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Aimee Saras: Swinging her way to music

(Courtesy of Aimee Saras)After performing work by other artists on so many stages, actress and singer Aimee Saras is now determined to bring her own swing to the stage

Novia D. Rulistia (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sun, February 23, 2014

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Aimee Saras: Swinging her way to music (Courtesy of Aimee Saras) (Courtesy of Aimee Saras)

(Courtesy of Aimee Saras)

After performing work by other artists on so many stages, actress and singer Aimee Saras is now determined to bring her own swing to the stage.

'€œI'€™ve been playing in many musicals, singing other singers'€™ songs and now I want to produce my own work,'€ she said.

Earlier this week, Aimee, 30, launched her first single, '€œTo New York'€, which will be included in her album, SwinginAimee.

'€œTo New York'€ '€” written by Aimee '€” is her love letter to the city which was her home for 13 years.

'€œNew York means a lot to me. I grew up there, found my passion there and got a chance to pursue that passion in New York,'€ she said.

Aimee, whose real name is Dyah Rahmi Saraswati, collaborated with producer Aghi Narottama of Rooftop Sound to produce SwinginAimee, which will have 10 songs, mostly written by herself.

Aghi said they would first release several singles periodically on iTunes before launching the whole album in the next few months.

'€œWe want people to also listen to other songs in the album, not just one or two,'€ he said.

The idea to make a swing album emerged in 2010 after Aimee and Aghi were involved in Joko Anwar'€™s musical Onrop!, in which Aimee played the main role while Aghi composed songs for the musical.

After long discussions, they finally started production of the album in August last year.

Through the album, Aimee hopes to be able to promote swing music to a wider audience as an aspect of jazz music.

'€œMany people still think that jazz is heavy, and I want to change that thought. Swing is also part of jazz and is more cheerful and vibrant,'€ the fan of Ella Fitzgerald said.

Aimee actually made her official debut as a swing singer at 2013 Java Jazz Festival in her Aimee Saras Goes Swing session. Also in 2013, she created a radio show, called The Lady Who Swings, which airs on Tuesdays at Hard Rock FM.

Aimee'€™s relationship with New York began when she moved to the city when she was three, spent two years there and returned to Jakarta.

She moved to New York again when she was in junior high school and as a fan of musicals, she actively took part in the school'€™s theater projects.

But she had to stop her acting activities because her parents wanted her to focus on her studies at the City University of New York.

After she graduated in 2006, she wanted to pursue her passion for acting again and enrolled in the intensive musical class at Marymount Manhattan College, working part time in public relations to pay the tuition fees.

In between her classes, she auditioned for an off-Broadway production of Miss Saigon, got a role and became a dancer in its dance ensemble.

Aimee also played at Forest Hills Theater in Rodger & Hammerstein'€™s Cinderella musical and Damn Yankees and performed with her college friends in If You Really Knew Me at York Theater.

In 2007, she decided to come home because she knew that it was too hard for her to make a big breakthrough in theater in the United States.

But she did not let go of her dreams and kept trying to find a role she liked. She finally found what she was looking for when she auditioned for Onrop!.

In 2012, she took part in the Bawang Merah, Bawang Putih musical with Nusa Indah Theater. To keep honing her acting skills, Aimee also played in several short movie projects, such as Nia Dinata'€™s

Scent of Passion; Merindu Mantan (Missing the Ex) by Edward Gunawan and Andri Cung and How to Make a Perfect Xmas Eve by Monic Tedja.

'€œI always loved acting and singing. Now I want to combine all that through my Broadway swing style of music.'€ Aimee said.

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