INDONESIAN PROG ROCK PIONEERS: THE GANG OF HARRY ROESLI

Roesli was born with the full name Djauhar Zaharsjah Fachruddin Roesli in Bandung, East Java, on 10 September 1951; he was the youngest of Major General Roeshan Roesli's four children. In 1970, he enrolled in the aviation engineering program at the Bandung Institute of Technology. He also studied music under Remy Silado and Slamet Abdul Syukur.
In the early 1970s, Roesli formed The Gang of Harry Rusli. He released his debut solo album, Philosophy Gang, in 1973. Although initially interested in becoming a writer like his grandfather and writing numerous pieces of poetry, his work was never published. After his album with The Gang of Harry Rusli, he went to the Jakarta Art Educational Institute. then studied on scholarship at the Rotterdam Conservatory in the Netherlands for two years; he graduated in 1981.
Upon his return, Roesli began work on an avant-garde project mixing the sounds of Iannis Xenakis, John Cage, and Karlheinz Stockhausen with poetry by Yudhistira Ardi Noegraha. In 1982 Roesli began occasionally collaborating with Putu Wijaya; the two would sometimes go overseas together for performances. Roesli also collaborated with Nano Riantiarno's Teater Koma and several international troupes. He also took a position as professor of music at the Indonesia University of Education and Pasundan University, both in Bandung. Read More