Back in 2020, Arash Buana was poised to be one of Indonesia's most promising breakouts.

In the same year, his song "If U Could See Me Cryin' in My Room" became one of the biggest Indonesian tunes on the digital streaming platform Spotify, drawing more than 82 million plays and counting. He had also proven himself as more than just a one-hit wonder as his subsequent singles, most notably "Say You're Done With Me" and "Stars", performed consistently on the same platform. 

At a time when all young artists and their record labels were clamoring for streaming domination, Arash seemed to come out as one of the front-runners.

Surprisingly, Arash later let slip that, despite such success, he was this close to putting his music career on an indefinite hiatus.

"It was typical of a teenager's mentality – there were lots of ups and downs, the ons and the offs," said the singer-songwriter who turned 19 years old in June. 

"I already had the concept for what would be my debut album in December last year, but I felt like the concept was too business-oriented."

It was a long and arduous journey, but Arash Buana's debut album, titled Logic Mess, finally came to fruition and is set to drop digitally on Aug. 19. Ironically, it was the 19-year-old's creative trials and emotional ordeals that ended up serving as the main inspiration for the 11-track LP. 

Arash offered The Jakarta Post an exclusive preview of the album on Aug. 8, 11 days before its official release.

'How to feel'

To understand the emotional heft of Logic Mess, Arash offered the Post a walk down memory lane.

Though his early career might have understandably missed his audience's radar, Arash began as a child singer dating when he was only 8 years old. Nevertheless, he concurred that looking back, "I don't really remember the reason why I entered the music industry, though my parents supported me and I don't really know why – because the budget to make music must be huge and there must be a risk in launching an 8-year-old artist," he reflected.

Once Arash grew up and could no longer be considered a child singer, he signed up with the Jakarta-based label Alfa Records: the same record collective that houses pop-rock singer Virzha and indie pop singer-songwriter Raissa Anggiani – the latter would be his duet partner for his biggest commercial hit to date, the bedroom pop sing-a-long "If U Could See Me Cryin' in My Room". 

Arash might have lacked a sense of purpose as a child singer. As a teen, however, he felt like he had finally found his life's calling.

"One thing that I can confirm: I really love music," he gushed. "I love music in a way that many people, I don't think, would. Music is my way to explain some perspectives that I cannot explain in words. I know that sounds cliché and many people would say that as well. But here, I'm talking about, like, the spiritual kind of love."

After releasing several standalone numbers, Arash decided to part ways with Alfa Records and launched his self-titled record label. Moreover, he doubled down on his commitment to his career by postponing his enrollment in college. 

Come December 2021, however, and the young artist stumbled upon his biggest creative block to date – despite having what he claimed to be "around 2,800 song recordings on [his] phone", he could not help but feel that the songs were no longer suitable with his present state of mind.

"I only want to do what feels right for me. And those songs – they did not feel right [anymore]. Let's say I drop the songs I wrote the previous year. The level of energy I put into that song and the level of energy I have right now is surely different," Arash elaborated.

Making things more difficult, Arash was, at the time, dealing with several "distractions" in his personal life as well.

"I ended up not really knowing how to feel or what to feel anymore. I didn't really enjoy myself," he added with a sigh.

Emotional 'validation'

With his manager's encouragement, Arash Buana decided to try coming up with an entirely new song. Finding himself in solitude, he composed what would be the ninth track of Logic Mess, titled "I Get Lonely". Lyrically, the ballad addresses his resentment toward the hardships he had to endure throughout those past months – including the personal sacrifices he had to make. 

To better express the lyrics' angsty nature, Arash left his distinctive bedroom pop and soft pop sound behind for a rock-inspired edge.

Crafting "I Get Lonely" became the turning point for the young musician. The second song he wrote for Logic Mess was the morose "Goodbye (But I Love You So)" in which Arash bids farewell to a potential lover who he deems is out of his league. 

Once again, he felt compelled to expand his typical sound – this time by incorporating lo-fi and city pop elements often found in the current Japanese pop music scene.

Arash finally found his aha moment. He came to realize that, subconsciously, he had been feeling the pressure to create a hit as massive as "If U Could See Me Cryin' in My Room".

"I didn't respect the music itself. My idealism now, compared to mine last year, is different. I was supposed to make music so that I could give other people warmth and validation for their emotions. But, in 2021, I was seeking my own satisfaction. The satisfaction of scoring a hit. And that was a pretty huge distraction," he remarked.

After recovering his focus, Arash settled on the focal theme of Logic Mess: "Since this is my first album, I wanted to make this album as personal as possible," he asserted – even if that meant excluding his biggest hit to date from the album. 

He also took the opportunity to try out more sonic directions. For instance, "Jealous Over You" – Arash's take on the green-eyed monster and subsequent self-loathing – became his first foray into orchestral pop territory.

Conversely, the album's final track, "We'll be Okay, for Today" is a stripped-down, piano pop ballad that features actress Anya Taroreh.

The merriment of Logic Mess' sound, according to Arash, was driven by his desire to express different fragments of teenage experiences, particularly of his generation. "In this album, I would like to illustrate the current teenagers' colorfulness and also, their frailty," he explained.

Moreover, he believed that nothing should be too personal. 

Arash continued, "For us to make the album personal, we had to get rid of the mindset that the whole thing was supposed to be planned ahead. I don't think I could get personal if I had been planning ahead for the album to show, like, various sides of me. Everything in this album is an emotional recap of what I'd been through back in 2021 and early 2022."

Last but not least, Arash felt it was imperative to address the mental distress that is commonly suffered by his Gen Z peers – most evident in songs such as "Overthinking", "Take a Break" and "We'll be Okay, for Today". Specifically for the latter, Arash concurred that his audience should listen to the whole album to appreciate the magnitude of the ballad.

"Most teenagers that I know obtained their logic about life from the internet. It's not a matter of what is right and what is wrong, though their foundation is different from the older generations. Because of the internet, young people nowadays manage to obtain knowledge that is too premature for their brains and it negatively impacts them. They would self-diagnose themselves or mistake criticism for hate speech," he opined.

Contributing to the album's production, Petra Sihombing applauded Arash for being "one of the best songwriters [he has] ever come across”.

Petra explained, "I love how he writes and I love the topics he addressed [in this album] and how he addresses them through such a lens at such a young age. I think he's one of those songwriters that come off as if he were already a seasoned one. The way he writes is pretty astute and I haven't seen that in other emerging talents in Indonesia."

Arash Buana's Logic Mess is available to stream on Aug. 19.

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