All-girl trio overcomes dreaded second album syndrome

By Helly Minarti

JAKARTA (JP): In the constant cycle of changing musical trends and talent, the classic blueprint for manufacturing a group still has its place.

The matchmaking talent of a musician and additional help from an award-winning songwriter brought together three young, good- looking girls in Rida-Sita-Dewi (RSD).

The formula paid off. Their first album, Antara Kita (Between Us), sold a heartening 120,000 copies in 1995.

But this early success also took its toll on the group with the daunting weight of expectations for album number two.

Bertiga (Three of Us) was only released last December.

"We have to admit it (success) was like a burden," said Sita, 24, the soprano.

The Bandung natives came together by chance.

Rida, at 27 the oldest group member and also the most delicate, had once refused to sing in public despite her outstanding alto range.

Years later she finally quit her job at a radio station in Bandung and began the rounds of singing engagements at local pubs.

She was motivated by the dream to make her own record someday.

Things were easier for tall mezzo-soprano Dewi, now 23, and Sita. They had fun performing backing vocals for stars like rapper Iwa K. and crooner Harvey Malaiholo after school.

Their paths eventually crossed with Rida.

"We feel so lucky now, looking back," Sita said.

Adi Adrian of famed band KLA Project and Adjie Soetama, the hitmaker for pop stars like Vina Panduwinata, believed their combination of talent and looks spelled surefire success.

Other notables helped out. Singer Andre Hehanusa trained the three to sing in harmony and composed several songs for them. All seemed to flow smoothly for them, but they were also at the point of no return in bidding for the big time.

Their first album can be summed up as easy-listening pop filled with synthesizers and mainstream vocal arrangements. Their fan letters indicate they wooed an assortment of fans, from teenagers to housewives.

But they made a decision early on to resist any efforts to mold them into walking, talking carbon copies, the fate of many other girl groups.

Instead, they maintained their individuality, including use of their own names for the group.

"We had difficulty in finding a catchy name," explained Sita.

Unlike popular female trio AB Three, who always appears with stunning stage designer's costume, RSD prefers to bring out each member's style.

They do not wear uniform stage outfits, let alone hairstyles.

"We are different people who like to wear different attire," said Dewi.

Her sanguine, articulate personality jells with Sita's demeanor.

Rida, in contrast, is subdued with clipped but clear answers.

This respect for the individual is also applied in their stage act and singing style; they are no glitzy, contemporary Indonesian version of The Supremes.

They do not even have a choreographer to whip up a complicated stage routine.

"We just want to sing comfortably," Sita said. "Rida would probably not be (comfortable) if she had to dance a lot."

Their vocal arrangement is frankly down-to-earth, not some finely polished medley packaged for a song festival.

If the first album was more at their producer's initiative, they claim to have had a bigger part in the second.

"We picked each song together with the producers, discussed it and arranged the vocals for most of them," Dewi said of the year- long making of the album.

"Our producers, Adi and Adjie (also the arranger and composer) had a tight schedule, but we also had this so-called 'second album syndrome'," Sita said.

Self-doubt reared its ugly head as the trio wondered if they could repeat the success of Antara Kita.

They say they no longer take their music for granted. Sita and Dewi are about to finish their studies at a private university in Bandung, and both are eager to pursue their musical careers.

"After these years, it has become the only thing we know much about," they said.

Although still in mainstream pop, the second album has gone a tad country in its musical direction.

"It's according to where Adi directs us, something to suit our vocal colors," the trio said. "We used less of the synthesizer and put in more acoustics to make it sound more unplugged."

Tunes are by veteran songwriters like Adi Adrian and Ipay, whose lively Datanglah (Come) seems destined to be a hit.

There are also two songs by Dewi -- Jalanmu (Your Way) and Di Sudut Malam Bisu (In a Corner on a Silent Nght) -- and Rida's Malam (Night).

Do they think Bertiga will match the heady sales of the first time out?

"We're doing all right up to now, selling tens of thousands of copies (in seven weeks) without any promotion at all, only through relying on radio stations," Dewi said.

A first video clip from the album is still in post-production. But while they perform in at least two gigs a month, mostly formal corporate events or campus shows, all three looked slightly nonplused when asked about the group's future.

"We still do not have a clear direction to go, but we will keep singing and trying to improve," Sita said. "So far we're happy working with our producers and major label, but, yes, we'd like to cooperate with other people in the music business on the management side.

They admit they have a long way to go in reaching their professional goals. "We still have many things to learn as singers and entertainers," Sita said.