Chrisye works on new album

JAKARTA (JP): After years of helping to map Indonesia's pop music, singer-composer Chrismansyah Rahadi, better known as Chrisye, has finally had a "man" at hand he can be proud of.

The moon man is an award, shaped like a silver astronaut, Chrisye won in this year's Asian Viewers Choice at the MTV Video Music Awards 1998 in Los Angeles.

For the music video of his hit single Kala Cinta Menggoda (When Love is Tempting), the 49-year-old received his award on the evening of Sept. 10, along with Madonna, Will Smith, Aerosmith and Natalia Imbruglia.

While others expressed their emotions in the language they knew best, Chrisye did too in, what else, Indonesian.

"That is my language and whether they (the audience) understood it or not... to me what matters most is that my audience in Indonesia understood my heartfelt thanks to them and to God," Chrisye said Friday at Front Row Restaurant, Central Jakarta.

Sitting beside music video artist and music producer Jay Subiakto, he was the guest of honor at a gathering held to celebrate his victory in putting Indonesia on the map of international music.

The father of four said that after 20 years in the music industry, and several national awards to his name, the emergence of a new crop of talented singers and the age of music videos had finally given him real competition.

He said he was considering working on a new album at end of this year but was still searching for a theme. (ylt)