Starting a career in music is never easy. Restarting one is even tougher.

In the case of Soundwave – an electronic dance music (EDM) duo made up of married couple Jevin Julian (DJ and producer) and Rinni Wulandari (vocalist) – such a restart was considered necessary. 

Because of the pandemic, the live venues where EDM music had typically thrived had ceased their operations until it was safe enough for partygoers to return. It had also been five years since Soundwave released a proper album, the duo's last being the 2017 extended play (EP), Peace.

It was time for Soundwave to reintroduce itself in the post-pandemic Indonesian music landscape. Adding to the duo's creative growth, both Jevin and Rinni had done a lot of growing up over the past few years with their marriage and, more recently, parenthood. 

Come August 2022, the duo's so-called restart officially took place – in the form of its first full-length album, appropriately titled RE/SET.

"We wanted to reset the system, the image, everything," Rinni said. "So when the audience listens to us, well, this is what we sound like now."

Labor of love

Both Jevin and Rinni had been productive in their respective solo careers. In January of last year, Jevin self-produced and released his second full-length solo album Samsara to critical acclaim. The Jakarta-based producer later received an Anugerah Musik Indonesia (AMI) Award for best electronica solo, duo or group performance for the album's third single, "Hope".

Rinni, meanwhile, continued her streak in the R&B scene with the release of her fifth full-length album Skins in August of the same year, with her husband serving as the album's co-songwriter and co-producer. Described as a concept album that recounts her experience of motherhood and its entailing transformation, Skins has been well-recognized by the industry as well, nabbing two nominations for this year's AMI Awards.

The two soloists might be thriving, but they had no intention of putting their duo project to bed. Last November, Soundwave kicked off its next chapter by releasing "AUTOMATIC RESTART", the lead single of the duo's eventual debut full-length album. 

Inspired by the K-pop dance music scene, the EDM number blends hip-hop and world music as Rinni boastfully reasserts the duo's authority in the club: “I said what I said / CEOs of the club house / Can I celebrate, watch out!”

In Jevin's point of view, though, the duo's productivity was less about his "stamina" and more about his "passion for music".

"That showed how much I love spending my time in the studio," he said. "Even if the song might not end up being released anyway, I would spend almost every day recording and jamming by myself and experimenting with stuff. From that jam session, though, something that Rinni could make as her own might take shape as well."

Another element that drove Jevin as a producer was his principle of building his career in music.

"I don't see making music as a labor," he asserted.

Having known her husband's character for six years and counting, Rinni was not surprised by Jevin's creative impulses. That said, after wrapping up the already personal Skins, she had to come up with a way to differentiate her latest solo album from the duo's forthcoming records. To do so, the duo decided to rustle up a united sound.

"Back in the day, we felt like we just put Jevin's sound and my sound together and that was it. But then, after carrying on with this duo project for years now, we finally discovered what Soundwave's sound is like," Rinni explained.

"It's not just a matter of music, even," Jevin added. "We went so far as to switch up how Rinni's vocal treatment should be presented. Case in point, Rinni as a soloist is very much R&B-focused, with the vocal trills and improv and stuff. As one half of Soundwave, however, we keep her vocals more minimalistic, more restrained. Her vocals should be less about the acrobatics and more about the attitude."

Bringing back urban

As the album title implies, one of the main goals underlying RE/SET is to reintroduce Soundwave in a different light. While the duo's 2017 EP is a dance-oriented mini album that is nonetheless radio-friendly, RE/SET doubles down on the duo's penchant for EDM, resulting in a sonic direction that is “edgier" and "more urban", Jevin remarked. Moreover, the album incorporates different elements of 80s hip-hop, trap, house, tropical pop and worldbeat.

He cautioned, however, that what the audience would discover from RE/SET was not necessarily the duo's permanent sound. After all, the duo believed they still had room for growth, creatively speaking.

"We wouldn't want to stay in one place for sure," Jevin later said. "We still desire explorations for new sounds for our next release. The audience would certainly have different moods and look for a different kind of music and we certainly wish to continue evolving as well."

Asked whether Soundwave was deliberately attempting to bring urban music back to the present landscape, Rinni's answer was humble: "We wish to show what our true identity looks like."

In recording RE/SET, one of the key elements over which Jevin and Rinni remained vigilant was how to avoid the stereotypical EDM trappings. For instance, unlike most records of the same genre, Jevin deliberately treated Rinni's vocals with little auto-tune or any form of distortion, begetting a body of work that married electronica-leaning arrangements with an uncouth vocal presentation.

"Soundwave is a duo, consisting of a producer and a singer. Like, a 'real' singer," Rinni said. "So I think that's what sets us apart. Therefore, we tried to keep the vocals as organic as possible."

Lyrically, RE/SET is mainly a concept album revolving around the duo's marriage and what it has taught them as a couple. True to the edgy spirit of the album, Soundwave takes its lyricism up a notch and provides more mature offerings. The Teza Sumendra-assisted "F", in particular, showcases the duo at its sauciest and most suggestive. 

A contrast to the sultry "F", the club-ready "REAL LOVE" is more thoughtful lyrically. Rinni, over thumping beats and lush vocal effects, praises her husband: "You've made the best of memories / And the melodies."

Rinni was game for making a personal record. Nonetheless, a line in the sand had to be drawn. 

"We didn't lay out the specifics," she said of the duo's lyrical approach. "We recounted the meaning of our relationship that put us where we are now. It's based on our true story, but we tried to 'generalize' it so that the audience could still relate."

Another element that was off the table was sad songs.

Why?

"Because dark and depressing stuff was already in Samsara," Jevin answered, laughing.

Their next party

"We're planning a showcase concert," said Rinni. "The thing is, we have a few gigs coming up, so we are like, 'Okay, so when's the right time to do the showcase?' That's what we're still tinkering with."

As for Rinni's solo career, "I think I'd like to take a break first!" she said, laughing.

In Jevin's case, several personal goals are still in sight, one of them being pretty close to home.

"I wish to serve as a music director for Rinni's concert someday. But if we're talking about producing, maybe I'd like to produce Beyoncé?" he said.

"Amen!" his wife responded.

Popular

Israel army says 'encourages' eastern Rafah residents to leave

Indonesia oldest shoemaker Bata closes its only factory

More than meets the eye in photo of orangutan ‘offering help’ to man