Musician Erwin Gutawa (center), daughter Gita Gutawa (third left) and singers of Di Atas Rata-Rata album. (Courtesy of Gutrecord)

For composer Erwin Gutawa and his daughter Gita Gutawa, music is a priority.

One of their concerns centers on the many young, talented singers missing opportunities because they don't receive enough support at the start of their careers.  

When Gita was on a school break last year, she and her father had a long talk about music. They came up with the idea of producing an album for young, undiscovered talent that would give more exposure to the local music scene.  

A renowned operatic/classical pop singer who was given guidance on starting a career in the music industry when she was 11, Gita felt blessed and realized that many young talents should experience similar support.

'We began the project with an audition, which later convinced us that it was going to be a great ride,' said the 19-year-old, who is pursuing a bachelor degree in economics at the University of Birmingham.

Gita and her father found 200 talented children through recommendations from vocal teachers and YouTube searches. Later, through auditions, they singled out the best 13 with exceptional singing talents and recorded an album, Di Atas Rata-Rata (Above Average) to promote their achievement.

Erwin called the project their kind of 'indie movement'. By promoting the 'above average' children aged 9 to 13, he hoped to inspire adult singers to accomplish more in their careers.

'There is no big music label involved ' we just made the best out of things we had,' said Erwin, who successfully produced Laskar Pelangi the Musical with directors Mira Lesmana and Riri Riza.

Di Atas Rata-Rata consists of 10 tracks, two of which are new songs composed by the father-daughter duo. The rest are Indonesian hits and a traditional song. Some receive new lyrical or musical arrangements while others are performed in their original setting.

'We change some of the lyrics [in several songs] with words that are more proper for children,' said Gita, referring to love songs like 'Apanya Dong' (What is It?) and 'Kenangan Terindah' (Best Memory).

Each song in the album represents a different genre.

Sensen, for example, brings his soulful character to the 'Apanya Dong' pop song, while jazzy Rafi does scatting in 'Do Be Do', a song originally sung by Gita.

Woro, child puppeteer and sinden (gamelan orchestra singer), shows her many talents in 'Walang Kekek' (Grasshopper), once popularized by a notable keroncong (pop music of eastern Indonesian origin with a Portuguese touch) singer, Waljinah.

The three young girls in Trio Aorea, who sing 'Kenangan Terindah' reminds us of Destiny's Child, while the petite Theresia Dian showcases her formidable classical vocal abilities ' especially for a 9-year-old ' by performing the challenging 'Kupu-Kupu' (Butterfly) from singer/songwriter Melly Goeslaw.

'Why are we confident that these kids have above average abilities? Based on years of my experience in music, I've had a good feeling about this project ever since the first day of auditions,' said Erwin, a music composer and producer who has worked on popular albums like Salute to Koes Plus/Bersaudara in 2004 and Rockestra in 2007.

'Honestly, these kids have surprised me. Take Rafi, an 11-year-old boy who performs scat-singing naturally,' he said.

Erwin said he asked another young singer, Theresia Dian, what kind of music she used to listen to, and she said she loved to hear classical-crossover vocalists like Katherine Jenkins and Sarah
Brightman.

To respect their talents, he collaborated with international musicians of the Czech Symphony Orchestra and Karel Vlach Orchestra for the album.

'After the album launch, we plan to make a concert in June,' said Erwin.

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