David Batteau Talks About Songwriting

source : youngdog.com

The songs 'Just a String,' 'Black Orchid,' 'Live Dangerously' and 'Conquer the World' were initially written for the Indonesian artist Anggun to record. I was contacted by a representative of Sony records and asked to write THE HIT that would establish her reputation around the world. She was already a star in France and Indonesia. In an attempt to look at the world from her point of view, I began an investigation of Indonesia's rich and multi-faceted cultural history.

Indonesia is an archipelago with Bali as one of its outermost islands. 'Just a String' required the reading of The Ramayana, that portion of Hindu scripture that most applied to Bali's religious and cultural expression. In the song, Bali's most famous artist, Lempad, dies and meets the message of hope brought in the Ramayana by the monkey-god Hanuman to Sita, Rama's kidnapped lover. In the drama of life, Bali's "shadow plays" express the forces at work behind the scenes. The shadows of puppets are cast onto a screen to represent the players. At Lempad's death, the shadow screen of the funeral drama was reduced to a single string to communicate Lempad's close proximity to the spiritual world. In the Ramayana, Sita requests a moment of silence to savor the good news that Hanuman has secretly delivered.

'Black Orchid' focuses on the island of Kalimantan's unique contribution of beauty to the world. Kalimantan is the only place on the planet where the Black Orchid is indigenous. The Black Orchid is a metaphor for the uniqueness of each individual's heart.

'Live Dangerously' is a title stolen from one of my favorite movies of all time, The Year of Living Dangerously. The song focuses on the island of Java, home to the volcano Krakatau whose eruption is the loudest recorded sound in historical memory. The sound of the eruption, in the 19th century, was heard half way around the world in England. Oh my God! The "Danger" is an allusion to the risks taken by Java's bird nest hunters to collect nests for the rare delicacy Bird Nest Soup. The nests are found only in the volcanic shoreline caves of Java. Hunters must ride the treacherous waves to reach the entrance to the place of their harvest... "The sea roars in, the sea roars out." It asks the question "What will we do for faith or love?"

The island of Sumatra has a rich Islamic heritage. One of its royal families claims a lineage that reaches back to Alexander the Great, thus the title 'Conquer the World.' Alexander is discussed in 'The Cave' chapter of the Koran under the name Ohul-Qarnayn. This chapter ends with the beautiful line "If the waters of the sea were ink..." I imagined that its beauty had a deep influence on the mystical and poetic Sufi heritage so evident on the island of Sumatra. I followed that lead into an ode to Sumatra that celebrates the power of love.

David Batteau