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You can’t sound like the others: Afgan on what it takes to go international
Afgan may be popular at home, but to break through internationally, the R&B singer knows he has to work harder than ever.
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Return to zero: Desiring a clean slate, Afgan enlisted veteran R&B music producers like Tha Aristocrats, Happie & Chaz and Troy Taylor to establish a departure from his typical Indo-pop sound. (Trinity Optima Production./Courtesy of Trinity Optima Production.)
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ny announcement by an Indonesian artist about their “international debut” tends to be met with skepticism. For years, Indonesian music fans have seen their favorite artists try to make that leap with varied results. Only one, rapper Rich Brian, truly managed to penetrate the global mainstream (and he didn’t even try, breaking through with a self-produced single and home-made video that went viral).
R&B singer Afgansyah Reza (popularly known as simply Afgan) is the next to do this, and he’s going into it with equal amounts of self-awareness and confidence. He hopes to stand out from his peers by announcing his international debut with a full-length studio album already prepared. Titled Wallflower, the 10-track LP marked not just a step forward for the 31-year-old AMI winner, but also a re-introduction. Launching an international career often means starting from scratch—a “do-over” that Afgan completely embraces.
Speaking with The Jakarta Post (04/22), he shares his feelings about being a ‘newcomer’ again. “Honestly, I’m excited. Yes, I have ten-plus years under my belt, but I missed that feeling when everything feels new. Besides, I have to accept the fact that [outside Indonesia] nobody knows who I am. I just have to roll up my sleeves and take it as an adventure.”
For an Asian artist to stand on a global stage, sometimes something as simple as a stage name could make or break a career. In Afgan’s case, it was a conscious decision not to follow the attempts at rebranding-through-renaming made by the likes of AGNEZ MO (Agnes Monica) and Rich Brian (Brian Imanuel Soewarno). “I know [my name] is going to sound weird [for Americans], but that’s my name, so,” he snickers cheekily, “I just want to be authentic. And if I went with something like ‘Af-V’ I don’t think that would be. Besides, it would be fun to see people assume I’m some kind of a Middle Eastern balladeer, but once they listen to my music, whoa, it’s R&B!”
Underneath the confident R&B sound of Wallflower, Afgan’s latest record was born out of fear of stagnancy. “I have been working [as an artist] for more than ten years now. While I didn’t mind being known as the guy who sings sad love songs, I felt like I still had so many different things to offer,” he explains. Unfortunately, his journey didn’t exactly kick off with a bang. Afgan admitted that he wasn’t greeted by multiple offers from international labels. His perseverance soon paid off once he struck a partnership with California-based R&B label EMPIRE—a partnership he describes as “meant to be”, because “they were specifically looking for Asian artists and they liked my vision as an artist.”
Once the album was finished, it was time to select a lead single—which would also be Afgan’s debut international single. “I remember we had a lot of A&R people in the room listening to “Say I’m Sorry”, including Ghazi [Shami, the founder of EMPIRE], and everyone was, like, ‘This is Coachella stuff!’ so it was a no-brainer,” he muses in delight, referencing the popular Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, an annual music festival held in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. While he is aware that “Say I’m Sorry” is not exactly the most radio-friendly track in the album, he decided to grab the bull by the horns. “After all, I was very keen to deliver the unexpected,” he adds.
