometimes he plays solo keyboard and sings slow, lyrical songs; at other times, he and the band play guitar and sing more up-tempo tunes. Haris has written the lyrics for more than 50 songs, and has also penned the music for a number of these. He often records a demo version to play for the band, and when everyone is familiar with the melody, in rehearsal they discuss the best way to present the number.
And there are lots of other expenses. Hiring a rehearsal space can cost around NT$350 per hour. To interact better with fans, they self-financed a CD and DVD album titled Waktu, but hiring a recording studio is not cheap, starting from NT$1,500 per hour. Relix has received a number of invitations to play gigs, so Atik has had to help out with make-up and costumes. They’ve also produced an exclusive range of T-shirts for their followers. And of course there’s the cost of maintaining and upgrading their instruments.
These young men (all around 20 years old) are working to help support their families, and at the same time using part of their earnings to live their musical dream in Taiwan.
Their own material
Most of the music that Relix plays is their own material. The main theme is love—depicting especially the emotions of a young man in love. For example, “Pergi Untuk Kembali” (“Wait for Me to Return”), is a love song describing a young man who is going away and is reluctant to say farewell to his girlfriend. He promises he will return. “Hanya Kamu” (“You’re the Only One”) depicts the emotions of two people deeply in love. When the girlfriend appears unhappy, her boyfriend becomes very anxious and wants to know what has happened—and to express his great love for her. “Selalu Merindumu” (“I Will Always Miss You”) is a slow song describing feelings of unrequited love, a young man hoping that his beloved is also thinking about him.
Relix’s music combines a variety of genres including pop, rock, dangdut, and blues. Dangdut is a synthesis of Arabic, Indian and Malay folk music expressed in its own unique style. Dangdut was popular among working-class Muslim youth in the 1970s, and by the late 1990s had been well received in Indonesian society in general. The contemporary form of dangdut embraces other musical genres like Latin, house, hip-hop, R&B, and reggae. Relix’s popular song “Cemberut” is a representative work in the dangdut style with a lively rhythm and witty lyrics, featuring the bass as its main musical instrument. The song describes a boyfriend who hates seeing his girlfriend unhappy and tries to cheer her up. Its lively rhythm is sure to make you want to dance.
Relix has also appeared on the TV show Singing in Taiwan, organized jointly by the Global Workers’ Organization Taiwan, Lasixi Film Studio and 4-Way Voice. The show’s producers take their microphones and cameras to the streets to invite migrant workers to strut their stuff. Relix sang “Aku Cinta Indonesia” (“I Love Indonesia”), one of their own songs: “From Sabang to Merauke, that’s my country Indonesia on the equator, with fertile lands and diverse culture.” (Sabang is the most northerly and westerly city in Indonesia, and Merauke is the easternmost, so Indonesians call the scope of their national territory dari Sabang sampai Merauke.) The song expresses expats’ nostalgia for their homeland, and is often sung at Indonesian festivals with other Indonesian expats singing along with the band.
Never give up music
Asked whether they listen to any of the music produced by Taiwan singers, Haris says that he loves Jay Chou’s enchanting songs, and is constantly humming Mayday’s “Leaving the Surface of the Earth” with rather inaccurate Mandarin pronunciation: “My heart is beating fast....” And Relix bassist Tian once had the opportunity to sing Ayal Komod’s song “Free” with one of his Taiwanese colleagues. The band also features new compositions online. Band manager Atik often records the band’s rehearsals and uploads them to Facebook to share with their fans. Watching their videos online in their native language can arouse feelings of nostalgia, but the music can also calm migrant workers’ sometimes lonely hearts.
No matter what language they use, at home or away from home, they really feel that music is without borders. Haris says, “Music is an integral part of my life,” and it’s true that it has always been a major focus in the lives of all the band’s members. They all hope that one day when they return to Indonesia and no longer need to work abroad, they can continue making music to bring people happiness and soothe their souls.
Time is up in their hired rehearsal studio. As they are walking out, they notice another band waiting to play. So the two groups exchange greetings and discover that they are both from Indonesia. In fact, the second group have just established their band and don’t yet have a name. Although they’re laborers in Taiwan, they have dreams to achieve. As Haris says: “Never give up. Fix the mistakes. And keep moving forward.”
To better connect with fans, Relix self-financed a CD and DVD entitled Waktu. The photos at left show their album cover.
To better connect with fans, Relix self-financed a CD and DVD entitled Waktu. The photos at left show their album cover.
Besides their role as migrant workers, the members of Relix have been able to achieve their musical dreams in Taiwan. This photo was taken to promote their album.
Born into a musical family, Haris is the band’s lead singer. He was creating his own music at age 15, and now writes most of the band’s music and lyrics. (photo by Jimmy Lin)
Relix members focus on rehearsing a new song in the studio. Vicky (left), Dody (center rear), and Haris (center front) are the band’s founding members, while Anggi (right) is their new keyboard player. (photo by Jimmy Lin)
Relix is often invited to perform at festivals and has become a very popular band—especially among the Indonesian migrant worker community.
