Soedjarwoto Soemarsono was an Indonesian singer and songwriter. He received the Nugraha Bhakti Musik Indonesia award from the Persatuan Artis Penyanyi, Pencipta Lagu dan Penata Musik Rekaman Republik Indonesia.
He moved to Bali after quitting his studies and became a street performer. After that, he joined the symphonic rock band, Lemon Tree's Anno '69, which was influenced by ELP and Genesis. They released Sekar Mayang, a Javanese language album, aside from their several Indonesian language albums. In 1982, Gombloh released the albumGombloh Berita Cuaca. In 1983, he released Gila under Nirwana Records, which boosted his popularity; however, these early albums were not very successful commercially. In 1984, he released 1/2 Gila. In 1986, Apel and Semakin Gila were released. Apel featured his most commercially successful song, "Kugadaikan Cinta". In 1987, his last solo album, Apa Itu Tidak Edan was released.
Gombloh was different from other musicians. Asrat Ginting writes that some felt he was not worth watching, as he just wore white clothes, shoes without socks, dark glasses and a hat. Rolling Stone Indonesia also notes that Gombloh had a limited stage persona, looking as if he were constantly ill. According to Rolling Stone Indonesia, Gombloh's songwriting style was similar to Rick Wakeman in that he drew on local culture and nature; among elements that he used were traditional songs and wayang. His lyrics were generally not confrontative, without being overly critical or grateful. The themes of most of his music were humanity, patriotism, natural beauty, heroism and humor. Other songs, such as "Berita Cuaca", "Hong Wilaheng Sekareng Bawono Langgeng", "Denok-Denok Debleng", "Ujung Kulon Baloran", "3600 Detik", "Kebayan-Kebayan", "Hitam Putih" and "Kami dan Alam", gave his perspective on social life. However, "Kugadaikan Cintaku" was a highly commercial song, which has been described by Rolling Stone Indonesia as a symbol of idealism losing to pressure. His songs about patriotism and heroism include "Dewa Ruci", "Gugur Bunga", "Gaung Mojokerto-Surabaya", "Indonesia Kami", "Indonesiaku Indonesiamu", "Pesan Buat Negeriku" and "BK". He also wrote social phenomena songs, including "Doa Seorang Pelacur", "Kilang-Kilang", "Poligami-Poligami", "Nyanyi Anak Seorang Pencuri" and "Selamat Pagi Kotaku".
Legacy
In 1996, several artists from Surabaya formed the Solidaritas Seniman Surabaya to commemorate Gombloh. They also created a bronze statue of him and placed it at Taman Hiburan Rakyat Surabaya. On March 30, 2005, Gombloh received the Nugraha Bhakti Musik Indonesia award from Persatuan Artis Penyanyi, Pencipta Lagu dan Penata Musik Rekaman Indonesia. In 2009, Rolling Stone Indonesia listed two of Gombloh's songs, "Kebyar-Kebyar" and "Berita Cuaca", as some of the best Indonesian songs of all time. "Kebyar-Kebyar", ranked second, was noted as being played every year in the national celebration for the Independence Day ceremonies. "Berita Cuaca", ranked 98th, was called extremely dramatic in its comparison of children playing and dead forests.
