Dewa 19’s keyboardist, main songwriter and band-leader, Ahmad Dhani, told The Jakarta Post during a zoom interview on July 7, that “Pamungkas’ songs are fine and he is part of the younger generation of musicians that needs to be supported.”

Not only that, he went one step further and claimed that musically, Pamungkas has a stronger start to his career than Dewa 19. “His debut has been better than ours, hopefully he can surpass us in the future.”

It’s high praise coming from Ahmad Dhani, who is recognized as one of country’s most successful songwriters and has been a judge for popular singing talent competitions including Indonesian Idol and X Factor Indonesia. But for Pamungkas, what’s more important is the fact that he gets to work with his musical heroes.  

We reached out to Pamungkas for direct comments but were informed by his representatives that the singer was currently focused on family matters.

Speaking to the music website Pophariini, Pamungkas said he grew up listening to Dewa 19 and considered himself a Baladewa (what fans of Dewa are called).

“If it wasn’t for [Dewa-19 guitarist] Andra Ramadhan, I probably wouldn’t have played guitar,” he said, “I also learned how to write songs by reading Ahmad Dhani’s lyrics.”

The importance of Dewa 19’s songs to Pamungkas means the collaboration was sometimes intimidating and made him self-critical. The singer told Pophariini that there is a standard for these songs that he was trying to meet. Technically, Pamungkas also admitted to struggling to nail the high vocal parts sung by Elfonda “Once” Mekel, Dewa-19’s second lead singer.

Most played: Pamungkas was the most played Indonesian artist on Spotify in 2020. (Pamungkas/Courtesy of Pamungkas management)

“I only started learning how to sing in 2012, so our skills and experience are different, but I had to make it work somehow,” Pamungkas told Pophariini, “But I learned so many things along the way, from the process and their stories, so I’m glad it [the collaboration] happened.”

From the stage to the studio

At the 2020 Synchronize Festival, Pamungkas performed with Andra Ramadhan on guitar. The arrangement was made by Kiki Aulia Ucup, one of the people behind the music festival. Just a year after, a possibility of pairing up Pamungkas with Dewa as a full band arose, and Ucup once again made it happen.

Initially, the plan was only to have Dewa 19 perform alongside guest vocalist Virzha (a rocker who made his name on Indonesian Idol) as well as Pamungkas for an online streaming event titled A Virtual Music Celebration. However, the decision was made to record and release a studio version of the songs on streaming platforms. These songs were Dewa 19’s covers of Pamungkas’ “To The Bone”, “Kenangan Manis” (Sweet Memory) plus a special rendition of their own classic hit “Cinta Kan Membawamu Kembali” (Love will Bring You Back) featuring Pamungkas on vocals, and were released by Ahmad Dhani’s label, Republic Cinta Records.

The Pamungkas guest spot was picked by Ahmad Dhani due to practical reasons. “We already had a different arrangement of [“Cinta Kan Membawamu Kembali”]  ready, so we could get it done quickly, that was the most important thing,” Ahmad said.

Pamungkas chose to cover Dewa 19’s “Pupus” (ruinous) and “Risalah Hati” (heart treatise), two songs that inspired him during his formative years as a musician, Pamungkas’ digital manager Noor Kamil told the Post.

Honoring a legacy

Apparently, Dewa 19’s collaboration with Pamungkas is only the beginning of a series of collaborations that the band is planning to do until next year.

When asked who he would like to work with next, Ahmad Dhani mentioned Steve Lukather of American rock band Toto and claimed they had been in contact with him.

The year 2022 will mark the 30^th anniversary of Dewa 19 in the music industry, a feat that not too many Indonesian bands have achieved. “I think 30 years is something to be proud of,” said Ahmad Dhani.

“If the pandemic is over by next year, we will definitely do offline concerts featuring our friends and collaborators,” Ahmad added.

Even though Dewa 19 has technically been disbanded since 2011 - focusing only on “reunion” shows and special events — the band’s huge back catalog has proven to be more than enough to gain them new listeners from the younger generation.

As one of those younger people who was inspired by Dewa 19’s music, Pamungkas wishes more of his peers would get into the band.

He told Pophariini, “For those who were born after 2000 and may not have experienced the band’s heyday, hopefully now they understand that Indonesia has a music treasure and it’s called Dewa-19.”