New duo 'Air' a shift for ex-Pas member<\/p>\n
By Helly Minarti<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The economic crisis, combined with the current
\nnational political uproar, hasn't seemed to stop pop music from
\nevolving. In fact, there is still enough space for newcomers to
\ngive it a shot. This has been proved by Air (meaning "water") --
\na sibling duo of guitarist Bengbeng and singer Shinta.<\/p>\n
It all started late last year when Bengbeng, the guitarist of
\nthe band PAS, compiled his songs and found that some of his more
\npoppy tunes would be too sweet for fans of PAS, an alternative
\nband known for their hard sound.<\/p>\n
"This (composing those songs) is just something I do outside
\nPAS," said Bengbeng, who writes all PAS songs in jam sessions.<\/p>\n
With a desire to play something different from the band's
\nusual repertoire, Bengbeng searched for a vocalist. And the idea
\nof a duo entered his mind. "Like Sweden's Roxette," Bengbeng
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He invited a half-dozen singers to try his songs. None
\nappealed to him. "They were all undoubtedly good -- perhaps that
\nis the problem. They used to sing in pubs, churning out Top 40
\nstuff which makes them sound not too natural to me.<\/p>\n
"Besides, instead of giving their honest opinions whenever
\nthey didn't feel good with my songs, they improvised with it,"
\nsaid Bengbeng, the fifth of seven children.<\/p>\n
It never occurred to him that the musical partner he was
\nlooking for was as close as home. That was when he heard Shinta
\n-- his youngest sister -- sing along to her Alanis Morissette
\nalbum.<\/p>\n
"It was her morning ritual, every morning at 6:30, she put the
\ntape up loud and sings the songs her way while I sleep in the
\nnext room. Imagine how I have to deal with that after a long
\nnight doing gigs," recalled Bengbeng, giggling.<\/p>\n
But Shinta's raw style -- not even trying to mimic Alanis's
\nsignature style -- finally captured his ears. So, to her
\nsurprise, he offered her a trial.<\/p>\n
The two then made a demo and offered that to three major
\nlabels. They picked a name for the group: Air, out of nothing, on
\nthe way to the record company. The three companies gave an
\ninstant nod, and sooner than they knew, they signed a three album
\ndeal with Sony Music, which agreed to realize the first album
\nsoon.<\/p>\n
As a member of PAS, which has the reputation of being the
\nfirst indie band in Indonesia, Bengbeng is a familiar face on
\nstage, while Shinta is a student of a state university in their
\nhometown, Bandung.<\/p>\n
"Shinta's only experience is singing in her room. She once
\nsang in a vocal group, but left. Maybe they couldn't use her
\nvoice," said Bengbeng, joking.<\/p>\n
Shinta, who appreciates the music of Morisette and Edna Swap's
\nAnne Previn, was brought up in a musical environment in the
\nfamily -- their late father, Sudjono, was a keroncong aficionado,
\nher mother, Sri Yanti, was a singer and youngest brother Trisno
\n(the sixth child) plays bass in PAS.<\/p>\n
Their first single, Bintang (Star), a childlike number
\ndelivered in a witty video clip, quickly made its way up the
\nchart. Its easy-to-remember lyrics soon became a teenybopper
\nchant. And since its release in February, Air has reached
\npromising sales of 75.000 copies. Now they are about to start
\nshooting their second video clip.<\/p>\n
Ten out of 11 songs on the album were created by Bengbeng, who
\nalso arranged and played almost all instruments on the record,
\nwhile credit for the lyrics went to Shinta and friends.<\/p>\n
"Basically I love all kinds of music, including the sweet
\nones. And I want to be able to make various compositions, not
\nonly in the rock genre as in PAS band," said Bengbeng, a college
\ngraduate majoring in agriculture.<\/p>\n
He grows his love on 1970's rock legends Led Zeppelin, yet he
\nalso admires pop groups like ABBA. "Their song Dancing Queen is
\none of the best cuts in pop," said Bengbeng -- a statement that
\nwill certainly surprise PAS' mosher fans (dancing zealots who
\nthrow their whole bodies around in front of the stage at gigs).<\/p>\n
Air recently finished radio promos in some cities and
\nperformed in big venues like Fashion Cafe and Hard Rock Cafe in
\nJakarta. They are now preparing a one-month promotional tour,
\nscheduled to start soon after the June 7 elections.<\/p>\n
In their last show, Shinta seemed more relaxed communicating
\nwith the audience compared to her few shy words a month before.
\nShinta said she didn't have the usual stage fright.<\/p>\n
"I was more afraid of disappointing him (Bengbeng), if I could
\nnot get fans to react like they used to at PAS gigs," Shinta
\nconfessed.<\/p>\n
Bengbeng says this is nonsense. "Air is like a start-over for
\nme, I don't relate myself as a member of PAS band when I play for
\nthis duo." he said.<\/p>\n
Though considered few in number, PAS fans are a dedicated
\ncrowd who turn the band's gigs into non-stop mosh sessions.<\/p>\n
"But I am fully aware that we play for a different audience. I
\njust want her to be herself and be at ease with that," Bengbeng
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
While music has been Bengbeng's life for years, Shinta is
\nstill baffled by her brief pop life. While enjoying a decent dose
\nof local popularity ("Some people on the street recognize me or
\nsuddenly they just hum our song, Bintang.") yet she's still far
\nfrom settling herself into a music career.<\/p>\n
"I'll let everything roll, one at a time," said Shinta, who
\nnow juggles her schedule between shows and campus.<\/p>\n
Air is indeed light, poppy and sweet. Yet Bengbeng's music --
\npredictably guitar-fueled -- brings some substance to the tunes.
\nShinta's lyrics are light in their themes, yet her voice can belt
\nout a harsher tune, such as in Life is Pain -- the only non-
\nBengbeng work on Air, an angst-ridden number tinted by the PAS-
\nstyle music of Trisno.<\/p>\n
Now, the siblings are trying to manage their musical days by
\nputting Air and PAS under the same management. Shinta is pursuing
\nher studies and guitar lessons, while Bengbeng has plans like
\nmaking his own solo debut this year and "marrying my love of
\nmusic and agriculture in a dream house in the village, next to a
\nlarge garden and music studio".<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/new-duo-air-a-shift-for-ex-pas-member-1447893297",
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