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Musician Nomo Koeswoyo of Koes Bersaudara passes away
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Legend: Musician and producer Nomo Koeswoyo of the famed Indonesian 1950s group Koes Bersaudara passed away on Mar. 15, 2023. (Instagram/Courtesy of Sari Koeswoyo) (Instagram/Courtesy of Sari Koeswoyo)
Nomo Koeswoyo of the legendary 1950s music group Koes Bersaudara died at 84.
Singer, drummer and producer Koesnomo “Nomo” Koeswoyo, one of the members of Koes Bersaudara (Koes Brothers), died on Wednesday evening at his residence in Magelang, Central Java, at age 84.
Nomo’s niece Sari Koeswoyo shared the details of his passing in an Instagram post.
“Our father, brother, Pakde, Paklek, Akung, Koesnomo Koeswoyo Bin Koeswoyo, returned to God on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, at 19:30 PM,” Sari wrote. “Please forgive any mistakes he made in his life.”
Nomo was known to have been sick in his last days, but what caused his death has yet to be publicly revealed by his family. He is survived by his children Chicha Koeswoyo, Helen Koeswoyo and Reza Koeswoyo, as well as his grandchildren.
Nomo will be buried at the Jeruk Purut public cemetery in South Jakarta this afternoon.
Born in Tuban, East Java, on Jan. 21, 1939, Nomo was known to be one of the musicians in Koes Bersaudara along with his siblings. Nomo served as the group’s drummer and one of its vocalists. Initially starting as a cover band for the Everly Brothers and The Beatles’ hit songs, Koes Bersaudara became a popular group in Indonesia during the late 1950s.
Koes Bersaudara was once a victim of a New Order regime arrest in July 1965 due to “pro-Western” and “imperialist-leaning” songs. They were released in late September and the songs written in prison became some of its biggest hits.
As Koes Bersaudara’s popularity skyrocketed in the 1960s, Nomo decided to quit the group due to differences in financial views among the brothers, leading him to be replaced by Kasmuri, a non-member of the family, on the drums. Following further arguments and several more changes in the line-up, the rest of the bandmates then opted for a fresh start with a new name, Koes Plus, kickstarting one of the most-influential groups in Indonesia and marking the end of Koes Bersaudara at the time.
After spending some years as a businessman, however, Nomo longed for more music and returned with a new band called No Koes in the 1970s, writing all the songs for the group. He also built a recording studio that birthed a number of successful pop albums, including from his daughters and nieces.
Nomo would later reunite with Koes Bersaudara in the 1970s to the 1980s and release some of his own solo outputs as well, such as the 1980s hit song “Layar Tancap”. As a producer and songwriter, Nomo was known to popularize new singers like the Maluku balladeer Franky Sahilatua, dangdut hit-singer Enny Haryono and dangdut “king” Rhoma Irama.
