Newcomer Pals travel a smoother pop music road
By Helly Minarti
JAKARTA (JP): Sometimes entering the intricate pop music scene can be done in a modest but calculated way, if you are equipped with a certain formula. Phenomenal success -- huge record sales in a short time -- may not come instantly, but fame is in sight.
"Be different first," concluded Pals' Oet Eno, half of the female duet who released their first album, Jelaskan (Explain It), last November.
For Pals, consisting of Oet Eno and Rian Assaaf -- both 20- something -- the road to their first record has not been a rush at all because they had all times they wanted to make their own master tape on their own budget.
"All in all, we spent like nine months recording," said Oet.
There was none of the classic creative pressure from a producer because they worked on their own terms.
"We composed some of the songs and took some from others," said Oet.
They also chose their own arranger, Raidy Noor, a noted musician from the 1980s. But all this freedom still has a barrier. The record must sell.
"It's not easy. We'd like to play music we enjoy most but also something that people can appreciate," said Rian.
The result is a nine-song album fueled with alt-pop tunes finely arranged. The music is simple, clear but still has the weight to match their unique androgynous-sometimes-out-of-tune- false-note voices. The themes are mostly about love -- "we're tomboys, yes, but basically romantic" -- with some soft songs about what it means to be young. Just like their appearances, tomboy but not butch. Just pop, but fine pop.
Best friends
It was Oet who first had the incentive to make a solo album. "I was bored with what I was doing at the time when the idea came up." A relative introduced her to Raidy, who made his own album in his 20s back in early 1980s.
"We shared the same idea to make a good album which bundled up good music. Something different to give but still commercially acceptable," said Oet of the "formula". That was when Rian came along.
"There are so many solo artists as well as bands. But duets?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "Besides, less heads means less problems. Duets such as Indigo Girls, Pet Shop Boys or Roxette are more long lasting," said Oet of the "different element".
"Originally, Pals is from pal," said Rian. They changed it to a popular Indonesian pun, Palembang sekali (very Palembang), their hometown. Oet and Rian have been more than a pal to each other. They have been best friends for almost all their lives.
"Since kindergarten," blurted both almost simultaneously.
When Rian moved to Jakarta to complete her high school education, the ties remained strong.
"She came home every vacation and we always kept in touch," said Oet, a fan of dangdut singer Evie Tamala.
At first, they both chose Bandung to pursue their higher education. Oet studied Japanese at a private institution for three years. Rian studied law at a private university, but instead of finishing, she went to San Francisco to learn English. "I came home for a break before going on to Australia to continue my studies. Oet offered me the chance to form Pals."
This happened in early January 1997 in the middle of Oet's recording sessions, which had started in September 1996. The album cost them Rp 35 million -- a soft loan from Oet's parent. "We've paid it all back now," both said hurriedly.
In July 1997, they submitted their master tape to Warner Music Indonesia. They only had to wait three weeks for a positive answer.
No classic rejection for the first timers? "Maybe Pak Handi (Handi Santoso, the Executive Producer of Warner Musik Indonesia) likes us. We have the same hobby, go-carts," they said, bursting out in laughter.
"He said he chose us because we are konyol (silly) and brengsek (bitchy)," they added, still laughing.
Soon after, they shot their black-and-white video clip, a mobster plot, for their first single, Jelaskan, which tells of a girl asking her boyfriend to explain his confused attitude.
"Again, we wanted to be unique," said Rian of the mobster plot, shot mostly with a wide angle lens. They waited for the perfect moment to release the album.
"We thought of November without knowing that it was the time the government chose to liquidated those unhealthy banks. Such timing," said Oet.
In the first four weeks, they sold 20,000 copies, a modest number. But they were soon performing in glittering pop spots like MTV's VJ Hunt as well as on a chain of much smaller stages.
"We are mall kids," they joked, referring to their gigs' locations, sometimes several in a week.
The smell of fame is still faint. No shock transition to sudden success. Neither feels awkward with the popularity.
"Some people notice us on the street, asking for an autograph on a shirt," said Rian, describing their state of popularity.
Gain without pain. They cut an album the way they wanted to and found a major label on their first submission.
Their next steps: they want to have their own band who play only for them, and perhaps, a manager to replace themselves. What for others is a rough road, for them seems smooth.