Sometimes a new music act shows up to break the status quo. Such an observation could be applied to Littlefingers: a trio consisting of 24-year-old keyboardist Chika Olivia, 23-year-old drummer David Halim and 24-year-old bassist Tjdika. While the Indonesian jazz scene nowadays is still dominated by older males and their jazz-pop styling, these three whippersnappers decided to bring forth a more futuristic take on the classic genre. 

"We didn't set out to shatter any stigma," said Chika humbly to The Jakarta Post on Feb. 17. "It's just that, I've learned that jazz is a free-spirited kind of music. There is so much room to explore creatively. And [this album] is our take on jazz."

Their debut album EUPHORIA, which dropped on Jan. 28, serves as Littlefingers' official introduction to the game — a joyful record with a devil-may-care mix of jazztronica, jazz fusion and electronic music. As if the strangeness were far from enough, the trio also invited an eclectic mix of featured artists to elevate its breakout moment to the next level, which include R&B singer Kamga, neo-soul artist Imelda Lizal and jazz guitarist Nathania Jualim.

Something original

While Littlefingers was formed in early 2020, its members have been active in the Indonesian music scene for quite a while. As a graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, the United States, Chika is a trained pianist who has released a solo record and supported high-profile acts such as Andien and Reza Artamevia. Meanwhile, David, known for being one of the most sought-after session drummers, had previously shared a stage with notable jazz-pop musicians such as Ardhito Pramono and Deredia. As for Tjdika, he is currently attending Universitas Pelita Harapan Conservatory of Music while occasionally serving as a session bassist for the likes of Eclat Story and Ify Alyssa. 

Future of jazz: Littlefingers is particularly inspired by forward-thinking jazz bands such as Hiatus Kaiyote and Moonchild. (Courtesy of Littlefingers) (Littlefingers/Courtesy of Littlefingers)

When all is said and done, the three musicians believe that, when it comes to creating something "original", they could knock together a stronger body of work as a united front. After all, there is a certain downside to a life of simply being a featured instrumentalist. 

"I'm certain that every musician out there shares the same dream: to produce an original body of work," said Chika. "Even though the musician in question might perform for the sake of someone else, they certainly wish for having something they can claim as their own."

Chika was also the one who came up with the stage name for the trio. At the time, she found a peculiar inspiration from a certain, world-renowned television series.

"Back then, I was personally really into Game of Thrones," she said bashfully. "And there was this character named Petyr Baelish who was also known as Littlefinger. He was quite strange and two-sided."

Eventually, Chika and the gang couldn't help but feel a degree of commonality between the strangeness of her beloved TV character and the trio's musical style. "There's something offbeat in our music, so that's how we, more or less, make a meaning in our name," she added.

It eased their dynamic as well when Chika, David and Tjdika realized that they shared not only the same dream but also the same taste in music — they were all specifically drawn to jazztronica and future jazz acts, such as Melbourne-based Hiatus Kaiyote and Los Angeles-based Moonchild. That said, when they pictured the Indonesian audience who might be more accustomed to jazz-pop styling as opposed to jazztronica, the trio simply decided to throw caution to the wind and follow their inner groove.

"Honestly, we have never actually had that kind of discussion; meaning that we just do what we like," said David, shrugging. "However, in terms of production, we would tweak our composition so that no matter how puzzling the chords, the music would still be able to attach itself onto people's heads."

Something true

Littlefingers released its debut single "Can Good Things Last Forever?" on Jan. 24, 2020. The mid-tempo jazztronica record features vocals from indie-pop singer-songwriter Natania Karin; its lyrics deal with clinging onto an endearing memory. The decision to include Natania for their debut single stemmed from the trio's prior personal rapport with the singer. 

"The song's sound is very calm and such, so that's why from the get-go, we wanted to have a female voice for the record," explained Chika. "Still, we had to determine which singer's vocal tone would work best with the record, and out of all the potential candidates, we believed Natania Karin was the one. We also go way back with her, so we were like, 'Let's go!'"

The birth of "Can Good Things Last Forever?" soon prompted Littlefingers to start compiling demos for the two years that followed, culminating in what would eventually become its debut full-length album EUPHORIA. Moreover, it was a deliberate move by the trio to produce a full-length album as opposed to an extended play record (EP), which usually consists of a few more songs than singles but less than an album. 

Euphoria: The cover of Littlefingers' debut album "EUPHORIA", which dropped on Jan. 28. (Courtesy of Littlefingers) *ALBUM TITLE SHOULD BE ITALICS FOR PRINT* (Littlefingers/Courtesy of Littlefingers)

"For me personally, from a 'brand' point of view, just having an EP is not 'strong' enough," David remarked. "Even though nowadays EPs and full-length albums are almost indistinguishable, I find that having the latter feels true to our identity whereas an EP feels more for experimental stuff."

After deciding on the format of its debut album, Littlefingers' next task was how to come up with its album's all-encompassing theme and emotional nuances. Taking cues from "Can Good Things Last Forever?" — the song has accumulated more than 500,000 plays on Spotify alone — the trio decided to double down on the song's lyrical exploration of memories and nostalgia. As David summarized the album: "The rest of the songs are more of these fragments of memories."

The Nathania Jualim-assisted "Ready Player One", for instance, is lyrically about that lost moment in time when "we visited the neighbor's house just to play SEGA or PlayStation," described David with a laugh. The urgent "Time", according to David, serves as a "reminder" that time "keeps ticking on" regardless of the happy memories it creates. The lounge-inspired, percussion-heavy "Over the Moon", on the other hand, serves as the trio's ode to Moonchild: a band that happens to be Chika's personal favorite due to its "simple, yet specific" sound.

"Moonchild is also a trio of two men and one woman, so they're kind of like us," quipped Chika.

Something modern

Once the album dropped, Tjdika couldn't help but feel astounded by the melting pot that they had amalgamated as a team. 

"When we made the album, we only focused on our references and how to blend our differing musicality. We didn't expect that such a blend of sound would organically shape our identity," said Tjdika.

On top of that, the trio did not expect that its euphoric-sounding album would become a timely body of work for listeners who might be looking for cheerful solace during the Omicron outbreak. "[The album] became our moral contribution [for the people]," joked Chika.

Being an escapist record aside, Littlefingers also hope that its album — and its emergence in the music industry — could help modernize, if not revolutionize, the current Indonesian jazz scene.

"I say that nothing is impossible," David affirmed. "There was a time when jazz became pop, so I believe that anything is possible. Also, I believe that Indonesia has an abundance of music potential. Especially Indonesian jazz musicians, there are lots of them who have received acclaim in Southeast Asia. Some of them are well-known in Japan as well. I hope that Littlefingers can sort of 'take action' as well."

Littlefingers' EUPHORIA is available to stream.