Muhammad Arief

Muhammad Arief (1904 or 1905 - ?) was an Indonesian angklung musician, politician, and songwriter from Banyuwangi. He was known for writing and composing a song Genjer-genjer.

Life Early life and career Arief was born in 1904 or 1905 to a religious family. He then worked as a farmer and also as an angklung creator and musician. After the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, he joined Indonesian Socialist Youth.

Angklung musician In the early 1950s, Arief became a member of Lekra and served as its head of arts. He also composed and wrote a song Genjer-genjer in 1953. The song was inspired by what he witnessed during the Japanese occupation, where Banyuwangi people were forced to eat yellow velvetleaf, although they had never consumed this plant before, since it was for animal feed. In 1956, he created the genjer-genjer dance.In 1960, he founded the angklung organization, Young Indonesia People's Folk Art (Srimuda). As the head of Srimuda, he established the angklung studio in villages across Banyuwangi and the organization's headquarters in his own home. Every Srimuda member had to play the . Moreover, he also altered 40 Banyuwangi folk song lyrics to make them more revolutionary.

Personal life Arief was married to Sayekti. The couple had one son, Sinar Syamsi, and one adopted daughter, Siti Hanani. He was also fluent in Arabic.

Discography Genjer-genjer (1953) Lerkung Nandur Jagung