Giring Ganesha

Giring Ganesha
Giring Ganesha
Occupation	Singer
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	2002–2017
Labels	Musica Studio's

Giring Ganesha
Giring Ganesha
2nd General Chairperson of the Indonesian Solidarity Party
	In office; 16 November 2021 – 25 September 2023
	In office; 18 August 2020 – 16 November 2021 (acting)
Preceded by	Grace Natalie
Succeeded by	Kaesang Pangarep
Personal details
Born	Giring Ganesha Djumaryo; 14 July 1983 (age 41); Jakarta, Indonesia
Political party	PSI
Profession	Politician

Giring Ganesha Djumaryo (born 14 July 1983) is an Indonesian vocalist and political activist. He is a former lead singer of the Indonesian rock band, Nidji. On 31 December 2017, he announced his resignation as Nidji's lead vocalist in order to focus on his political journey. Giring is the former Leader of Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI).^[1] He was previously Acting Leader to cover for Grace Natalie while she pursued her master's degree.^[2]

Biography

Giring Ganesha Djumaryo was born in Jakarta on 14 July 1983. He is a Muslim.^[3]^[4] His father is Djumaryo Imam Muhni.^[5] Giring became interested in Britpop when he was in school.^[4]

In 2002, he was a founding member of the band Nidji (the name an adaptation of 虹 [niji], the Japanese word for rainbow) together with Muhammad Ramadista Akbar (Rama), Ariel, Muhammad Andro Regantoro (Andro) and Muhammad Adri Prakarsa (Adri). They released their first album, Breakthru', in 2006. Their second album, Top Up, followed in 2007.^[5]

In 2008, he and his bandmates wrote "Laskar Pelangi" ("Rainbow Warriors"), the title track for the film Laskar Pelangi, while in Makassar for a concert.^[6] He later told Rolling Stone Indonesia that as soon as he had finished reading Andrea Hirata's original book — the source material for the film — he knew he would write the song.^[7] Giring went on the hajj with his mother in late 2008/early 2009.^[3] That same year, Giring appeared in the music video for Chrisye's posthumous single "Lirih" ("Gentle Voice").^[8]

In 2009, Ganesha and Nidji released their third album, Let's Play.^[7] The album included a song written for Chintya Riza, at the time Ganesha's girlfriend, entitled "Dosakah Aku" ("Am I Sinning").^[5] In the same year, he provided a voice for the animated film Paddle Pop Kombatei the Movie, a tie-in for the Paddle Pop ice cream marketed in Indonesia by Wall's. In an interview with Tempo magazine, he said he was nervous when providing the dubbing.^[9]

He played the role of Sudja, a student of Ahmad Dahlan, in Hanung Bramantyo's biopic Sang Pencerah (The Enlightener) in 2010; it was his first acting role.^[10] For the role, he worked out at a gym and ate less to lose 11 kilograms (24 lb); he said it was because there were very few large Indonesians during the Dutch colonisation of Indonesia.^[11] Giring also wrote a song for the film, titled "Allah Maha Suci" ("Allah, the All-Pure"), over a period of two days.^[10]

On 22 November 2011, Giring, Agnes Monica and Afgan Syahreza sang the song "Kita Bisa" ("We Can") at the closing ceremony of the Southeast Asian Games in Palembang, South Sumatra.^[12]

Legacy

Rolling Stone Indonesia ranked "Laskar Pelangi" 134th on its list of the best Indonesian songs of all time. In his review, Hasief Ardiasyah wrote that it was difficult to believe the song had been written without divine intervention.^[7]

Personal life

In July 2010, Giring Ganesha married Chintya Riza, six years his junior, in a Javanese style ceremony.^[13]^[14] The couple had their first daughter in January 2011.^[14] He cites Chris Martin of Coldplay as one of his inspirations and favourite performers.^[4]

References

Footnotes

^ "Gantikan Grace Natalie, Giring eks Nidji Resmi Jadi Ketum PSI". JawaPos. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
^ "Grace Natalie appoints musician Giring Ganesha as acting PSI chairman". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
^ ^a ^b Sabarini 2009, Nidji: Long journey.
^ ^a ^b ^c Arianto 2009, Giring Nidji Risih.
^ ^a ^b ^c KapanLagi.com, Giring Nidji.
^ Yudono 2010, "Laskar Pelangi" Diciptakan.
^ ^a ^b ^c Rolling Stone Indonesia 2009, 150 Lagu Indonesia.
^ Djati 2008, Lagu Rahasia Yoyo-Chrisye.
^ Febriani 2010, Giring 'Nidji' Ingin.
^ ^a ^b Febriani 2010, Giring 'Nidji' Total.
^ Kompas 2010, Giring "Nidji" Tak.
^ The Jakarta Post 2011, Agnes, Giring and Afgan.
^ The Jakarta Post 2010, Giring ‘Nidji’ to tie.
^ ^a ^b Sofyan 2011, Giring Rahasiakan Kelahiran.

Bibliography

"150 Lagu Indonesia Terbaik Sepanjang Masa" [150 Best Indonesian Songs of All Time]. Rolling Stone Indonesia (in Indonesian) (56). Jakarta: a&e Media: 98, 139. December 2009.
"Agnes, Giring and Afgan to perform in SEA Games closing". The Jakarta Post. 19 November 2011. Archived from the original on 20 November 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
Arianto, Arief (7 January 2009). "Giring Nidji Risih Dipanggil Pak Haji" [Giring Nidji Uncomfortable Being Called Mr. Hajji]. Tempo (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
Djati, Aryono Huboyo (22 August 2008). "Lagu Rahasia Yoyo-Chrisye" [Yoyo and Chrisye's Secret Song]. Gatra (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
"Giring Nidji". KapanLagi.com (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
"Giring "Nidji" Tak Kenali Diri Sendiri" [Giring "Nidji" Does Not Know Himself]. Kompas (in Indonesian). 29 May 2010. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
Febriani, Prih Prawesti (9 January 2010). "Giring 'Nidji' Ingin Main Film Action" [Giring 'Nidji' Wants to Play Action Films]. Tempo (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
Febriani, Prih Prawesti (4 September 2010). "Giring 'Nidji' Total di Film Perdana" [Giring 'Nidji' Totally into his First Film]. Tempo (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
"Giring 'Nidji' to tie the knot after Idul Fitri". The Jakarta Post. 23 August 2010. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
Sabarini, Prodita (11 January 2009). "Nidji: Long journey down the rainbow road". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 28 July 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
Sofyan, Eko Hendrawan (20 January 2011). "Giring Rahasiakan Kelahiran Anak Pertamanya?" [Did Giring Cover Up the Birth of His First Child?]. Kompas (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
Yudono, Jodhi (28 May 2010). ""Laskar Pelangi" Diciptakan di Makassar" ["Laskar Pelangi" written in Makassar]. Kompas (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2012.