#MowcapAccGrants2024
DARA PUSPITA
Attributes: The first Indonesian female band to influence the development of music in Indonesia
Previous Names: Nirma Puspita, Irama Puspita
Place of Establishment: Surabaya, East Java
Year established: 1964
Year ended: 1972
The group Dara Puspita, which started its career in Surabaya in 1964, pioneered the trend of the birth of other female bands. Their tour shows to Europe in 1968-1971 had a major influence on the development of female bands in Indonesia. In the late 1960s, The Singers, The Females and The Beach Girls were born. Then in the next decade came Pretty Sisters, Aria Junior, One Dee and The Lady Faces, and others.
It is no exaggeration to say that Dara Puspita has been an influential band for Indonesia until now. Although in 1972 Dara Puspita declared their disbandment, in 2022 they were still asked to perform again at the Synchronize 2022 Music Festival in Jakarta with other top Indonesian artists. On an international level Dara Puspita has inspired the birth of the group Empat Lima in Australia. It consists of 3 members from Australia, Philippine and Korea and played in several cities in Indonesia in 2015.
The musical journey in Indonesia after independence until 1970 had varied colors. Traditional music and folk songs developed along with keroncong and popular music. Introduction and promotion were also carried out to foreign countries. For traditional music, President Soekarno’s administration often organized cultural missions to friendly countries by involving regional artists. For folk songs, Gordon Tobing from North Sumatra was active in introducing them to various countries. For keroncong music there was George de Fretes, a Moluccan musician born in Bandung, and keroncong maestro Gesang from Surakarta who is famous for the song Bengawan Solo. He was followed by Waldjinah, also born in Surakarta.
What about pop music? The presence of Elvis Presley and the Beatles apparently made President Soekarno worried that they would affect or kill national culture. Thus, rock and roll songs were banned from being sung in Indonesia. The President also invited several renowned music artists to create a music concept with an Indonesian personality. Thus, Irama Lenso was born. At that time, Koes Bersaudar was the group that came to the forefront of popular music. Their career journey was tough enough to face the government policy at that time which prohibited the performance of rock and roll songs or the term “ngak ngik ngok” songs. Their struggle led them to have to stay in Glodog Prison for 3 months.
CAREER JPURNEY
It was during this era in Surabaya that there was a female band with 4 members, Les AR, Titiek AR, Susy Nander and Anny Kusuma. The group name was Irama Puspita. Previously the group was called Nirma Puspita which was formed in 1960. The members were quite numerous, there were dozens of people. According to Rolling Stone Indonesia magazine at that time Nirma Puspita was still an accompanying band. Over time, one by one the members of Nirma Puspita resigned until the four names above remained. They changed their name to Irama Puspita.
In March 1964, they were desperate to meet the Koes Bersaudara Group who would be performing at THR (Taman Hiburan Rakyat) Surabaya. The meeting at Simpang Hotel in the Tunjungan area was the trigger for their career. Irama Puspita was spontaneously asked by Tony Koeswoyo (the leader of Koes Bersaudara) to play as the accompanying band. Tony also suggested that if Irama Puspita wanted to move forward, they should move from Surabaya to Jakarta.
Tony’s message seems to be deeply embedded in the minds of the Irama Puspita children. A great desire to move forward, although not fully supported by their parents, has made them determined to move to the capital. “I hid in the Tembok cemetery (a graveyard complex on the edge of the railroad tracks) when my father wanted to prevent my departure to Jakarta,” Susy Nander told the Indonesian Music Museum.
Pasar Turi Train Station in Surabaya and Pasar Senen Station in Jakarta witnessed the migration of Irama Puspita. It happened in October 1964.
In Jakarta, they practiced with the Koes Bersaudara before finally getting a gig at the 1965 New Year’s commemoration event at a large restaurant in the Kemayoran area. The event, which lasted until dawn, was a huge success. The capital’s newspapers reported that there was a female band from Surabaya that was able to play well and could keep up with the Koes Bersaudara. At that time, Koes Bersaudara was arguably the most famous band in Indonesia.
Offers to play began to arrive, both in Jakarta and outside the city. In 1965, there was a change in formation. Anny Kusuma left and was replaced by Titik Hamzah. On one occasion performing at Istora Senayan Jakarta, the organizers, whether intentionally or not, announced that the group that would perform was Dara Puspita. Apparently the members of Irama Puspita did not protest, so the name Dara Puspita was finally used as the official name of their band.
After several months of struggling from stage to stage, on October 1, 1965 they left for Bangkok, Thailand. Dara Puspita secured a contract to perform at an entertainment venue for 3 months. It was a remarkable achievement that became the talk of the capital’s music scene. Two years later they were invited to play in Malaysia and Singapore.
WORKS
In 1966 Dara Puspita released two albums titled Jang Pertama and Special Edition produced by Dimita/Mesra Record. In 1967 the third album Green Green Grass followed and in 1968 the fourth album titled Agogo. This last album was produced by Elshinta Record. All of his LPs were successful, sold a lot in the market and experienced reprints. Their songs are also often broadcast on radios throughout the archipelago. The lyrics of their songs have been written in many music magazines, including Favorita and Paradiso music magazines published in Surabaya and Diskorina in Yogyakarta.
They had a bitter experience when he underwent a test for his first album. Their performance was deemed unfit by Irama Record. But a short while later another label, Dimita/Mesra Record, became interested in recording Dara Puspita. The result was amazing. The album, titled Jang Pertama, was reprinted four times and sold 25,000 copies.
August 1968 was a special moment for Dara Puspita in their international career. They left Indonesia to fulfill a long-term contract with a German promoter named Wilhelm Butz. Performances started in Iran and continued to Turkey and Germany for 8 months. The next performance took place in Hungary from April to October 1969. For 6.5 months they presented entertainment attractions in the Luxembourg circus show for 274 performances in 70 cities.
After Hungary they still struggled and managed to play in England, Ireland, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Spain and France. During that time they recorded 3 singles on 7-inch extended play vinyl. The recordings were made in the UK on the CBS label and in the Netherlands on the Decca label.
After 3.5 years of touring shows abroad, on December 1, 1971 they returned to Indonesia and held concerts in several major cities for several months. Apparently the tour show was their last series of performances under the name Dara Puspita. Subsequently, Delima Puspita, Darpus Minplus and Darpus Minplus changed their formation and made a recording album. In the following years, Dara Puspita’s influence was still felt. Groups inspired by Dara Puspita were born, such as Adarapta, Swaradara and FLEUR. There was even a group called 4 Dara Puspita that released a record album.
Although Dara Puspita disbanded in 1972, there are still two record labels from Portugal and the USA that re-release Dara Puspita’s songs. In fact, in 2022, Dara Puspita’s LP Suara Senja was released by Fadly Zon’s music house in Jakarta.
Dara Puspita’s stage work is even more spectacular. For 3.5 years they traveled to Europe and performed in Germany, Hungary, Belgium, England, Ireland, France, Spain and the Netherlands. In the early days abroad, they had to set up and dismantle their own equipment on stage. If there was any damage, they also took care of it themselves. In a day, they could perform in two cities about 100 kilometers apart. In fact, while in Hungary they performed 274 shows in 70 cities over 6.5 months in 1969.
INFLUENCE
Although Dara Puspita is no longer active, appreciation or recognition continues to spread. In 2010 Alan Bishop of Sublime Frequencies re-released a number of Dara Puspita’s songs on a CD which received a good response from the international community. Furthermore, in 2014, Groovie Record from Portugal circulated a vinyl album containing a compilation of Dara Puspita’s songs and was titled The Garage Years. A women’s group was born by Titik Hamzah in Jakarta in 1985 under the name Adarapt and produced an album of cassette recordings containing songs that had been recorded by Dara Puspita.
Dara Puspita also inspired the birth of other female groups abroad. There are at least two groups, Empat Lima from Melbourne Australia and Loui Loui from Philadelphia, USA (Rolling Stone Indonesia, October 2015).
CULTURAL INFLUENCE
Dara Puspita understood that the youth culture of that era, especially in the field of music, was very fond of rock and roll music coming from the western world. They performed to fulfill the musical tastes of the younger generation that happened to be in line with their souls. This worldwide culture of rock and roll music supported Dara Puspita’s success in performing abroad.
Although Dara Puspita mostly performs western songs while abroad, they do not forget their love for the country. Their red and white stage outfits, sewn by themselves in Zwolle Holland, are an expression of their pride for Indonesia. The song Surabaja, which was recorded on their first album in 1966 in Indonesia, was recorded again in the Netherlands. The album cover also shows Titiek AR wearing a red and white tassel outfit. The single album on vinyl was released in 1971 by DECCA Record in an English version.
Surabaja is now the iconic song of Surabaya. The song is still often sung by singers or bands or choirs. It is even often played at train stations in Surabaya. The song’s lyrics are based on the struggle of the people of Surabaya in defending their city from invading invaders. Surabaya song is a musical work that has an important value in the historical education of Surabaya as the City of Heroes. And Dara Puspita is the group that popularized the song.
They have struggled to open the eyes of the world that Indonesians are also able to compete internationally in the field of pop music. It also shows that Indonesian women also have the same abilities as men, gender equality if you use the current term. Rolling Stone Indonesia magazine also wrote that Dara Puspita was a form of courageous expression under the pressure of the Old Order regime that was repressive towards western culture that was considered to weaken the nation.
AWARDS
Not many formal awards have been given to Dara Puspita. Appreciation has been given by Aktuil music magazine, Rolling Stone Indonesia magazine, Museum Troopen Netherlands, IDP (Indonesia Drum & Percussion) Festival, and MMI (Indonesian Music Museum). Aktuil magazine once printed a calendar in 1968 with a photo of Dara Puspita with 6 other popular artists, namely Ida Royani, Diah Iskandar, Fenty Effendi, Ernie Djohan and Titiek Puspa. MMI has kept one of Dara Puspita’s stage outfits made in 1969, two panels of photographs and a copy of Dara Puspita’s memory book by Handy which contains the history of tour shows in Europe 1968-1971.
Another award was given on March 12, 2021 by MURI (Museum Rekor Indonesia) with the title of First Band Group with All Female Members. Appreciation also came from the World Music Museum which displayed some of Dara Puspita’s memorabilia in the museum’s showroom in Batu City. Then followed the Synchronize 2022 concert which turned out to be Dara Puspita’s last concert with the formation of Lies AR, Susy, Titiek AR and Titik Hamzah. Lies AR died in 2023 in Mojokerto.
Is there a government award for Dara Puspita? Museum Musik Indonesia (MMI) has proposed it to the Malang City Government. After going through a review process by the Malang City Cultural Heritage Expert Team, the Mayor of Malang finally agreed and issued a Decree that established Dara Puspita’s stage dress as a Cultural Heritage Object that must be protected and preserved.
The dress is one of the authentic physical evidences of the history built by Dara Puspita… Stage clothes made in the Netherlands 1970. Worn for shows in Europe in 1970 to 1971, namely in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Spain. Also the last performances in Indonesian cities in 1971 and 1972. Dara Puspita’s other stage outfits and some memorabilia such as guitars were also exhibited at the Troopen Museum in the Netherlands in 2015-2016.
Source:
Lady in Melody, Museum Musik Indonesia, 2024
