Harmonizing Art and Research
The man who was born in Padang, August 9, 1951, is a Minang songwriter who is also an agricultural expert. Dr. Ir. Agusli Taher, MS, holds a Doctorate in Agriculture in the field of Plant Physiology from IPB University.
Agusli is the founder of the record company Pitunang Records. This record company gave birth to many Minang singers in West Sumatra. Being an artist does not come from his family environment, he was a child born in a farming family.
The reason he became an artist was because of his love of listening to music and songs since childhood. At the age of 10, Agusli was already learning the guitar. His experience in the music world actually started when he was 15 years old. At that time he joined the Gamad Ikatan Budi Orkes and got a position as a guitar player.
This father of two children began his career as a songwriter at the age of 19 with a song called "Derita Hati". Initially, he composed Indonesian songs, especially Indonesian pop songs. Then, he created his first Minang song in 1975 entitled "Slendang Mayang". Agusli's popularity as a songwriter was successfully achieved when the song was performed by legendary Minang singers, Tiar Ramon and Zalmon.
Meanwhile, his educational journey began by pursuing a bachelor's degree at Andalas University, Faculty of Agriculture. Then, he continued his Masters study at IPB University. Agusli then obtained his doctorate at the University of The Philippines Los Baños. Having an expertise background in agriculture, the dissertation he wrote won the Best Dissertation Award from UPBL Philippines.
Being an artist did not make him ignore the world of agriculture, Agusli then became a Civil Servant (PNS) and worked at the Center for the Study of Agricultural Technology in West Sumatra Province. Amazingly, he became the first head of the West Sumatra AIAT.
Until the end of his career, he worked at the West Sumatra Research and Development Agency and received the Satyalencana Wirakarya award given by President Soeharto in 1995 as an outstanding researcher in the field of peatlands. One of his researches is entitled Strategy and Program of Agronomy and Ecophysiology of Food Crops.
Despite having a busy life as a researcher, he was still composing songs. He also worked as a songwriter, record producer, and singer-songwriter. In the art world, he has also received several awards, including the HDX Award for best-selling album in 1995, as well as awards from the Governor of West Sumatra in 1998, the Citra Musik Award, the Music Award in 2004, Nugraha Bhakti Musik Indonesia in 2005, and the Tuah Sakato Award in 2008.
While he was studying to get his Master's degree at IPB University, he also continued to compose songs. Surely, Agusli's journey to become an artist and creator of music has stories that not many people know.
Agusli had been through many rejections, from limited recording studios, to companies that prefer well-known singers and songwriters.
It was only in 1981 that he found his way to where he is now as an artist. Through the festival info he got from an article in Kompas newspaper, he managed to become the fourth winner of the festival. From there, he found the path to his success.
According to Agusli, research and art can go hand in hand. He has also written several books about the stories behind his songs. He is an admirer of Buya Hamka who could successfully create new songs. By capitalizing on pawning the decision letter of his employees in 1991, he successfully gave birth to the album Minang. (*)
