Andien shows talent beyond her years
By Tuti Gintini
JAKARTA (JP): Three years ago, a 12-year-old girl came here to learn singing with musician Elfa Seciora. Elfa trained Andien and treated her as he did his other students. But during the three years under his training, Elfa became aware of a rare potential.
The little girl is not only talented, but Elfa sees a new magma for the jazz music world.
Andien's fondness for jazz music startled Elfa because it is a rare interest for a child her age. She has mastered the vocal technique and has the ability to instantly master new songs.
"I have liked jazz music from my childhood," Andien told The Jakarta Post in a seafood restaurant at Pasar Raya Blok M.
At the beginning, according to Andien, her mother bought her an Astrud Gilberto cassette, the first recorded album she owned. She was only in the 6th grade of elementary school. After the Astrud Gilberto album, Andien was hooked and added other jazz albums, such as those of Sarah Vaughan and Sergio Mendez.
In fact, Elfa had sensed that the kid was "different" when she performed her first vocal test. Elfa inquired whether she was unwell because her voice was very hoarse. Andien shook her head.
After months of studying Andien still had a throaty voice and Elfa finally believed that this was her natural timbre.
"Since Elfa was convinced that my voice is indeed hoarse, I have been geared towards jazz," said Andien.
Meanwhile, her vocal mentor, Elfa, has seriously followed Andien's development. Practice frequency for sharpening her vocal talent and musicology increased. To accommodate her talents and swift development, Elfa prepared Andien for her first recording.
The Elfa-Andien jazz project comprises jazz and fusions with lyrical themes varying from romantic love to specific, cheerful songs specifically composed for the young. Two of the songs are jazz standards -- The Boy From Ipanema by Antonio Carlos Jobim/Norman Gimbel and My Funny Valentine by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. The recording was processed by Edi Monteiro in New Jersey, America.
The Indonesian songs are compositions by Elfa and Wieke Gur entitled Meniti Pelangi (Passing Over the Rainbow) which was once sung by Harvey Malaiholo in 1986 and Detik Tak Bertepi (Second Without Edge), created by Elfa and Ferina. Andien's ensemble completed the 48-track recording last August in Singapore at the Form Recording Studio.
The first album was released to the market along with a single hit My Valentine Day. The video clip for promotion was processed by Riri Reza, a movie director recently successful with the kid movie Petualangan Sherina (Sherina's Adventures). Another song in that album was Detik Tak Bertepi, taken by the Japan Airlines as a tour song theme in 2000.
"The song is for me considerably hard to sing, as one must sing with an ever climbing modulation," said Andien.
The song loved by Andien in that album is Hujan Deras (Heavy Rain), a work by Elfa and Jana Julio. "I like it because it's cheerful, funny, and the lyrics are quite suitable to me, a youngster," she said with a smile.
Elfa feels it appropriate to call Andien's first album a teenage girl's travel along in jazz music style and melancholic fusion. "Perhaps it's not necessary to call it genuine jazz, I'm afraid the connotation is wrong," said Elfa.
After her recording was released in late 1999, Andien's penchant for jazz intensified. "I feel satisfied singing jazz, especially since my voice is of the throaty type. The result would be bad if I insisted on singing songs of other music genres," she said.
She has received many invitations to perform, not only in Jakarta, but also in other regions. And it is important to schedule her appearances so as not to clash with her schooling. She tries to go to school everyday.
If she is very tired after a show, she does not just skip class. Instead, she asks for permission to leave early for a rest.
"Thank God I am still in the top three or at worst in the top five in my class," she added.
During the school holiday last July, Andien, along with her parents and siblings, Digo, 13, and Dias, 12, toured Java island. Andien spent the entire holiday making a promotional tour for her maiden album. She said she got warm welcomes from youngsters in each town visited.
"I'm glad I could entertain my peers there," she said.
Andien, whose full name is Andini Aisyah Hariadi, was born in Jakarta on Aug. 25, 1985. She started her career conventionally, taking part in children song festivals, attending a vocal course and learning piano. In 1999 she was the winner of Asia Bagus prestigious vocal competitions.
She likes to compose songs herself and now she's in the 3rd grade of Al-Ikhlas Junior High School and is active in students organizations.
Last month she celebrated her 15th birthday at Cafe Salsa in Kemang, South Jakarta, with friends and people to whom she was indebted for catapulting her name as a singer. She sang a number of songs - jazz repertoires, of course.