By late May 2021, his single “To the Bone”, from his second studio album Flying Solo, had become the longest ruling chart-topper on Spotify’s Indonesia Top 50 at 10 consecutive weeks, breaking the previous record held by Weird Genius’ “LATHI”, featuring Sara Fajira. Making this feat more impressive is the fact that Pamungkas wrote and produced “To the Bone”.

Speaking to The Jakarta Post, the 28-year-old singer-songwriter revealed that he had no intention whatsoever to dominate any charts.

“I did not expect this because as a songwriter, I never know which [song] will get on the map,” said Pamungkas.

“For instance, I wrote this song called ‘Boy’ for my debut album [Walk The Talk, 2018] and I thought that song would change people’s minds, but nothing happened. I didn’t expect a song like ‘To the Bone’ would end up being a hit instead. It’s a huge thank you to the listeners and of course, Spotify, for bridging my songs to them,” he said.

The single could be considered a sleeper hit, as it took a year for “To the Bone” to finally summit the Spotify chart since its YouTube premiere in early 2020. It was not accompanied by a social media campaign or high-profile TV appearance, so Pamungkas admitted he had no idea why the rock ballad, at a fairly long duration of 5 minutes and 44 seconds, had resonated with so many listeners/

“When I wrote ‘To the Bone’, my intention was to write something I had never written before,” he explained.

“I mean, I grew up in a time when people used to tell me that if I wanted to write a hit, I should come up with three-minute songs. As a songwriter, I thought, ‘Why should it be three minutes?’ So, ‘To the Bone’ was my attempt to change the way a song is supposed to be constructed,” he said.

“If you ask me why people relate to it, I don’t really know, and listeners will always be smarter than me. All I can do is just keep going and keep writing songs.”

The success of “To the Bone” has redefined what a hit song should sound like in the digital era, and Pamungkas agreed that his latest milestone might usher in a new era for fellow indie artists.

Changing the game by two minutes: With a fairly long duration of 5 minutes and 44 seconds, Pamungkas attempted to change "the way a song is supposed to be constructed". (Maverick/Courtesy of Maverick.)

However, he noted that any future success was by no means an individual effort. “I think [success] is a result of collective work. It can’t involve just the artist, but also streaming platforms like Spotify,” he said, highlighting the streaming platform’s significance in putting artists with more colorful sounds into the mainstream consciousness.

“Safe to say, especially in Indonesia, we grew up in a time when we didn’t get to choose what music to listen to. It was like, ‘Whether you like it or not, this is the music that you have to listen to!’” he remarked.

“Thanks to Spotify, music is like a buffet now. Everyone gets to choose which music to listen to from so many different genres. The point is, I think the new era actually started when streaming platforms like Spotify arrived.”

Since he wrote and produced “To the Bone” entirely by himself, does he think mean that all artists should adopt his formula?

“I think it depends,” he answered. “Music requires standards. If you can reach those standards by yourself, I say, ‘Good for you!’ Besides, it doesn’t matter whether you make music by yourself or with others. What matters is that you keep making music.”

Kossy Ng, head of music at Spotify Asia, noted how the success of songs like “To the Bone” helped put Indonesian music on the global map.

“Indonesia is and will continue to be an important market to us,” she said in an email. “In the five years since we’ve launched in the country, we’ve invested and grown our teams to better support the needs of our listeners, artists and creators in the country. Since then, we’ve witnessed numerous success stories such as Rich Brian, Hindia and Tiara Andini to name a few.”

Supported by Spotify: Kossy Ng, Head of Music, APAC, Spotify noted how the success of songs like "To the Bone" helped put Indonesian music on the global map. (Maverick/Courtesy of Maverick.)

Acknowledging Spotify’s instrumental role in showcasing more colorful Indonesian sounds to music consumers, Ng added that supporting indie artists with unique aesthetics like Pamungkas was also part of the platform’s mission.

“Last year, we also refreshed the Musik Indonesia Hub to better showcase local music and artists in one central location on Spotify. In the Musik Indonesia hub, listeners will find a wide array of playlists across different genres, including Indienesia, Skena Gres and Gelombang Alternatif. Fresh Finds Indonesia was also launched to help unearth some of the fresh new talents locally,” she wrote.

While most artists might prefer to release stand-alone singles and EPs on streaming platforms like Spotify, Pamungkas decided to keep a few things “conventional” by releasing full-length studio albums, for instance, not unlike the artists of the analog era.

“I grew up in a time when every artist who I loved released an album as a way for them to say, ‘This is me!’” he said, referring to legendary groups like The Beatles as an inspiration. “They released twelve albums, excluding the masters, in ten years. That’s crazy!”

Instead of taking the time to savor his success, Pamungkas has gone straight back into the studio to work on his upcoming fourth album.

“I wrote with a lot of piano for the last three albums, but for this one, I’ve been writing with guitar and exploring open chords as well,” he said. “The folky vibe is sort of strong on this album. It will show a deeper layer of me, songwriting-wise.”

Pamungkas added that, above all, he couldn’t feel more grateful for how Spotify had helped bridge his music to a wider audience. “Everything is a result of everyone’s hard work, and I think what Spotify has done for my music is very noble.”

“I’m just a guy who writes songs, so an achievement like this sort of hit me in the face. It reminds me to stay humble and keep going. I’m thankful for this and I hope I can handle all the expectations, maybe?” he joked.