BOX Exclusive: Reflections On 18 Years Of Career In Local Dress

JAKARTA - KOTAK has become one of the relevant band names in the Indonesian music industry. In the midst of the onslaught of new musicians, KOTAK manages to come up with their works every year.

This year, KOTAK has released two songs: Hantam as the theme song for the film Satria Dewa Gatotkaca and at the end of last July with Local Pride. These two songs have straightforward lyrics with social issues that are close to today's society.

"It doesn't take too long to make the song itself. Indeed, we have had a workshop in early 2021 and continue to find the same tone as music, we just have to choose the theme," said Cella to VOI.

Local Pride tells of the phenomenon of young people who want to appear but are willing to empty their pockets in order to wear foreign brands. In this song, KOTAK wants to show their pride with a local brand that is no less quality.

“We see what social issues at the age of 18 are. We see the trend is flexing, right where YouTubers show off their clothes like this and then it becomes the impact of people so "Oh my standard must be like him!" Chua explained.

“So she forced her own fashion to see her YouTuber figure. Example yes. He only has so much money but wants to look classy so he uses fake things, borrowing here and there. We take this issue to make it seem like fashion can be shaped, it doesn't need to be made of expensive things, the important thing is that we can be confident," he said.

The release of this song coincided with the phenomenon of Citayam Fashion Week (CFW) which was crowded. However, they admitted that they did not try to “riding the wave” of the polemic.

"Initially we thought it would be September. But we think that Hantam has been released in May, so what are you doing, it's a shame that only one song was released. So, come on, in two months, we will release Local Pride and the next one, God willing, in September, the songs on 18+ will be full,” added Tantri.

Prior to Local Pride, KOTAK did plan to release songs before releasing the full EP in September. This song is also felt to be connected with CFW which is being loved by the public.

KOTAK will celebrate its 18th anniversary this year. They admit that there have been many changes that have occurred since the beginning of the music industry, starting from music concerts to how to dress.

“KOTAK is actually a clothing concept depending on what the theme of the event is. I see my character Tantri Cella is not good at fashion issues. What's important is our character on stage," Chua explained.

Getting here, KOTAK wants to get rid of the stigma that rockers only wear dark colors and leather jackets. They also began to adjust clothes according to the concept and even dared to play with colors.

“We want to show a rock band but it's not just all black, leather jackets. Monotone. We prefer to play with colors but neutral colors like red and white, green moss, navy blue. Black for sure, but play with the colors a little to make it fresher," he said.

Growing Up With BOX's Relatives

As a vocalist, Tantri also experienced different developments during promotions in the early 2000s. He also feels that now musicians must be diligent in releasing songs to maintain their form of existence. The change changed their song production pattern. In a matter of months, they feel they have to release a song, even though Culu Kotak often saves songs because the album comes out in a matter of years.

The proof, in 2020 they launched an album titled Identity and released a Live version the following year. This does not include a number of collaborations outside of KOTAK releases.

"In the past one album could last 2 years, now once a month releases a song, it's really great for KOTAK, even though we're used to stocking up, for example, 10 songs for 1 album, and then we just take a break," recalls Tantri.

Not only from the side of the SQUARE, from their fans - the Relatives of the Box - also underwent a change. Those who used to be in school now have families, such as Tantri, Chua, and Cella.

At 18 years old, KOTAK wants to bring more exploration into their release. Cella said there was one collaboration with another genre that would surprise fans.

In this new album, KOTAK brings digitalization at the age of 18. They also worked on the concept, lyrics, music, and artwork independently so that this album can be said to remind fans of the release of KOTAK at the beginning of their career.

"For the cultivation of the last 2 albums, we discussed it together. So we produce ourselves, make our own lyrics, our own concepts and even our own artwork. We discuss everything together," said Cella.

They admit that now a band does not only rely on music, but how to represent themselves through content. All three agree that visuals are an important element in today's social media era.

“Now we don't just talk about music without a campaign. Back again, I and my KOTAK friends as much as possible, we are married, have children, go back home to carry the KOTAK flag forever," added Tantri.

Their hopes at the age of 18 are not grand. They want to make music until they are old and can perform the pilgrimage together.

“The most difficult hope for us at the age of 18 is to band together until we are old. Maintaining it is very difficult. The important thing is that being able to give works and make an impact for many people is something extraordinary," said Tantri, who was also agreed by Cella and Chua.