Now that I've been used to falling/

Falling low/

I slowly learn to ride the wind

Those words were taken from singer Gamaliel Tapiheru’s (stage name stylized as gamaliél) song "adjacent", which was taken from his extended play (EP) record Q1 (read: first quarter), released on March 31 this year.

For Gamaliél, his journey in writing and releasing the mini-album – which happened during the pandemic – has taught him so many life lessons.

“The process of this EP is very emotional. Q1 is not only an experimental process but also a spiritual journey that I have to experience,” said Gamaliél, 30, in an interview with The Jakarta Post on July 29.

Gamaliél was first known as a YouTube phenomenon with his sister Audrey Tapiheru. He first started by uploading videos of himself covering songs on the video-sharing platform in 2008 before Audrey joined. They covered songs such as Disney’s "A Whole New World" and "Lucky" by Jason Mraz.  

The siblings were later joined by singer Cantika Abigail, who approached them after watching their covers. The three of them uploaded an impromptu acapella performance of Lady Gaga’s "Just Dance" in 2009 and gained hundreds of thousands of views that year.

In 2010, Gamaliél and Audrey were invited by music composer Andi Rianto, the leader and conductor of the Magenta Orchestra, to be featured on Harmoni, a musical television show on the local channel SCTV.

“That show gave us recognition as singers,” said Gamaliél, adding that they signed a contract with Sony Music Indonesia soon after appearing on the show.

With Cantika, the siblings formed a three-piece band Gamaliel Audrey Cantika (GAC) and released a self-titled album in 2012, followed by sophomore album Stronger (2015) and third album Resonance (2018). In total, the group won three awards from the Anugerah Musik Indonesia (AMI), which is the highest recognition for the country’s musicians.

Flying solo

In 2011, Gamaliél released a single called "Cuma Aku" (Just Me). He also branched out from GAC by covering "A Whole New World" in 2019 – this time with solo artist Isyana Sarasvati – for the 1992 Disney classic Aladdin’s live-action version release that year.

Talking about Q1, Gamaliél acknowledged the process behind the mini-album was filled with emotions. The mini-album, released on March 31 this year, features four tracks namely "forever more", "ethereal", "unfindable" and "adjacent". 

The track "forever more" was first released on Jan. 2020 as a single. Written together with Aldi Nada Permana, the song serves as Gamaliél’s tribute to the younger version of himself.

“When I was young, I took violin courses because I loved hearing the sound of the strings. However, the instrument was not easy to master,” he said.

A family member jokingly played around with the violin to show young Gamaliél how to play it – and accidentally broke it. Gamaliél, who conceded his tendency to overthink – even as a child – decided not to tell the whole truth to his parents.

Instead, Gamaliél, who was worried about what his parents and his violin teacher would say if they found out what happened, simply said he did not want to continue the lessons.

“That was my first ever lesson about life and failure,” he said, adding that the string arrangement in "forever more" was intentional due to his personal story with the violin.

Like many Indonesians, Gamaliél struggled when the pandemic hit the country in March last year. Still, he is grateful because, in addition to having more time to spend time with his family, he was allowed time to contemplate a lot of things, which influenced his own creativity process that led to Q1.

Three months after the pandemic started in March last year, Gamaliél contacted musician Gerald Situmorang for online workshops and the pair came up with "unfindable", which took them less than 24 hours to finish. With two tracks finished, Gamaliél realized that he could soon release a mini-album by writing one or two more songs.

From that experience, Gamaliél contacted another friend, Kenan Loui, and the two produced "adjacent", which also took them mere hours to finish.

Gamaliél described Q1 as more of a selfish project because he did not care about how the mini-album would be received by others.

“The motivation is a gift to my younger self,” he said.

Indeed, by being authentic to himself and his artistry, the single "forever more" won Gamaliél another award from Anugerah Musik Indonesia (AMI) in November 2020 - this time for Best Urban Solo Artist.

Mental health

While acknowledging that winning the AMI Award for "forever more" was one of the highest points in his life, Gamaliél revealed that he received the trophy around one month after experiencing a major loss – his father’s passing.

George Stefanus Elisha Tapiheru, Gamaliél and Audrey’s father, died on Oct. 29, 2020 – or 20 days after Gamaliél celebrated his 30^th birthday.

George Tapiheru was 69 and is survived by his wife Christie Budihardjo and children Christofer, Georgina, Gamaliél and Audrey.

Gamaliél said his father suffered from cataracts from August to September before eventually succumbing in November. He told the Post he was grateful he could spend time with his father and the rest of the family during the pandemic.

“Not long after my father’s passing, I got COVID-19 myself. I surrendered and was like, ‘okay, what’s next?’,” he said.

Three weeks in self-quarantine, Gamaliél felt drained and could not write any songs – he used this time to contemplate and make peace with his situation.

In January 2021, after his health recovered, he contacted his friend Aldi Nada Permana, who previously helped him with "forever more", and wrote another song: "ethereal".  

“I began making "ethereal" long before my father’s passing. It was an untitled track back then and I wanted to make a song about home,” said Gamaliél.

After revisiting the track following his father’s death, Gamaliél realized that his experience matched the song’s emotions and thus "ethereal" was written as a tribute to his father. The song narrates how the passing of loved ones can definitely influence one’s feeling about home.

I promise you, one last time / I promise you, one last time, wherever you might be, I’ll be there.

Overall, Gamaliél is grateful for his experience that shaped him as an artist. He credited his mother, Christie Budihardjo, who supported him following his father’s passing.

He added that being close to his loved ones as well as accepting his situation and emotions was the key to protecting his mental health in the past two years.

“I think I am more at peace with myself now,” he said with a smile.

“It’s okay to be sad. It’s human. But don’t let sadness define who we are. Just accept our emotions as they come and go.”

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