Dee's lullabies

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 03/26/2006 8:53 AM  |  Life

Album: Out of Shell
Artist: Dewi Lestari
Label: True Dee
Rating: *** out of ***** Standout Tracks: Water Song, Plastic Cup, Uncommon

Before she became popular as the author of the Supernova trilogy, Dewi Lestari was a member of Rida Sita Dewi (RSD), a Bandung-based all female trio that scored a number of chart-topping hits in its heyday.

Dewi, or Dee as she prefers to be called, picked up a pen soon after the disbandment of RSD and the 30-year-old proved that she is no small-time writer. Supernova was nominated for the prestigious Khatulistiwa Literary Award, competing against works from veteran essayist Goenawan Muhammad and magical realist writer Danarto.

But deep inside, Dee is still a musician who has struggled hard to make good on her promise of delivering a post-RSD solo album.

Out of Shell is the end product of that labor of love. A long-overdue project, initial work on the album started as early as 1997.

And fans are grateful that an album finally came out in between her writing books, starting a family and raising a son.

For casual fans who could not tell which voices belonged to whom in RSD, it is now clear that Dewi is the one with the smooth and husky voice.

Sonic arrangement in Out of Shell has been done to perfectly match that vocal quality and the fruit is a collection of lullabies that can quickly draw in even a passerby after the first play through.

-- JP/M. Taufiqurrahman

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