During the colonialism era in Indonesia, there are a lot of cultural influence that the colonies have left for Indonesia to prosper with their own authentic traditions. It’s true what they say, no form of art can be completely original. There will always be some sort of influence from various sources that would create a whole new innovation.

In Musik Keroncong, a euphoric sound is captured within each beat of the instrument. There is a song in Indonesia that is still sung until the present day called ‘Nina Bobok’, which used to be played in Keroncong style. Initially, this sort of music is highly popular to the Tugu community in North Jakarta, which consequently is known as Keroncong Tugu. It has been said that the Portuguese has greatly influenced this music. During the colonialism era, Keroncong singers would even perform in restaurants around Batavia using Portugese language. 

Although there are other types of Musik Keroncong in other parts of Indonesia, Keroncong Tugu remained unique as it is complimented in varying ways to that of the other parts of Indonesia. It is also one of the few tradition that is still valued until the present day.

Reference:

http://www.jakarta.go.id/web/encyclopedia/detail/1422/Keroncong-Tugu