itiek Puspa, the consummate singer, songwriter and all-around performer, who handed away on Thursday on the age of 87, might not have been referred to as a feminist icon, however in a deeply patriarchal society, she managed to rise via the ranks of the nation’s male-dominated leisure trade, blazing a path within the recording trade whereas on the identical time negotiating her place within the higher echelons of two completely different authoritarian regimes.
Many may definitely query Titiek’s politics, on condition that she wrote a propaganda track titled “Bapak Pembangunan” (Father of Growth ) as a tribute to New Order chief Soeharto in 1987, however via her profession spanning over 5 a long time within the music trade, the chanteuse left a legacy of a few of the most interesting recordings ever dedicated to vinyl.
At her artistic peak, within the mid-Sixties and Nineteen Seventies, in an period when feminine singers had been largely vessels for male songwriters to showcase their compositions, Titiek wrote, composed and produced her personal songs. In an period when Indonesian conventional music was the primary inspiration for many artists, Titiek had the audacity to combine pop, rock and roll, jazz, Broadway and blues, producing a few of the greatest common songs which can be well-remembered immediately.
Titiek additionally labored with a few of the finest musicians of the interval and employed probably the most cutting-edge recording expertise to provide information with a timeless high quality.
Whereas not declaring herself a feminist, Titiek tackled the subject of girls falling sufferer to patriarchy in a few of her greatest pop hits like “Kupu-Kupu Malam” (Night time Butterfly), and projected a picture of an assertive lady on many covers of her albums.
These 5 songs in Titiek’s sprawling catalogue not solely exemplify her inventive genius and technical proficiency, but additionally present how she addressed the subject of girls empowerment.
1. “Kupu-Kupu Malam” (Night time Butterfly), 1977
