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FRAU: Singing a 'Happy Coda'
(Courtesy of Frau)After some time out of the lime light, singer/songwriter Frau has returned with her sophomore album, Happy Coda
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(Courtesy of Frau) (Courtesy of Frau)
(Courtesy of Frau)
After some time out of the lime light, singer/songwriter Frau has returned with her sophomore album, Happy Coda.
Frau is Leilani Hermiasih, a 23-year-old from Yogyakarta.
Frau grabbed the public's attention with her debut album in 2010, Starlit Carousel. She, with her friends at Cakrawala Records and Yesnowave Music, introduced a fresh approach to marketing music when they released the album as a full free download along with a deluxe record version for sale.
Both gained a well-deserved positive response: Downloads hit more than 40,000 and the deluxe album sold more than 3,000 copies. These are good numbers for an independent musician.
Starlit Carousel consists of easy-listening songs that mostly feature Frau and her two good friends, exploring piano tunes and her crystal clear vocals. After the album's release, fans at her performances began swarming her asking for autographs and photos. Apparently she isn't fond of the attention.
'I like to be on stage, playing my music. It's when people ask for my autograph or take pictures with me that I don't feel comfortable. Well, you can always deal with it, but for me it's better to live without those kind of things,' she says.
After Starlit Carousel, Frau gathered lots of attention from the industry. Being a single performer on stage with a breathtaking voice and quality music led to the national stardom that followed. She even performed live on Metro TV's Kick Andy program.
'After that episode aired, I got new followers. I felt that being an idol was somewhat hard to deal with,' she says.
In the face of fame, Frau withdrew, and vanished from the music scene for a while. But being away from something she loves was a problem. She couldn't cope with the separation from music and it continued to call to her. During her hiatus she continued to write new compositions.
'During the break, I could pull myself away from the stage and think about the music itself. Music is something that should lie in my head to keep me sane,' she says.
So, after three years off, Frau released Happy Coda. It includes eight songs that show she has grown up in terms of composing. She recorded Happy Coda live in Yogyakarta with help from her old comrades from the Starlit Carousel sessions. The breathtaking voice and elegant piano are still there.
'I'm more serious now when it comes to composing compared with the first album. For example, now the lyrics have to carry the message I want to deliver,' she says.
Not only that, she also released Happy Coda in an unpopular way. Apart from the free download available on yesnowave.com, the album is also available in musical sheets book, a physical format that was very popular before the invention of the phonogram.
Despite her intention, Frau has yet to give up the stage. To support the release of Happy Coda, she performed three shows at the Papermoon Puppet Theatre in her hometown.
'The third show was an additional performance, we had to put it on due to popular demand,' says Adi Adriandi, Frau's manager.
Now, Frau has decided to pursue her musical interests in Belfast, Ireland.
'I only want people to remember me as a musician with my works as the product. Not more than that,' she says.
