''Sabda Alam'' (''Nature's Order'') is a 1978 Indonesian album released by

Musica Studios PT Musica Studios is an Indonesian music company based in Jakarta. Known as Metropolitan Studios in the 1960s and then Musica Studios in the 1970s, Musica was founded by Yamin Widjaja, the owner of an electronics store. Musica is one of the la ...

. It is

Chrisye Hajji Chrismansyah Rahadi (; 16 September 1949 – 30 March 2007), born Christian Rahadi (), better known by his stage name Chrisye (), was an Indonesian progressive pop singer and songwriter. In 2011 ''Rolling Stone Indonesia'' declared h ...

's second studio album and his first after signing with Musica. The album was written in collaboration with

Guruh Sukarnoputra Muhammad Guruh Irianto Sukarnoputra (born 13 January 1953) is a member of Indonesia's People's Representative Council and an artist. He is the youngest son of Indonesia's first president, Sukarno with his third wife, Fatmawati, and the brother ...

. It was well received and, in 2007, was listed by

Rolling Stone Indonesia ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its cove ...

as one of the 150 best Indonesian albums of all time. Actually, this album was scheduled to be released in August 1977, but it was officially released in early 1978.

Production

After the success of '' Badai Pasti Berlalu'', Chrisye was approached by Amin Wijaya of

and offered a chance to record an album. Chrisye agreed upon the condition that he would be given creative freedom. Musica agreed to those conditions. Chrisye later recalled receiving much support from Amin during the recording of ''Sabda Alam''. ''Sabda Alam'' was recorded in Musica's studios in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

, Indonesia using

double tracking Double tracking or doubling is an audio recording technique in which a performer sings or plays along with their own prerecorded performance, usually to produce a stronger or bigger sound than can be obtained with a single voice or instrument. ...

. It featured Chrisye on vocals, guitar, and bass,

Jockie Soerjoprajogo Jockie Soerjoprajogo (; Perfected Spelling: Yockie Suryoprayogo; 14 September 1954 – 5 February 2018) was an Indonesian musician and songwriter. Jockie began his musical career while a junior high school student in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. ...

acoustic piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and keyboard, and Keenan Nasution on drums and percussion, with

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

by Chrisye and Yockie.

, who previously collaborated with Chrisye on '' Guruh Gipsy'', contributed three songs. The songs were written and produced in a similar style as ''Badai Pasti Berlalu'', with romantic and

melancholic Melancholia or melancholy (from el, µέλαινα χολή ',Burton, Bk. I, p. 147 meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout ancient, medieval and premodern medicine in Europe that describes a condition characterized by markedly d ...

songs. Recording took place from morning until night; Chrisye eventually fell ill from the effort. During the recording, executives from Musica were not allowed to enter, even though they requested it often.

Track listing

Reception

''Sabda Alam'' was well-received upon release and sold well.Endah, Alberthiene
Chrisye: Sebuah Memoar Musikal
Gramedia. 2007. Pp. 142 - 150. In 2007,

listed ''Sabda Alam'' as the 51st best

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

n album of all time,"150 Albums Indonesia Terbaik Sepanjang Masa". ''

''. December 2007. (Indonesian). and in 2009 they selected "Anak Jalanan" as the 72nd best Indonesian song of all time.150 Lagu Indonesia Terbaik Sepanjang Masa
." ''

''. December 2009. (Indonesian)

Reissues

''Sabda Alam'' has been

reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or Single (music), single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New aud ...

d twice, once as a CD in 2004Chrisye Rilis Ulang 22 Album Lawas
". ''KotaBNI News''. 28 October 2004. and once as part of the

Chrisye Masterpiece Trilogy Limited Edition ''Masterpiece Trilogy Limited Edition'' is a series of three box sets from singer Chrisye which is a collection of all of Chrisye's albums issued between 1978–2004. Each box set contains 7 CDs and a booklet. In the 26-year span, Chrisye release ...

in 2007.

References

{{Authority control 1978 albums Chrisye albums Indonesian-language albums