Sruti Respati: A Democratic 'Sinden'
Sruti Respati prefers to be called a sinden (a gamelan orchestra singer) rather than a vocalist.
It’s
not that she regards one profession superior to the other, but believes
the term sinden better reflects her Javanese character.
“Saying
I am a sinden reminds me of my passion for traditional arts on which
I’ve thrived. It’s more appropriate for me to be called a sinden and I’m
proud of it,” said the young woman.
Born in Surakarta, also
known as Solo, in 1980, Sruti was brought up in a family steeped in
Javanese traditional arts. Her father Sri Djoko Rahardjo and grandpa Ki
Njoto Tjarito were famous dalang wayang kulit (leather puppet show
players) in Solo, while her mother Sri Maryati was a Javanese dancer.
“When
I was a child, my father frequently took me to watch his wayang shows.
When I grew up, now and again I would join wayang performances and
karawitan [gamelan music and vocals] concerts as a sinden, besides also
dancing with my mother,” added Sruti.
She moved to Jakarta with
her family when she was a second grader and finished her junior high
school (SMP) in the capital. There, she became acquainted with various
kinds of modern music like classic, jazz, rock and pop. While she liked
listening to them, she never wanted to abandon traditional arts.
“In
SMP I took different lessons including ballet. I tried almost
everything as a teenager. Now I am familiar with many arts, which was
useful for my emotional enrichment,” said the graduate of Javanese
literature from Sebelas Maret State University (UNS), Solo.
She
began her sinden career when she returned to Solo after finishing high
school. While studying in college, she appeared in various wayang and
orchestral performances. During those years, she met several karawitan
musicians in Solo. Besides learning from her father, she was a
Banyumasan (southern gamelan music) student of Arno Kartawi and Suyoto,
lecturers at the Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI), Solo.
In 2002,
Sruti became a protégé of ethnic musician Dedek Wayudi, who later
introduced her to some experts including Wayan Sadra, Danis Sugiyanto
and Rahayu Supanggah. Through her involvement in the many concerts
organized by these noted Solo musicians, Sruti grew into a reliable
sinden. Once-musician and noted dalang Sudjiwo Tedjo was drawn to her
stage skills and has since collaborated with her in his shows.
Beyond
her vocal skills for wayang and gamelan orchestration, she further
expanded her techniques to cover contemporary music, jazz, and keroncong
(pop music with a Portuguese tint), the last with the Swastika
keroncong group.
“I allowed myself to explore different musical
genres as I don’t like being limited to one type of music,” said the
wife of Wahyu Wijayanto.
Under the instruction of gamelan
specialist Rahayu Supanggah, Sruti was selected to represent Indonesia
at the ASEAN-Korea Traditional Music Orchestra in Korea for two years in
a row (2009 and 2010). In the forum, Sruti presented langgam (Javanese
pop style) Bengawan Solo or Solo River and mobile concerts in several
South Korean cities.
“I grew up with Javanese art but I’ve come
to know diverse musical genres. I’m going to retain the character of
Java in whatever music I sing, as my way of highlighting Javanese
traditional arts,” said the woman, who in July became the icon of the
Solo International Performing Art (SIPA) program in this Central Java
city.
In her early musical explorations, Sruti was more engaged
in Javanese langgam and keroncong, and later in contemporary and jazz
music. Determined to highlight the Javanese character of the songs she
presents, Sruti is in fact obsessed with bringing Javanese art to the
world stage.
“We have more than pop music, as the country’s
traditional compositions are great works. We should introduce our
cultural riches to the outside world. Since I’m Javanese, I’m
automatically an advocate of Javanese art,” said the sinden, who on Dec.
17 jointly performed with Sudjiwo Tedjo at Airlangga University,
Surabaya, East Java.
Sruti is able to combine Javanese cengkok
(pitch or key changes) with modern music’s vocal techniques. She manages
to give the sinden vocal color to any musical genre, especially jazz.
In
December 2009, for instance, she stunned the audience at the Solo City
Jazz. Her collaboration with Bintang Indrianto (Akordeon group) became a
memorable event. She repeated her success in 2010 with Akordeon
(Bintang Indrianto, Rindra “Padi”, and Roedyanto Warsito).
“Sinden
and jazz share the same feature of allowing room to improvise. Hundreds
of cengkok variants in traditional poetry singing are equivalent to
jazz improvisations,” said Sruti, who in early December appeared at
Bentara Budaya Jakarta along with her band, Sruti Respati and Friends.
With
Sruti, traditional and contemporary music can be enjoyed at the same
time. The character difference between both styles, normally very
markedly perceived, fades away and turns into a type of uniquely “new
music” pleasant to the ear yet still impossible to define.
Sruti
said she was lucky to have grown up in a moderate family of traditional
artists and later meet with great musicians in Solo.
They’re
great not only because of their ingenuity in musical innovation but also
their democratic attitude toward musical expression.
“They’ve
never been shackled by a single type of music. They are democratic for
being open to the other types [of music]. There’s no more single genre
representing a certain group, because music is a democratic forum. I’m a
democratic sinden,” she said laughingly.
Sruti is winding up
her musical journey in 2010 by releasing a jazz album entitled Sruti:
Kemarin, Esok, Adalah Saat Ini (Sruti: Yesterday, Tomorrow, is Today).
It’s a collaboration with artists Bintang Indrianto and Imam Garmasah.
