Album Release A Story Mahen Wants To Prove COVID-19 Doesn't Kill Creativity

Mahen (Photo: IG @petrusmahendra)

JAKARTA - Petrus Mahendra or Mahen is one of today's young singers who made success in the early days of their emergence in the Indonesian music industry. Mahen successfully made his mark in Indonesian pop music at the end of 2019 through the song "Pura Pura Lupa", which brought him to the public's attention until now.

Born in the country's music scene during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mahen remains creative. Stories such as happiness, hardship, persistence, toughness and others become unforgettable memories and can inspire him to continue producing works.

After the song "Pura Pura Lupa", Mahen released a series of songs with mellow nuances such as "Luka Yang Ku Rindu", "Come To Go", "Cinta Completes" and "It's Okay To Not Be Okay". The presence of these songs in the Indonesian music scene further strengthens Mahen's figure as a newcomer singer who shines with heartbroken songs.

Now in 2021 under the auspices of the record label Indosemar Records, Mahen has finally succeeded in releasing his first album entitled "A Story". In this album Mahen was assisted by many great musicians such as Pika Iskandar, Tito P.Soenardi, Ayu Purnamasari, Kamga, Beraldy Dean, Faiz Alfandy, Ilham Baso, Michael Juan, Daniel Mantiri, Banu Setiawan, and many more.

“Why is this album entitled 'A Story', maybe more or less this is a story that is contained in the life of a Petrus Mahendra himself, both in the past, which is now being lived or which I will live in the future. Where I want to talk about many things such as heartbreak, happiness, waiting, and many other things. Maybe there are friends who are wondering, what kind of song is this Sad Boy going to release? This is where I want to share my story and this is a form of expression from me, which many other people may also experience,” explained Mahen in a release received by VOI, Monday, May 31.

Even though he debuted in the era of the Covid19 pandemic, the process of making the album, which took approximately 1 year, was lived by Mahen with joy. Because being able to release his own album is his dream as a musician.

"I actually already had five songs before making this album. But I was given a deadline of approximately 2 months to make five other songs that didn't exist at all," said Mahen.

“But this is a big achievement for me to be able to have my own album. For example, it's like having a bachelor's degree as a musician. Wow, I'm really happy to finally have my own full album,” added Mahen happily.

Broken Heart Specialist

Mahen is often referred to by Indonesian netizens as a singer who specializes in heartbroken songs, but Mahen immediately showed off his ability to write songs on this first album. Inspired by previous legendary musicians, Mahen wants his works to be enjoyed by many people from various generations and at any time.

"Previously I've released 5 songs that have a sad and heartbroken feel, in this album there are also songs that have a happy mood. And there are some songs on this album that I wrote myself. His inspiration is to be like the late brother Glenn Fredley, who has many albums with extraordinary songs, especially his upsetting songs that many people like. Hopefully my work can be like that, can inspire and be able to continue the destination of upset songs to the next generation, "he said .