Annie Landouw (also Landauw, 1913 – 17 August 1982) was an Indonesian ''
keroncong'' singer and film actress.
Biography
Landouw was born in
Surakarta
Surakarta (Javanese script, Javanese: , Pegon script, Pegon: ), known colloquially as Solo (Javanese script, Javanese: ; ), is a major List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in Central Java, Indonesia. The city adjoins Karanganyar Reg ...
,
Central Java
Central Java (, ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogya ...
, in 1913. She lost her sight following an extended illness as a child, and was not long afterwards adopted by her aunt and uncle. In 1927 she competed in – and won – her first singing competition, a Concours concert at a night fair in Surakarta. As a result, she was approached by Beka, a recording company, which signed her. She moved to Batavia (now
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
), the capital of the
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
, soon afterwards and quickly rose in popularity.
By 1938 Landouw had joined the NIROM radio troupe, singing ''
keroncong''. The following year she joined Hugo Dumas' troupe
Lief Java. During this period she became active in film. In 1938 she provided vocals for ''
Fatima
Fatima bint Muhammad (; 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fatima al-Zahra' (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, the fourth of the Rashidun caliphs and the first Shia imam. ...
'', a production by
Tan's Film; she provided vocals again for Tan's 1939 film ''
Gagak Item'' (''Black Raven''). She made her onscreen debut later that year, with ''
Siti Akbari''. In 1940 she appeared in two further films, ''
Sorga Ka Toedjoe'' (''Seventh Heaven'') and ''
Roekihati''.
Landouw's prowess singing ''keroncong'' rendered her immensely popular. In 1940, the blind singer was scheduled for eye surgery. Her fans organised a fundraising campaign to help her pay for it, although ultimately Landouw refused the charity.
After
Indonesia's independence, Landouw continued singing; however, she acted in no further films. She died on 17 August 1982.
Legacy
Music scholar Peter Keppy suggests that, because of her popularity as a ''keroncong'' singer, Landouw may have influenced the character of Yah in
Armijn Pane's 1940 novel ''
Belenggu''; in the novel, Yah is famous as a ''keroncong'' singer under the stage name Siti Hayati.
References
Works cited
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Landouw, Annie
1913 births
1982 deaths
20th-century Indonesian women singers
Minahasa people
People from Surakarta
Blind singers
20th-century Indonesian actresses