Armand Maulana Looks New and Fresher Through EP Sarwa Renjana

Armand Maulana (doc. Trinity Optima Production)

JAKARTA - Armand Maulana launched an extended play (EP) or mini album titled "Sarwa Renjana". This is Armand's first solo album since his debut with Gigi in 1994.

EP Sarwa Renjana contains five songs with themes about gratitude for life, family, and his long career. The term 'sarwa renjana' itself means 'the greatness of love', which describes Armand Maulana's life journey which is full of challenges and abundant love.

In this EP, Armand explores his love for music that accompanied his teenage years in the 1980s, such as new wave, synth-pop, and soul/R&B.

In addition to the genre and sound that sounds very different and fresher, the 53-year-old singer also works with younger musicians, such as Ade Avery (producer-songwriter), Kamga (songwriter), and Simhala Avadana (A&R Trinity Optima Production). The explorations carried out also produced works with new colors and sounds.

Armand feels that the EP Sarwa Renjana came out at the right time, after more than two decades of focusing on Gigi. He can express the musical side that has not been channeled.

However, he does not have high expectations for this album, and only hopes that "Sarwa Renjana" can be accepted by Indonesian music listeners.

"With the release of this mini album, I want to stay relevant and updated with today's music," said Armand Maulana in his statement, Friday, November 1.

According to him, continuing to create and maintaining relevance is the key to staying enthusiastic in music, and this EP is the right format.

"Five songs are enough to convey the message without losing focus. Each song on Sarwa Renjana is inspired by personal life, making it like a love letter to loved ones," he said.

The five new songs present in the EP are "Jangan Sampai Lepas", "Aku Tempatmu Pulang", "Senyaman Itu", "Senarai Cinta", and "Surga" which is the focus track.

The song "Surga" is a reminder to live a healthy life so that you can live longer, protecting your loved ones longer. This song is also present through a music video directed by Shadtoto Prasetio, bringing back the visual nuances of the 1990s era, by choosing to use flannel shirts, which are now popular again.

In this production, Armand Maulana admitted that he was challenged to do all the scenes in one room, including extreme actions such as crashing into doors, being spun in a rotator, and hanging from a sling.