Everyone has someone to thank for first exposing them to "good" music. It's usually someone older, someone cooler, someone with great style. For Vira Talisa Dharmawan, it's Uncle Jesse. Not her Uncle Jesse. That Uncle Jesse: John Stamos' iconic hot uncle on Full House. But he was more than a great head of hair. He was also a fan of 50s doo-wop, Elvis, and The Beach Boys. And when your a kid growing up in Indonesia, sometimes the strangest things can open up your entire musical world.Today, Vira makes music that's more Françoise Hardy than Jesse and the Rippers. Her debut EP, on Bandung's Orange Cliff Records is breezy, romantic, and playful; a perfect mood setter for modern urbanites looking to shed the weariness from their day.She talks VCDs, pop-punk, and, of course, Full House with VICE Indonesia's Marcel Thee.VICE Indonesia: There's a strong visual element with your music. Its presentation is almost musical. Where does that come from? Did you grow up around a particularly musical family?
Vira Talisa: I grew up in a family of doctors, military men, and white-collar workers except for my grandmother who is a painter. However it was my dad who first introduced me to music. He bought me a tiny toy piano when I was five and later signed me up in a music school to learn pop piano. I learned the techniques and everything but I don't remember which songs I loved during my studies in music school. But then my mom bought me Walt Disney's classics VCDs and I fell in love with the music.VCDs! That's so old school. Did you liked any particular ones?
One of my favorites were George Gershwin's work in Fantasia and The Sherman Brothers in Marry Poppins. "Rhapsody in Blue" and "A Spoonful of Sugar" were two of the songs from my childhood that I clearly remember loving. So I can say that my first bond with music was through film. My musical studies continued throughout primary school, studying classical piano and violin, but I never finished due to a lack of enthusiasm to continue repetitive classes.You were also a big fan of pop-punk and rap metal for a while there.
As a young teenager, I was a big fan of MTV and punk pop-rock bands. I was listening to a lot of Linkin Park, Green Day and Blink 182 like most of my friends in junior high-school.But then I discovered an American sitcom called Full House and found a character named Uncle Jesse who is a musician and a big fan of The Beach Boys and doo-wop music. Their music sort of reminds me of the music I used to listen to as a kid and it turns out that [the Beach Boy's] Brian Wilson is a big fan of George Gershwin as well. Since then I've felt a special connection between me and Mr. Wilson and listened to a lot of The Beach Boys' earlier works. Thanks to the internet I discovered similar musicians from that period of time, most of which are still my favorite.
Yeah, definitely. The Beach Boys were my gateway to retro music. I listened to a lot of rock n' roll, surf, doo-wop, jazz, rockabilly, French Yé Yé, and Brazilian music from the 50s and 60s. The Remains, Mary Hankins, Jesse Hill, Jacqueline Taieb, Elis Regina, and Françoise Hardy are some of my favorites. I don't really know what I like about them, I think it's just a matter of love. There is a certain charm to these sounds that I can't really explain.Is there a side of your music that few people get to hear? Are you into other stuff that doesn't really bleed through your songs?
What I never show to people is probably my love to RnB and hip-hop. It is a special affair. But through music? Oh, so many things. Joy. Romance. Irony. I just want to make people feel something.Feel something? So what inspires you to write then?
I write a lot every time I got a little sad, or worried, or nostalgic. Things such as friendship and self-motivation… personal things, mostly. Often in an ironic way.So do you feel this collection of songs is a good representation of your overall sound?
I'm not sure. I do think that it represents so much of what I listen to, but during the creative process, I had so many things that i was experimenting with and wanted to put in my songs, but deleted because they sort of 'ruined' the song. So I believe that there is still more to give, but I just need to figure out how.
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Vira Talisa: I grew up in a family of doctors, military men, and white-collar workers except for my grandmother who is a painter. However it was my dad who first introduced me to music. He bought me a tiny toy piano when I was five and later signed me up in a music school to learn pop piano. I learned the techniques and everything but I don't remember which songs I loved during my studies in music school. But then my mom bought me Walt Disney's classics VCDs and I fell in love with the music.VCDs! That's so old school. Did you liked any particular ones?
One of my favorites were George Gershwin's work in Fantasia and The Sherman Brothers in Marry Poppins. "Rhapsody in Blue" and "A Spoonful of Sugar" were two of the songs from my childhood that I clearly remember loving. So I can say that my first bond with music was through film. My musical studies continued throughout primary school, studying classical piano and violin, but I never finished due to a lack of enthusiasm to continue repetitive classes.
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As a young teenager, I was a big fan of MTV and punk pop-rock bands. I was listening to a lot of Linkin Park, Green Day and Blink 182 like most of my friends in junior high-school.But then I discovered an American sitcom called Full House and found a character named Uncle Jesse who is a musician and a big fan of The Beach Boys and doo-wop music. Their music sort of reminds me of the music I used to listen to as a kid and it turns out that [the Beach Boy's] Brian Wilson is a big fan of George Gershwin as well. Since then I've felt a special connection between me and Mr. Wilson and listened to a lot of The Beach Boys' earlier works. Thanks to the internet I discovered similar musicians from that period of time, most of which are still my favorite.
Is that why your songs have a sort of retro pop feel to them?
Yeah, definitely. The Beach Boys were my gateway to retro music. I listened to a lot of rock n' roll, surf, doo-wop, jazz, rockabilly, French Yé Yé, and Brazilian music from the 50s and 60s. The Remains, Mary Hankins, Jesse Hill, Jacqueline Taieb, Elis Regina, and Françoise Hardy are some of my favorites. I don't really know what I like about them, I think it's just a matter of love. There is a certain charm to these sounds that I can't really explain.Is there a side of your music that few people get to hear? Are you into other stuff that doesn't really bleed through your songs?
What I never show to people is probably my love to RnB and hip-hop. It is a special affair. But through music? Oh, so many things. Joy. Romance. Irony. I just want to make people feel something.Feel something? So what inspires you to write then?
I write a lot every time I got a little sad, or worried, or nostalgic. Things such as friendship and self-motivation… personal things, mostly. Often in an ironic way.So do you feel this collection of songs is a good representation of your overall sound?
I'm not sure. I do think that it represents so much of what I listen to, but during the creative process, I had so many things that i was experimenting with and wanted to put in my songs, but deleted because they sort of 'ruined' the song. So I believe that there is still more to give, but I just need to figure out how.