About Me
In 1981 a new Hawaiian ensemble was formed in Laren (North Holland). The band consisted of some members of the former Nu'uanu Hawaiians, and strengthened by some of the younger generation. Since then the ensemble has been performing as the Tropical Sound Group. The title tropical indicates that their repertoire encompasses music and songs from Indonesia as well as from Polynesia.Twenty-five years of promoting Indonesia and Hawaii! Mood music in small circles at anniversaries, reunions, company parties, festive dinners, etc., but also performances at evening shows: programs with the cooperation of solo dancers and dance groups. The TSG collaborated with (to name a few) the International Tropical Dancers, the dance group Kembang Melati and the Hawaiian dance group Ma'i A'na.The Tropical Sound Group's music was heard in the big hall of the AMC (Academic Medical Centre) - hospital in Amsterdam, in the dome of the Holiday Inn in Leiden, in the military camps of Utrecht, Amersfoort and Ede at reunions of ex-military personnel in Indonesia, in the officersclub of the airbase in Soesterberg, etc. The TSG-ensemble provided the music for gatherings of travel- and sportsorganizations. The group appeared at Pasars (Indonesian bazaars), Kumpulans (Indonesian gatherings), and Luaus (Hawaiian feasts); performed in nursing homes and institutions, in Bronbeek and Burgers Bush, and was a welcome guest at Radio Midden Nederland. Every year the TSG presented a big show in the Singer Theater in Laren.From 1985 until 1988 the Tropical Sound Group appeared many times on Henk van Stipriaans weekly radio program Tempo Doeloe (The Old Days). "A program for Indo-Dutch people and those who love the former Netherlands East Indies and the present Indonesia", as Henk always announces his program. Recordings were made at several locations among which the Restaurant De Poentjak in The Hague and the restaurant De Kraton in Amersfoort.On December 9, 1987, the Stichting Tropical Sound Group was formed, an organization with a social-cultural purpose. The statutes of the Stichting describe its purpose as follows: "the Stichting TSG's goal is to preserve, increase and perform the music, song and dance as a product of the culture of the Indonesian and Polynesian Archipelago."Since those radio-recordings, made in the SIR (Selected Indonesian Restaurants)- restaurant De Kraton in Amersfoort, the TSG ensemble has spent many evenings there providing music. The band's other side, the Hawaiian Sound, fits perfectly in the restaurant's beautiful Indonesian atmosphere. The musical addition to the Christmas dinners in De Kraton dates back to 1986. Every year the band complies with requests from the guests to sing Indonesian and Hawaiian Christmas songs during these Christmas celebrations. Everyone - including De Kraton's employees - participates in this spontaneous community singing. As a result of these Christmas performances the Tropical Sound Group has produced a CD entitled Hawaiian Christmas.In May 1994 the cassette Paulina mengenangkan Ismail Marzuki was made. This cassette was issued to commemorate the great Indonesian composer and text poet Ismail Marzuki (1914 - 1958). He would have been 80 years old on May 11, 1994. To quote an article in the magazine Moesson: "At the occasion of the 80th birthday of this talented artist, Paulina sings a number of his most well-known compositions, e.g. Rayuan Pulau Kelapa, Aryati, Sepasang Mata bola". His songs are etched in the hearts of the Indonesian population. The sweet and sad sides of the Indonesian fight for freedom, the love, the homesickness, and the longing are expressed in word and music.In the spring of 1995, Paulina visited with Ismail Marzuki's widow in Indonesia. Paulina's performance in Bandung and Bogor has spurred a renewed Indonesian interest in this great composer whose name was threatened with obscurity. Paulina mengenangkan Ismail Marzuki is also available on CD.
