JAKARTA - It has been two years since Tiket returned to being active in the Indonesian music industry, with the formation of Aqi Singgih (vocals), Arden Wiebowo (guitar), Opet Alatas (bass), and Brian Kresno Putro (drums).
The four names above (plus Teguh Diswanto), were the initial personnel of Tiket when they made their debut through a self-titled album in 2001. Then, the same formation still released the album Sebuah Anugerah in 2003.
After producing two albums, Tiket changed formation, Arden and Opet were still in the band, while Aqi joined Alexa and Brian joined Sheila On 7.
Tiket's reactivity with the latest formation began during the COVID-19 pandemic. It started with the four musicians asking each other how they were, gathering at Brian's house after the pandemic subsided, going into the studio for fun, and the idea to revive Tiket arose.
“There happened to be a studio at Brian’s house, just messing around, it turned out that the taste was still the same as before, so we finally recorded (the song) ‘Hanya Kamu Yang Bisa’, because it was Tiket’s biggest hit. At that time, Opet and Ardan were still guarding Tiket’s goal, while Brian and I weren’t there. It was just a whim,” said Aqi Singgih when Tiket visited the VOI office in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta recently.
The new version of “Hanya Kamu Yang Bisa” was released on November 25, 2022. They also re-recorded two old songs, “Abadilah” and “Biar Cinta Menyatukan Kita”.
“We remade old songs, several. After that we thought, ‘Just make a new song, how can we not make new songs anymore?’ Finally, (the new song) just came out like that, giving each other ideas, eh, there were a lot of songs. Alhamdulillah, just recorded it,” said Aqi.
Tiket's reactivity can be said to be moving in a more serious direction, two new songs have been released, namely "Senjana" on November 24, 2023 and "GAK MAU" on August 21, 2024. Both were made differently from each other.
Brian said that Tiket's approach in working on songs today is different from when they worked on albums in the early 2000s. At that time, from one song to another was seen as one unit.
"We are experiencing the album era, album production is a very long production and requires a lot of concepts, so that the album can be a whole, from one song to another we think about the relationship," said Brian.
"In the past, we were also guarded by producers and labels, there must have been a formula, if one was like this, the next one was made like this (similar). Now maybe because we have extraordinary freedom, the position now is that we can release it ourselves, we can produce it ourselves, I think that we can explore something," he continued.
In addition, Opet, who is known as the initial personnel who formed Tiket, said that the personnel are currently also trying to work on song arrangements in a more ideal portion.
"With our respective musical experiences so far, we process what we will do in these materials. (We) try not to make it complicated, yes, it's ideal according to us," said Opet.
"Ideal according to us is like that, not made complicated, not made difficult. Yes, the hope is that what we do is also ideal for those who hear it," he added.
More Idealistic Tiket
What the bassist said is the key to seeing Tiket today. The four members of Tiket who debuted in 2001 are no longer the same people when they decided to reunite two years ago.
Arden said that each member has gone through their own different journeys, so the two songs presented are their efforts to keep Tiket alive.
"What makes us different and more enthusiastic when we come back is like each of us brings new references and new feelings from our respective places," said Arden.
"As time goes by, we feel nostalgic because we can get together again, but we don't want to be a nostalgic band, we still have to have work. Because as musicians, we have to remain productive, while also regenerating Tiket's listeners."
Growing up in the 1990s is a plus point felt by each member. With the very diverse musical references at that time, adapting to new listeners from today's young generation is not difficult.
"The advantage is that we were big in the 90s, in that era it was very rich in music genres. That's why when we adapted in an era that was actually just going around in circles, it was no problem, because actually at that time we had listened to many types of songs," said Arden.
"Actually this is the fruit of our listening, and the four of us agreed to make something that wasn't as complicated as the second album, so we made something that we thought was easy," added Aqi.
With what Tiket has done in the last two years, the important question to answer is: where is Tiket headed and how long will this formation last.
Aqi admitted that the question came to his mind when walking with Tiket at this time. He was actually curious about what he would do with the other three personnel.
"I also questioned that, where is this actually going to go, and personally I'm more curious, where is the end," said the vocalist.
"When I talked to Brian earlier, we tried how to introduce our music outside of playing music. It would be nice if our music could communicate without us having to play music," he continued.
"Like the Beatles, on the fourth album they stopped performing, money came in, just recording until they disbanded. There, they could introduce their music without playing music. And that seems to be the dream of all musicians."
Opet and Arden, who have never left Tiket, believe in this new journey with more flow.
"For me personally, we definitely just flow with it. As long as there is still energy, it will definitely continue, because the hope is that as long as we can still make music, just keep going," said Opet.
"We can't be too naive, sometimes reality doesn't always match expectations, I personally don't like grandiose things. But I have faith that we can get through 20 years, there should be another 20 years," added Arden.
“So back again, if I hype it up too much it seems naive, we'll just see later, what's clear is that we personally want it to never die.”
Trying to summarize what the three personnel said above, Brian believes that Tiket is the right place to work together for himself, Aqi, Arden and Opet.
“I believe that good work will definitely have a place in the hearts of its listeners. Right now I'm quite grateful to have Tiket as a place to work, whatever the results are,” said Brian.
“Only a little bit has been answered from my question, yesterday we had the chance to transfer files from the handycam when Tiket performed, it was tiring. When watching it and having a flashback, it was slightly answered that we had gone through that time. And of course after that we want the future to be more ideal with the current conditions and age. Well, it's not ambitious, we probably don't want to be that tired, but if later my friends are happy again with Tiket's songs, we will fight to be able to meet our friends,” he concluded.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
