Afgan during the recent release of his new album, L1ve to Love, Love to L1ve.

The US has Justin Timberlake, Indonesia has Afgansyah Reza.

With a more melancholic and modest approach, the 23-year-old R&B songster is the local ultimate male popstar. His ample baritone vocals and geek chic image have captured the hearts of teens and young adults who adore his dimple-cheeked smile.

He won the prestigious Anugerah Musik Indonesia (AMI) Award for Best Male Solo Artist last year — for the second time, the first was in 2009 — in which new Asian pop sensation Agnes Monica earned the Best Female.

In tune with the mainstream vigor for melodic songs, Afgansyah, better known as Afgan, is famous for his ballads — “Terima Kasih Cinta” (Thank You Love), “Klise” (Cliché) and “Sadis” (Cruel) — similar to the sounds of R. Kelly and Boyz II Men.

But it is his capability to embrace a wider range of music that has seen him grace the stages of different music scenes. He appears on merry brass dance tunes in “Tanpa Batas Waktu” (Timeless) and a rendition of Chrisye’s “Panah Asmara” (Arrow of Love) as well as genre-bending jams — once dressing up a malay-style pop song with jazz — on television shows.

After two years, Afgan is back with his third album, L1ve to Love, Love to L1ve, in which he experiments more with his vocals, evinced in his upbeat first single from the album, “Pesan Cinta” (Love Note).

“It’s different this time. I usually choose a ballad as my first single,” says Afgan, who looks sharp in his signature preppy look — sleek hairdo, glasses, checkered shirt and jersey jacket — during the album’s launch.

“Pesan Cinta”, a song written by Afgan in collaboration with Mahavira “Inu” Wisnu Wardhana of Numata band and Anindyo “Nino” Baskoro of the group RAN, tells about his feelings for a girl. In a part of the song’s music video, Afgan performs on a Motown-esque stage, sporting a blue suit and black bowtie.

“We wrote the song during a random jam session. But at that time, I was indeed feeling a bit, you know […] I was happy,” says the shy guy with a little laugh, referring to a possible romantic experience. “For the music video, I was inspired by Motown because I’m into some of the old stuff — you’ll see me dancing a bit for the first time.”

Like any magical pop music formula, Afgan chose a ballad for his second single, which is entitled “Jodoh Pasti Bertemu” (We Shall Meet, If It’s Meant to be).

In his first album, Confession No. 1, Afgan made fans hysteric over “Sadis”. This time he promises that the upcoming single will be an anthem for his fans, known as “Afganisme”.

“‘Jodoh Pasti Bertemu’ is definitely a good one,” says Afgan, referring to a song lyric from the song that tells the story of someone who always prays for his loved one, yet does not hold out too much hope for being loved back.

Beginning to fond of electronic dance music, Afgan makes a bold move by mixing his soulful voice with club anthem-like song “Without You”, which was music produced by local DJ hero, DJ Soemantri. The song was composed by Afgan, Inu and Simhala “Mhala” Avadana of Numata.

For “Demi Kamu dan Aku” (For You and Me), Afgan collaborated with another Indonesian singer, Sherina Munaf. “Sherina is really awesome because she did musical arrangement. I was in a bit of an edgy mood when we wrote the song — it turned into more of a rock song.”

Afgan admits that the latest album demanded more hard work in comparison to his previous ones because he had to split time with his studies at Monash University in Malaysia. “That’s why it took me took me two years to complete. I spent five days a week in Malaysia and two days here to work on the album.”

Despite the challenges, Afgan says that he is proud of his new album. “This is the most sincere album I’ve ever made because I wrote my own songs.

“There are various genres represented on the album, from up tempo, ballads to R&B and dance music. I’ve never had this much variation before. You’ll learn that I’ve developed into a mature artist, especially lyric-wise.”

— Photos by Nurhayati

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