Elvy Sukaesih

January 10, 2006

Elvy Sukaesih | The Dangdut Queen |Rice Records | Indonesia

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Rice Records' new compilation of tracks from the Elvy Sukaesih catalog focuses mainly on the decade between the mid-70s to the mid-80s. It's an era when dangdut had come into its own, commanding polished arrangements and recording quality, and hadn't yet moved into its keyboard workstation/syth-pop phase. For those who learned about dangdut from the Sublime Frequencies Sumatran music volumes, don't expect the down-and-dirty, tranced-out dangdut found there. Elvy Sukaesih's music is clean-as-whistle, infectious Indonesian pop that fuses multiple influences.

In the opener, "Penyanyi Sexy," Elvy plays the classic Bollywood coquette over Farfisa, arpeggiating piano, fake strings, funky bass, suling (Indonesian flute), a Middle-Eastern-sounding lute of some sort and the propulsive gendang percussion that gives dangdut its onomatopoetic name. This diverse lineup remains basically the same throughout the CD, providing lots of interesting arrangement possiblities and a hypnotic showcase for Elvy's appealing voice.

The CD comes with extensive liner notes by Katsunori Tanaka and plenty of glamour shots of the singer. In all, an excellent introduction to the queen of dangdut.