Yura Yunita could not hold back her tears during her conversation with The Jakarta Post on Oct. 26. As, it turns out, sharing the details behind her latest studio album Tutur Batin (Words of the Soul)—released on Oct. 22—was as emotionally grueling as the journey of making the album itself. Nevertheless, she did not mind getting up, close and personal. “Let’s just pretend that we’re at home right now. That I’m sharing stories with you,” said the 30-year-old singer-songwriter with a smile.

Sharing stories, indeed. Yura’s goal for Tutur Batin is to share her life stories, which include her past struggles, repressed trauma and embracing life’s imperfections. While it has always been her credo to “get personal” with every single record she makes, she described Tutur Batin as “very, very, very, very personal!”

The case for forgiveness

To understand the emotional magnitude of Tutur Batin, Yura Yunita offered a brief walk down memory lane of her career so far—back to when she was just a “green” aspiring artist diving headfirst into the music industry.

Yura was nearly 23 years old when she released her debut album, the blues-influenced YURA back in 2014. The album featured her collaboration with the late Glenn Fredly: “Cinta dan Rahasia” (Love and Secret), which remains one of her most popular songs to date—its lyric video drawing more than 116 million views on Youtube. “I was a musician who was still searching for who ‘Yura’ actually was,” she said, looking back. YURA was also coproduced by Glenn, whom she credited not only for helping her navigate her difficulties in the early days but also for being “the hero in my life—the hero that brought me to the Indonesian music industry”.

Working on her second chapter Merakit (Rafting) released in 2018, however, proved to be one of her biggest “life trials”. One very specific experience still burns inside her memory. “One day, I was shoved into a room—without Glenn knowing. I found myself surrounded by several lawyers with their towering frames. I was all by myself; I wasn't allowed to be accompanied by anyone. Then, they handed me a contract and wanted me to sign it,” she said. Once again, she credited her “hero” for rescuing her from such contractual bondage. “I had been situated as if I were a powerless woman,” she remarked.

Imperfection: The cover of Yura Yunita's new album Tutur Batin. The 30-year-old singer-songwriter is seen without make-up and floating on water. (Courtesy of Merakit) (Yura Yunita management/Courtesy of Merakit)

It took “almost two and a half years” for Yura to finish her next chapter: Tutur Batin. During that time, she faced more tumultuous “ups and downs”—for instance, her coming to realize that she had been stuck in an “unhealthy” relationship. “But I didn’t realize that [initially], and I think that’s what my flaw is. I don’t share much with others and when I feel like something is wrong, I repress it,” she hypothesized. As a result, she often found herself “waking up anxious. It was like being asphyxiated”.

She decided to seek help in the form of therapy, which also included a consultation with the renowned hypnotherapist Nabila Ghassani and holistic health practitioner Reza Gunawan. While therapy helped her to free herself from her relationship, it also helped her discover more repressed truths: “My past trauma, my childhood trauma and, as it turned out, there were several things in the past that I couldn’t bring myself to forgive”.

Another discovery she made during therapy was that her treacherous journey as an artist—specifically, her journey toward Merakit—had inflicted additional trauma. She came to realize that those towering lawyers and their browbeating had been haunting her subconscious. While dealing with her trauma, Yura had to face her rock bottom: her “hero” Glenn passed away in April 2020 at the age of 44.

Yura still remembers one of her final conversations with the late singer—a conversation in which he gave her a piece of advice: “Keep our intentions good. Keep our intentions straight. What are our intentions? To make music. That’s all.” The album’s fifth track “Sudut Memori” (The Corner of Memories) is dedicated to him.

Sweet serenity

Sonically, Tutur Batin is a blues, jazz and pop album with influences of gospel and funk. For the tone and the visuals of the album, Yura decided to have ‘water’ as its center—an earthly element that, in Yura’s words, symbolizes three different things: “the tears that I shed in the middle of the night, air wudhu (ablution water) I use for prayer and the rain”.

Lyrically, she was determined to have the album document her emotional past wounds and trauma she has unearthed during her therapy. She was inspired by the Kübler-Ross model of five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

Tutur Batin involves some of Yura’s old friends and a few new ones. Her first single of the album, the funk-influenced “Hoolala” was produced by DJ Dipha Barus and cowritten by rapper Matter Mos, marking their first-ever collaboration. Its follow-up, the romantic ballad “Duhai Sayang” (Oh Darling) was produced by her long-time producing collaborator Ari Renaldi.

Something in the water: For the tone and visuals of Tutur Batin, Yura Yunita puts 'water' at its center, symbolizing 'tears, ablution water, and rain'. (Courtesy of Merakit) (Yura Yunita management/Courtesy of Merakit)

It was the third single “Tenang” (Calm), however, that seemingly captured the zeitgeist of 2021. Produced by Iwan Popo and released in April, the gospel-influenced ballad—in which Yura makes an emotional appeal to God to grant her peace for just one night—clicked with the country that was entering its second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The song also received short-film treatment. Starring Film Festival Indonesia-winner Nirina Zubir, the film was released on Youtube in the same month as the single. “Tenang” has accumulated 21 million plays on Spotify alone—a success that Yura still could not fathom.

“That song was me sharing my life story—it wasn’t meant to be a massive hit. Not even one bit!” she said, adding that her sole intention was to “bare everything that was in my head, and one of my ways of self-healing was by pouring all the swirling thoughts in my head into the song.”

“Mulai Langkahmu” (Make Your Move) serves as one of the more cheerful songs on the album. A spirited call for youths to take charge and never give up, the track was inspired by the crisis Yura faced during the Merakit years. The upbeat track also received special treatment, in the form of a 23-minute musical that premiered on YouTube last August. A fan of musicals herself, Yura aims for a more ambitious format in the future. “One of my big dreams is to do a musical that tells a story of an entire album,” she muses.

Due to its autobiographical lyrics, Yura considers the title track as the one which she feels most nervous about. Backed by orchestral arrangements, the title track references her past struggles, the criticism she has received over the years and the importance of being imperfect. Specifically, she hopes the song can “move women’s hearts, empower them to fight for their dreams”.

This year Yura Yunita has also released a remake of Dewa 19’s classics “Kangen” (Longing) and “Risalah Hati” (Heart Treatise) as part of the band’s 30th anniversary. Moreover, she collaborated with composer Erwin Gutawa to remake his 80s classic “Tak Kuduga” (Didn’t Expect). The three songs are not included in the album.

The next “hero”

Looking back, Yura feels grateful for having a veteran figure like Glenn Fredly to be her guide. “Lots of young musicians have said that it must be great being me since I have had a guide. Not all musicians have one,” she said.

Now a veteran artist herself, she feels compelled to be the “hero” for the next generation of artists—especially after discovering that many artists are going through “the exact situation” she once faced during her Merakit years. “I want us musicians to support each other,” she affirmed.

Last but not least: after everything Yura had been through, if she had the chance to meet with her 23-year-old self, what would she say to her?

“I would hug her,” answered Yura, her eyes sparkling with tears. “And I would say, ‘thank you. Because you’re really strong. You might think you are not, but you are. And you have made me stronger. And you have given me the strength to forgive.’”

Yura Yunita’s Tutur Batin is available to stream.