"If Music Could Talk" 2 Podcast links!!

PODCAST LINK - July 15, 2012

PODCAST LINK - July 22, 2012  

"If Music Could Talk" - PODCAST - July 8, 2012

PODCAST LINK

Bollywood Dance + Film Party at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art

I was honored to provide some of the music at the opening reception for "Maharaja: The Splendors of India's Great Kings" exhibit at the VMFA when it openened this past May (runs through August).. so I'm even more excited to be doing this special Bollywood inspired event in the VMFA's marble hall in August!  

"Bollywood Dance + Film Party"    Fri, Aug 3 | 6–8 pm   in the VMFA's Marble Hall

Admission free, open to the public

Bollywood Dance + Film Party celebrates the rhythms and melodies of Indian cinema,

commonly known as Bollywood, and features both recent and classic Hindi and Punjabi

(Bhangra) hits, as well as those in Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu. Dance to the pulsing beat supplied by DJ Carlito as flashing images of Bollywood’s greatest films play on the big screen.

This First Fridays event is a special collaboration between VMFA’s Performing Arts Department and Adult Programs Department to celebrate the exhibition Maharaja: The Splendors of India’s Great Kings. 

Carl Hamm, aka DJ Carlito, has been bringing the colorful hits of India’s most popular films to Richmond for several years. Maharaja: The Splendor of India’s Great Kings is organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Additional

support has been provided by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, Fred T. and Roddy P. Tattersall, and an Anonymous Donor. The Banner Exhibition Program at VMFA is made possible by the Julia Louise Reynolds Fund." 

Manunggal Wardaya interviews the founding members of Dara Puspita - Lies Adji Rachman, and Titiek Adji Rachman

(2 above photos (courtesy of Manunggal Waraya) - Titiek Adji Rachman - lead singer/guitarist of Dara Puspita)

(Lies Adji Rachman -rhythm guitarist of Dara Puspita - photo courtesy of Manunggal Waraya)

Anyone who has ever heard the electrified psych sounds of 60s Indonesian girl-group Dara Puspita (flower girls) will be exited to see these recently filmed interviews with Titiek Adji Rachman (lead singer/guitarist) and her sister Lies Adji Rachman ( rhythm guitarist). They were the two original founding members of the group - originally called "Irama Puspita".


Although the interviews are entirely in Bahasa Indonesia (At the beginning of the interview, Lies Adji Rachman says "I'm gonna do this in Bahasa Indonesia not English ok?  thanks..") it's still wonderful to see the wonderful expressions on their faces, and to hear them speak.


The interviews are in the style of a conversation (two Indonesians living in the Netherlands - one a rock legend, and the other a young reporter).  Manunggal K. Wardaya, who lives in the Netherlands, conducted the interviews. He also recently wrote a retrospective article about Dara Puspita for Rolling Stone Indonesia.  He was in close communication with their tour manager, the late Mr Handiyanto, until he passed away this past March.  Apparently Mr. Handiyanto gave him access to hundreds of their photos - photos which have since appeared all over the internet (as well as in the Dara Puspita release by Sublime Frequencies).

(Above: Lies Adji Rachman, second from left, seen on Dara Puspita's debut LP on Mesra records.  Her sister, Titiek, is third from Left.)

Dara Puspita (the flower girls) is one of my all time favorite pop-psych Indonesian groups from the 60s and 70s. They also happen to be nearly everyone else's favorite group - judging by the high prices their original records have sold for. But no wonder.. they were way ahead of their time.. proto-punk one might call them.  And they were excellent musicians... they could sing..  the music was intense, rhythmic, dangerous!! and they were dangerously beautiful.   After becoming hugely popular in their native Indonesia, Dara Puspita went on to do extensive European tours in the 60s and 70s and gathered a huge fan base in France and the Netherlands- where Lies Adji Rachman, and Titiek Adji Rachman live today. 

Filmmaker and Media Scholar Manunggal K. Wardaya had the opportunity to sit down with Lies Adji Rachman and her sister Titiek, and interview them. This was certainly a rare opportunity to capture some of their memories from those colorful days on video.  


Manunggal shared these interviews with me this morning via youtube link. He had told me about the footage last month, but wasn't ready to show them publicly yet.. so I had to wait!  And finally, here they are...   

Thank you to Manunggal K. Wardaya for sharing these excellent interviews.. I'm really glad you're doing this inportant documentary work.

Interview with Lies Adji Rachman (in Bahasa Indonesia) by Manunggal K. Wardaya

Interview with Titiek Adji Rachman (in Bahasa Indonesia) by Manunggal K. Wardaya