Dara Puspita (Flower
Girls) was Indonesia’s
most successful girl band of the 1960s. While there were many popular female
vocalists in Indonesia
at that time, they nearly all relied on the services of a backing band. Dara
Puspita was one of the few girl groups who actually played all their own music
as well.
Dara Puspita hailed from
the city of Surabaya in East
Java. They formed in 1964 with the line-up of sisters Titiek Adji
Rachman (Titiek A.R.) on guitar & Lies Soetisnowati Adji Rachman (Lies
A.R.) on bass, along with Susy Nander on drums & Ani Kusuma on rhythm
guitar. In April 1965 Lies left the band for a month to finish school. She was
replaced on bass by Titiek Hamzah. When Lies returned she took the place of Ani
on rhythm guitar & Titiek Hamzah stayed on as bass player. It was with this
line-up that the band set out to conquer the world.
In 1965 the band
relocated to Indonesia’s
capital, Jakarta.
They soon gained a reputation as a sensational live act, bashing away on their
instruments, screaming out their songs, jumping up & down. Even though it
was often hard to hear the songs through all the mayhem, audiences thought it
was great. They often joined the band to dance around on the stage.
The band’s stage act as
well as the songs they played were clearly influenced by contemporary British
bands such as the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, whose music at the time was
banned in Indonesia.
The Jakarta
band Koes Bersaudara (Koes Brothers) was actually put in jail for playing rock
‘n’ roll, but it seems that Dara Puspita was never seriously troubled by the
authorities, although they were warned not to perform Beatles’ songs. Dara
Puspita had a number of close connections with Koes Bersaudara: members of KB
wrote a number of songs for Dara Puspita, KB’s singer Yon was romantically
linked with DP’s drummer Susy, & the two bands sometimes appeared on the
same bill. The bands actually appeared together on the night that lead to Koes
Bersaudara’s arrest & imprisonment.
Why Dara Puspita was never
targeted by the authorities is a bit of a mystery, but was probably due to them
being still relatively new on the scene in Jakarta & not having yet released a
record. In late 1965 the political situation in Indonesia swung 360 degrees. Rock
‘n’ roll could be played again with impunity, so when Dara Pupita’s first
album, Jang Pertama (The First), was released in 1966 they had little to
fear. There is no mistaking the influence of other bands’ music on many of the
songs here, such as the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” riff in “Mari-Mari”
(Come On, Come Here) or the Dave Clarke Five’s “Glad All Over” in “Tanah Airku”
(My Homeland). Dara Puspita followed up their first album with the self-titled Dara
Puspita later in the year. In 1967 they put out two albums, Green Green
Grass & A Go Go. The title track from the latter album & the
song “Believe Me” are good examples of the band’s beat garage rock credentials.
The band was a popular
attraction in Indonesia
& throughout the region, playing to enthusiastic crowds in neighboring
countries such as Thailand
& Malaysia.
In 1968 they took the almost unprecedented move for an Indonesian band of
trying their luck in Europe. They spent the
next few years touring in England,
Holland, France,
Belgium, Spain, Germany,
& Hungary.
They even played in Turkey
& Iran.
While in England
they recorded two singles for CBS. They recorded another for Philips in Holland. In late 1971 the
band returned to Indonesia
where they played a number of concerts, but enthusiasm was starting to wane. In
April 1972 they played their last show. Susy was keen to keep going. Together
with Titiek Hamzah they recorded a number of albums using the Dara Puspita
name, but it was really the end. Today only Titiek Hamzah continues in the
Indonesian music industry, where she has had great success as a song-writer,
but the music of Dara Puspita lives on in the hearts of music lovers
everywhere.
Dara Puspita - A Go Go,
El Shinta Records A 6708 Jakarta,
1967.
decryption code in comments
Muka I –
A Go Go
To Love Somebody
Aku Tetap Sadar
Bhaktiku
Muka II –
Soal Asmara
Kerdja Kami
Believe Me
Kau Berdusta
Here’s a little slice of tuneage from Sumatra,
old spew eyes himself, Frank Sumatra that is. Well, really…
One man, but with a million ideas, Alig Pearce’s Family
Fodder collective garnered cult status in the early eighties with a string of
lo-fi, schizophrenic releases, all in The Residents/ Flying Lizards/ kitchen
sink tradition. However, unknown to many
is the fact that within a month of releasing the first ever Family Fodder
single, an Alig alter-ego appeared to put out this joyous EP.
Just why A. Pearce adopted a pseudonym for this release
remains a mystery. The EP’s four tracks are typically eccentric & diverse.
“Tedium” is a perfect slice of XTC guitar pop, with the added bonus of dreamy
female backing vocals, jerky time signatures, & the most mind-blowing
distorted solo you’ve ever heard (but is it a guitar?). The song “The Story So Far” is another
departure, it has Alig adopt a convincing Russell Mael falsetto for a
hyperactive chanson that recalls similar efforts by The Red Krayola or Peter
Blegvad’s Kew Rhone album.
Meanwhile, “The Blues” & “Telstar” (yes, that Telstar) are brief
experimental, electronic excursions that are humorous rather than haranguing.
The song order on the back of the record cover does not match the order listed on the vinyl 'This Side' label.
Frank Sumatra & The Mob - Te Deum, Small Wonder Records,
1979.
This Side –
The Story so Far
The Blues
Other Side -
Tedium
Telstar 176 All Out: W. Indies
180 for 3 Declared (J.Meek)
That’s Life…that’s what all the people say,
NØ
a go go
ReplyDeleteQ-_o7RpU6OoYt6ro8okmgjV8AJB5nTlxJR58788raac
Te Deum
L0ujzknKvkjQZMShxyvGIjJC7tJdun4M1MRLmsvVXrk
Loving the Dara Puspita, tyvm
ReplyDeleteTruly fantastic, Dashing. Good to hear from you. Last thing I remember of you was you posted the soundtrack for Lialeh. I loved it & searched out the movie, of which I now am the proud owner, so a special thanks for that & for the comment.
DeleteIm Indonesian teenager and didnt know bout Dara Puspita... well, Im glad I know this, they were all born just near the end of dark ages of our country. It was very Amazing in 1964 a band like Dara puspita exist.
ReplyDeletethey were all cool before the others are cool now.
I will tell my Emo and Punk friends about this band...