Noah: (Antara/Teresia May)" border="0" height="367" width="498">Noah: (Antara/Teresia May)

Many would prefer to bury their lowest moments in life deep underground to never see them again. However, pop-rock band Noah has taken a different path.

Instead of sinking deep and never being heard from again following the imprisonment of their vocalist, Nazril “Ariel” Irham, the band has extensively recorded their rock bottom moments in a book and film.

Only a month after his release from prison in Bandung, West Java, in 2012, after being granted parole on a pornography conviction, Noah released a book titled Kisah Lainnya (Other Stories), chronicling the band’s journey.

A little over a year later, the band released a rockumentary titled Noah: The Beginning, which focused on Noah’s rise from the members’ career rock bottom.

Ariel’s time in prison was definitely the band’s lowest point. Before he was sent to serve time, the band was a six-piece pop-rock sensation selling millions of records under the name Peterpan.

Ariel was convicted in 2011 in a sex-tape scandal that involved models Luna Maya and Cut Tari. The conviction was thought to be the last nail in the coffin for Peterpan.

Now, however, the members of the band are able to look at the gloomy moments with a positive
attitude and humor.

“It was a moment to test my wife. I wasn’t making any money back then, it was a real shock to my
family,” said guitarist Loekman Hakim with a laugh during an interview with band members.

(KapanLagi.com)
“So the test was, whether my wife’s love was tied to the money I make. Alhamdulillah [thank God] that wasn’t the case,” he added.

Drummer Ilsyah Ryan Reza said he had to make up his own activities to keep him busy.

“The sudden change from the constant working and touring to have totally doing nothing put me in the dark,” he recalled.

“I started to sweep all over the house and mop it clean. My body was tired of doing nothing; it craved work.”

Keyboardist David Albert considered himself lucky to be able to live through the moments. He fell ill from a liver-related disease during the band’s hiatus and underwent multiple surgeries.

“It was magic. I went through the phase and survived. It was amazing that I wasable to survive that,” David said.

Ariel said that although being imprisoned was something he wished he would never have to go through again, there were moments in the penitentiary that induced the feeling of nostalgia.

“There was calmness when I was in jail. It wasn’t melancholy; I don’t know how to put it into words,”
he says.

“I don’t want to say that I miss being in jail, but there were positive moments back then. I don’t think
I’d be able to explain it — you have to experience it yourself to know how it feels.”

Ariel, guitarist Mohammad “Uki” Kautsar Hikmat, Reza, Loekman, bassist Hendra “Indra” Suhendra, and keyboardist Andika Naliputra Wirahardja were all in their early 20s when they formed Peterpan
in 2000.

Noah: (Antara/Teresia May)

Many would prefer to bury their lowest moments in life deep underground to never see them again. However, pop-rock band Noah has taken a different path.

Instead of sinking deep and never being heard from again following the imprisonment of their vocalist, Nazril '€œAriel'€ Irham, the band has extensively recorded their rock bottom moments in a book and film.

Only a month after his release from prison in Bandung, West Java, in 2012, after being granted parole on a pornography conviction, Noah released a book titled Kisah Lainnya (Other Stories), chronicling the band'€™s journey.

A little over a year later, the band released a rockumentary titled Noah: The Beginning, which focused on Noah'€™s rise from the members'€™ career rock bottom.

Ariel'€™s time in prison was definitely the band'€™s lowest point. Before he was sent to serve time, the band was a six-piece pop-rock sensation selling millions of records under the name Peterpan.

Ariel was convicted in 2011 in a sex-tape scandal that involved models Luna Maya and Cut Tari. The conviction was thought to be the last nail in the coffin for Peterpan.

Now, however, the members of the band are able to look at the gloomy moments with a positive
attitude and humor.

'€œIt was a moment to test my wife. I wasn'€™t making any money back then, it was a real shock to my
family,'€ said guitarist Loekman Hakim with a laugh during an interview with band members.

(KapanLagi.com)
'€œSo the test was, whether my wife'€™s love was tied to the money I make. Alhamdulillah [thank God] that wasn'€™t the case,'€ he added.

Drummer Ilsyah Ryan Reza said he had to make up his own activities to keep him busy.

'€œThe sudden change from the constant working and touring to have totally doing nothing put me in the dark,'€ he recalled.

'€œI started to sweep all over the house and mop it clean. My body was tired of doing nothing; it craved work.'€

Keyboardist David Albert considered himself lucky to be able to live through the moments. He fell ill from a liver-related disease during the band'€™s hiatus and underwent multiple surgeries.

'€œIt was magic. I went through the phase and survived. It was amazing that I wasable to survive that,'€ David said.

Ariel said that although being imprisoned was something he wished he would never have to go through again, there were moments in the penitentiary that induced the feeling of nostalgia.

'€œThere was calmness when I was in jail. It wasn'€™t melancholy; I don'€™t know how to put it into words,'€
he says.

'€œI don'€™t want to say that I miss being in jail, but there were positive moments back then. I don'€™t think
I'€™d be able to explain it '€” you have to experience it yourself to know how it feels.'€

Ariel, guitarist Mohammad '€œUki'€ Kautsar Hikmat, Reza, Loekman, bassist Hendra '€œIndra'€ Suhendra, and keyboardist Andika Naliputra Wirahardja were all in their early 20s when they formed Peterpan
in 2000.

Nazril '€œAriel'€ Irham: (Antara/Fikri Yusuf)
Their commercially successful debut album Taman Langit (Sky Garden) in 2003 was followed by Bintang di Surga (Star in Heaven) in 2004, which launched them sky high. Bintang di Surga reportedly sold more than 2.5 million copies.

Leaving their fans in shock, Indra and Andika left the group in 2006. Following their friends'€™
departure, the remaining members were forced to find a new name for the band. They were still not set on a new name when David joined the remaining members in 2008.

For a while, the band was just known as '€œAriel, Uki, Lukman, Reza and David'€. They were about to
announce a new name and a new album when Ariel'€™s sex tape scandal emerged.

The book and the movie now serve as a memento for Noah personnel.

Seeing themselves in the rockumentary, the band members said they were able to learn about themselves.

'€œI learned that I have bad habits that I have to change but there were also good things I need to maintain. Looking through the scenes, I realized I smoke a lot. I'€™m cutting down my cigarettes now,'€ Loekman said.

Many people, he said, protested against the way he talked.

'€œI understand why now after watching myself on the screen. I wasn'€™t aware that I talked with such an angry tone. I'€™m not a bitter guy, but I sound like one,'€ he said, chuckling.

'€œI hope our documentary not only entertains people but also inspires positivity.'€