The band's seventh album TIME sees the band incorporating new elements into its commercially successful pop-rock formula.

It seems like D'MASIV has achieved everything that any mainstream Indonesian band strives to achieve. In 19 years since its formation, the band—consisting of Rian Ekky Pradipta (vocals), Dwikky "Kiki" Aditya Marsall (guitar), Nurul Damar "Rama" Ramadhan (guitar), Rai Dinata (bass), and Wahyu Piaji (drums)—has racked up chart-topping hits and sold-out tours while delivering some of the most notable songs of the 2000s and the early 2010s. One of its signature songs "Jangan Menyerah" (Don't Give Up) went so far as to receive an Anugerah Musik Indonesia (AMI) Award for Best of the Best Song Production and Best Pop Song in 2010. In all likelihood, they have climbed, quite possibly, every mountaintop in the Indonesian music industry.

Be that as it may, here they go again: On Feb. 25, D'MASIV released its seventh album dubbed TIME. A skeptic would be inclined to ask: Why?

"We're always hungry," declared Rian to The Jakarta Post. "We always feel like every time we make new music, there's this different kind of verve. I mean, when we create something, we see it as no different from a ritual. A journey of spirituality. For us, music is more than just an occupation. It's kind of like our means of worship. We always feel like a kid again whenever we make something new."

New, indeed. Instead of doubling down on the mellow pop sound that catapulted it to stardom in its early years, D'MASIV decided to use TIME as an opportunity to explore sonic territories that were previously uncharted by the quintet, ranging from R&B and hip hop to arena rock and dangdut-tronica. While the band solely handles the album's production, it also invited a few adventitious guests along its journey, such as Fiersa Besari, Feel Koplo, up-and-coming rapper QoryGore and pop-rock band Geisha's current frontwoman Regina Poetiray.

Return to music: Indonesian pop band D'MASIV released its seventh album 'TIME' on Feb. 25. (Courtesy of D'MASIV) (Band management/Courtesy of D'MASIV)

The journey so far

Before Rian and company delved into TIME, they offered a chance to take a trip down the band's memory lane.

D'MASIV found mainstream success immediately with their debut album, 2008's Perubahan (Change). The band managed to capture the hearts of the 2000s-era Indonesian youths with stirring pop ballads such as "Cinta Ini Membunuhku" (This Love is Killing Me) and "Merindukanmu" (Missing You). Looking back, the quintet cherished how their debut album and stage name were indeed a self-fulfilling prophecy.

"We were just a band coming from a small alley in Ciledug. Initially our name was Massive, but once we entered the music industry, our name changed to D'MASIV. Still, the meaning was just the same; what was different was just the word styling. Then, we discovered that the name and the title of the album totally represented how we were at the time. Our luck had changed and people's perception about us had changed as well," reminisced Rian.

It took no time for D'MASIV to release its follow-up album, 2010’s Perjalanan (Journey)—a sophomore effort that was released merely a year after its resounding debut. Nonetheless, its ability to produce indelible pop tunes remained intact as evidenced by the popularity of the album's lead singles "Rindu 1/2 Mati" (I Miss You So Much I Could Die), "Apa Salahku" (What's My Fault) and the AMI Award-winning "Jangan Menyerah" (Don't Give Up).

"When we made the album, it was literally a journey because we rarely went home during the recording process," continued Rian, laughing. "That album is truly amazing. We have a lot of hits on that album."

By the time D'MASIV released its third album—2012's Persiapan (Preparation)—the band had evolved into a household name in the country. Unfortunately, not even a household name could escape a slump. According to its label, the band's fourth album—2014's Hidup Lebih Indah (Better Lives)—did not achieve similar commercial success as the band's previous three albums. That said, the quintet believes that Hidup Lebih Indah is simply a case of a record that, back in 2014, was possibly too ahead of its time.

"We feel like there will come a time when people look for this album because music-wise, we were pretty bold on this album," quipped Rian.

Entering the late 2010s, streaming platforms took off whereas the fiery domination of pop bands started losing its heat. Nevertheless, the band decided to stay productive and continue dropping more records: a self-titled album in 2016 and its sixth album titled LOVE in 2019. The latter marked a fresh creative milestone for the band as it was the first record for which the band assumed the role of a sole producer. Their effort seemed to pay off—LOVE received an AMI Award nomination for Best of the Best Album.

It's about time: The cover artwork of D'MASIV's new album 'TIME'. (Courtesy of D'MASIV) (Band management/Courtesy of D'MASIV)

Their journey now

Entering the TIME era, D'MASIV decided to, once again, take up the sole producing hat. The band began working on the album in 2020. Due to the pandemic halting their plans for live gigs, the band often spent quality time together having conversations and, as Rian put it, "writing down our dreams to the smallest details". The quintet soon reached a consensus: they wished to create something joyous, especially during the difficult pandemic times.

"If we continue drowning in sorrow, our mood and our immune system would be hurt as well. We need a sort of drug that can help us to keep going," Rama chimed in. "So we decided to create that drug through these songs. The music, the mood, everything—we wanted to make them as fun as possible and as liberated as possible."

The pandemic was not the only challenge that D'MASIV faced while making the album. While it felt compelled to explore bolder sounds inspired by 80s-era Japanese new wave music and 90s-era R&B, there is always a possibility that the streaming generation, particularly the Gen Z audience, does not easily come on board. Ultimately, according to Rama, it all came down to the band's "conscience".

"We have reached this level of conscience that true musicians shouldn't fear about what they create," continued Rama.

Dubbed by Rian as "pop without boundaries", TIME stretches the band's pop muscle by imbuing it with elements of various genres. The Feel Koplo-assisted "Besok" (Tomorrow), for instance, touches on the band's signature melancholic lyricism by delivering it with a production mix of new wave and dangdut-tronica. "Sahabat Jadi Kekasih" (Friends Turned Lovers) is a music triad comprising the band, Rayen Pono and Regina Poetiray—the ballad's production echoes Babyface and Boyz II Men at their heyday. "Side By Side" serves as the band's first attempt at producing an English-language song as its composition plays around with dance-rock and hip hop elements.

Rai described the latter song as the band's most "mischievous" song.

"When we were working on "Side By Side", I felt like I was on a playground," he gushed. "We were free to explore with sounds that we had never explored before. We didn't use any reference whatsoever. We were simply following the mood."

The album's opener "Sinema" (Cinema), which features singer-songwriter and novelist Fiersa Besari, finds the band channeling old-school romance and its longing for the simpler times—to be precise, the simpler time when people could go on a date in the movies. The writing of the romantic song, however, came with a dash of comedy as well. "Fiersa loves climbing mountains, so it took a month—after I gave him the song's notation—for him to start working on [the lyrics]," quipped Rian, laughing.

TIME closes with "Perempuan Tangguh" (Strong Women): the band's ode to womanhood, especially as International Women's Day approaches (March 8). The band concurred that "Perempuan Tangguh" was a type of song that they couldn't have necessarily written, say, 10 years ago.

"Perhaps because I'm married now that I understand the incredible sacrifices that women make. I never demand my wife to be able to do this and that because when she gave birth to my children, that sacrifice of hers was immeasurable," said Rian, adding that women are "angels on Earth".

When all is said and done, Kiki summed up TIME as D'MASIV at their most liberated.

"This album's creative process was flowy, following where the universe guided us," he concluded. "We didn't overthink the concept. We didn't think the album must have this or that. When our spontaneity burst open, we just recorded it. We didn't make too many tweaks. Everything just flowed."

The album has officially dropped. Is a tour on the way as well?

"After Lebaran, we're thinking of launching a tour across seven cities. This is our seventh album, after all," concluded Rian with brimming confidence.

D'MASIV's TIME is available to stream.