THE name Chandra may not ring a bell in the minds of local music fans but the Indonesian is creating ripples in his country’s music scene with his brand of R&B and pop.
With his smooth, powerful vocals, the 37-year-old is akin to a younger version of his countryman, the well-known crooner Harvey Malaiholo.
Born the third of four children of a doctor in Padang, West Sumatra, Chandra grew up singing along to TV music programmes and taking part in talent competitions. He later sang with the jazzy 4U Band and Acoustic Punch, which focused on Broadway tunes.
Since the 1990s, he has also been backup vocalist for many top Indonesian performers, including the late Chrisye, Ruth Sahanaya, Kris Dayanti, Titi DJ and Titik Puspa.
Some of the concerts he has been involved in include Sendiri (a tribute to Chrisye) in 1994, Konsert Badai Pasti Berlalu (1996), Konsert Dekade (2003), Konsert KD (2001), Erwin Gutawa In Concert (2002) and Force Of Nature (2007). Now Malaysians can get a taste of his music with the release of his second album Ingatlah Diriku. It was released in Indonesia eight months ago.
Chandra is excited over his music being marketed here, thanks to local record label and distributor Metadome.
Malaysians are bound to take to his album because it involves his collaboration with our “little dynamite” Datuk Sheila Majid.
It is no secret that Chandra is a huge fan of Sheila’s — he has all her albums.
He first got to know Sheila when he was selected to be one of her back-up singers for her Jakarta concert in 2000.
A year later, Chandra was again roped in by the R&B queen for a concert held at the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas here.
It was then that Chandra plucked up courage to ask whether she would collaborate with him on an album.
The recording was done at Baby Boss Studio in Petaling Jaya last September. “It has always been my dream to duet with Sheila. She has great vocals and our voices blend well,” he said at the launch of the album at Bangkok Jazz.
Sheila took to the stage with Chandra to render Ingatlah Diriku at the launch. The composition became the theme song for Kala Hati, a drama series currently airing on TV3 from Tuesdays to Thursdays at 10.30pm.
Chandra has also included all 10 tracks from his debut studio effort Dari Hati Terdalam, which did not see release here. In that, he collaborated with Ruth on Rahasia Pengagum. He worked with album producer Tohpati in this album, and Chandra also collaborated with Budi Rahardjo, the guitarist for Drive Band.
Besides being a recording artiste, Chandra is also a certified interior decorator, graduating in architecture from Universiti Parahyangan in Bandung.
He runs his own interior design business in Bali and established a music distribution and remixing company with several partners.
“It’s a bonus that I’m able to make a living from doing the things I love,” he says.
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| Chandra and Sheila Majid at the launch of Ingatlah Diriku. |
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| Chandra began his music career as a back-up singer for top Indonesian performers as well as for Sheila Majid. |
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