These girls rang in my summer last year and this year, they’re doing it again. Dara Puspita (“Flower Girls”), an Indonesian quartet from the 60’s, put out four albums during their six year run. Though they disbanded in 1972, Dara Puspita made Indonesian history by being one of the few girl groups that provided their own instrumental backings. At the time of their debut, rock and roll was a big no-no with the Indonesian authorities – the music of the Beatles was banned and rebels faced possible jail time. Luckily, rock music became acceptable by 1965, and in 1966 Dara Puspita put out their first album, Jang Pertama (The First).
And luckily for me, Sublime Frequencies released an anthology, Dara Puspita 1966~1968, on May 25, 2010. The girls have been invading the blogosphere since, but they really are worth checking out. Do you like to shimmy? Good – you’ll be doing a lot of that.
Outstanding tracks:
“Come-On Come-On” (Hello, Rolling Stones)
“A Go Go”
“Believe Me” (Listen to it below)
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58CwcMgoGyE 425×344]
Information from: Garage Hangover: Dara Puspita by Steven Farram
