| Thursday, May 05, 2005 |
|
WHAT MAKES THEM BIG?
Here's a full article from Malay Mail.
It took Linkin Park almost half a year before it became the biggest band here. Nirvana had to wait almost two years before they were accepted by local listeners. Many others came and were never even noticed.
When news broke that Peterpan, a Bandung-based pop-rock sextet, sold more than 50,000 copies of its second album, Bintang Di Surga, we couldn't help but take notice. So, what's so special about this band that they're able to become such a hot act in less than two months? That would be their appealing brand of easy pop rock and the generous support they enjoyed from the Malaysian media. "If you want to take this into consideration, the front man Ariel is also good looking. Remember how hot Duta from Sheila on 7 was when the band first came here?" commented an industry observer.
Is that it? Curious, we decided to check on the first factor – the band's easy brand of pop rock.
As the first note of the first track, Ada Apa Dengan Mu, burst forth, the first thing we noticed were the hooky guitar riffs, a method popularised by U2 and later perfected by Coldplay. The vocals moved along the same lines as Scott Stapp formerly of Creed, with Michael Stipe of REM's pre-Warner days' slur. If there's anything interesting and unique about the band, it would be keyboardist Andika's ingenuity in filling the space between the music and the vocals with haunting soundscapes.
After going through the whole album again and again, we have to say that apart from the opening track, Mungkin Nanti, Di Belakangku and Ku Katakan Dengan Indah, there's nothing much to shout about the music of Peterpan. It's just another album with the usual few catchy and melodic numbers.
Just to reassure ourselves, we popped in OAG's Satelit Ink, Saturnine's Gray, The Times' Soda Pop Rok ‘n' Roll, The Muffins' self-titled debut, Spiral Kinetic Circus' Sweetened Condensed Tunes for the Broken Hearted and Nice Stupid Playground's My Life is My Parent's Biggest Television.
Yup, we were not wrong. To a certain extent, these albums seem to work on the same vein as Bintang Di Surga.
We were not able to conclude what made the band so popular in so short a time. So, we decided to give the album a few more spins, hoping we could find an answer. Mungkin Nanti, Di Bela-kangku and Ku Katakan Dengan Indah still rank top for us. After repeated listening, we could easily hum to the melodies. Now wait a minute. Maybe that is the answer. These were the songs that have been played over and over on our radio in the past two months. Maybe the band's success was largely due to the great support it has been getting from the Malaysian media – a privilege that only few of our local acts enjoy.
Well, let's not get too deeply into that because it's a totally different story altogether. For now, let's focus on Peterpan, currently the biggest band in Malaysia.
The sextet – Ariel (vocals), Reza (drums), Lukman (guitar), Ukie (guitar), Andika (keyboard) and Indra (bass) – were in town recently for a short promotional visit – which included a Press conference, radio interviews, an appearance at Astro Ria's Dari Studio 1 and a meet-the-fans session at Tower Records, KLCC.
The band's first encounter with the local media was not quite a pleasant one. At the Press conference, the band was bombarded with questions like "Why Indonesian bands are accepted with open arms here while the same thing is not happening to Malaysian bands when they go there?" or "Why the Indonesian media are not giving enough support to Malaysian artistes?" These questions became so overbearing that, at one stage, the band's vocalist Ariel just shook his head in disbelief. From his face, one could tell that he was probably pondering: "Err, did we just commit a crime by just being popular here?" Well, being foreign and the biggest band in Malaysia makes the band an easy target for those bitter about Indonesian bands being championed here when their Malaysians counterparts never stood a chance in their country.
Questions like that should be targeted at the Indonesian media and not the innocent band. After all, it's not their fault that they are big here, right? To be truthful, the fault is ours – to a certain extent.
INTRODUCING PETERPAN "We were extremely surprised, and of course happy," commented Andika, Peterpan's keyboardist on their overnight success here during a short chat after the Press conference.
Hmm, too short and modest of an answer, we felt. Then again, maybe he and the other members couldn't believe they struck it big so fast.
In fact, they have yet to come to terms with the success of their second album, Bintang Di Surga – which has sold more than two million copies in Indonesia and turned them into rock stars.
"When we were first formed, we never had the intention of becoming recording artistes. We just wanted to play in the clubs in our hometown in Bandung. But look at where we are now. It's unbelievable," Ariel said.
"We're still trying to adapt to this sudden rise to superstardom. We're still learning how to deal with our popularity. Fame comes with a price, you know," Andika added with a smile.
"True, we have talent and creativity but we have to give something back in return, like our freedom for instance. At times, things are good and at times, it can be bad," continued Ariel.
The seed of Peterpan goes back to the mid 90s. After failing in his previous two bands, Beat Jr and Stupid Cupid, Andika (real name Andika Naliputra Wirahardja) found solace in Ukie (Mohammad Kausar Hikmat), Ariel (Nazril Irham), Indra (Hendra S), Lukman (Loekman Hakim) and Reza (Ilsyah Ryan Reza).
They first called themselves Topi but decided to switch to Peterpan in September 2000.
"Why Peterpan? Well, there are a lot of bands in Bandung, so one of our strategies to get people to remember us is by having an interesting if not weird name," Ariel explained.
Knowing they need proper guidance to secure spots in the clubs circuit, the band then hired Budi Soeratman as their manager. He played a pivotal role in shaping the band's career.
While playing at one of the established clubs there, Sapu Lidi Cafe, the band by chance met Noey, bassist of pop-jazz combo, Java Jive. Impressed, he asked the band to send him a copy of their demo. Liking what he heard, Noey told the band he wanted to feature one of the songs, Mimpi yang Sempurna on Kisah 2002 Malam, a compilation that he was working on. He also wanted the song to be the lead single.
"That's a song we wrote during our club days. We never played it to the public because we were unsure how the crowd would react to it. "We were only confident about it when the producer told us that the song was going to be the lead single for the compilation," Ariel recalled.
It turned out to be the best move for both the band and the compilation. The song became a hit and made the band one of the hottest new acts around. The compilation went on to sell more than 350,000 copies. By the time the band released their debut album, Taman Langit, in June 2003, it quickly became one of the year's hottest releases. Powered by hits like Sahabat and Topeng, the album went on to sell more than half a million copies in Indonesia.
Apart from its engaging melodies, the album owed its success to the band spending most of their time on the road. They performed almost everywhere – right from Pulau Jawa to Sulawesi! Last July, the band also set a record when they became the first band to perform in six different states in less than 24 hours, a feat acknowledged by Museum Rekor Indonesia (Indonesia's equivalent of Malaysia's Book of Records).
"We hope this would further boost our popularity. After all, we were in the midst of releasing our second album, so we thought this would be a good way to promote it," said Ariel after the concert.
Bintang Di Surga, released in August, made Peterpan the hottest band around. Within seven months, the album sold more than two million copies in Indonesia.
"It's just amazing. Bintang Di Surga was a ‘rushed' album. We recorded it in only 34 days. Even the producer said he had expected it to sell only around 300,000 copies," Ariel said humbly.
"When we hit the studio, we only had seven songs and only two had complete lyrics. It was a bit crazy because we didn't have that much time to think about what we wanted to do on Bintang Di Surga. Imagine, when Ada Apa Dengan Mu was released on radio, the album was only 60 per cent completed," he added with a smile.
Well, some things work best without much planning and preparation. In Peterpan's case, it turned them into instant superstars.
"Yes, we're happy with the outcome of Bintang Di Surga but musically, I wouldn't say what you hear on the album is the definite Peterpan sound," Ariel pointed out.
"We still want to progress and experiment with our style. Not that we'll keep on changing it. It's just that we feel we've yet to reach the level where we could say, this is the Peterpan sound," he added. That statement automatically got Peterpan into our good books. They acknowledge the fact that their success was not due to their efforts alone. And until they find their own sound, they will keep on working on it. And no, they're not interested in becoming another casualty of the media gang-bang.
I like them, yeah. Great music, catchy tunes. Makes me grab my guitar in an instant and try strumming to their melodies. But I like Linkin Park even better. :) |
| posted by efarina @ 2:13 PM |
|
|
|
|
|
