Indonesia’s A. Nayaka is back today with a new jam to delight his audience and further fuel his ascension. The artist sits alongside a family of Asia’s finest hip hop talent including the likes of Yung Raja, Joe Flizzow and Fariz Jabba on Def Jam South East Asia. Now following the release of his CARAKARANTINA project he now returns with a new single titled “Waktu Tiba” a bilingual release which draws on his deeply personal experience of relationships and zeroes in firmly on the importance of self-love.
The track was produced by none other than Def Jam SEA label-mate, SonaOne. It kicks off with soothing summery chords before giving way to Nayaka’s lyrics that describe the painful words that end a relationship. It’s a theme that so many can relate to, the heart-aching task of telling a partner it’s over. The juxtaposition of his statements of indifference towards the shiny parts of a physical relationship against SonaOne’s bright production leaves us thinking -is there even a “right” way to break the news to the other party?
As we have seen with chart-topping Global hits from Korea’s rap and pop stars, the Def Jam Asia signee is seeking to break barriers in his home country through penning high-quality Indonesian-English language songs. It’s his first bilingual release which will be positive news to his Indonesia fans. However speaking on the creation of the track he reveals it’s harder than it seems, “Writing a bilingual record isn’t an easy task but doing it while also making the song catchy is another level of challenge” he says. For Nayaka though it’s a part of a bigger desire to break barriers in Indonesia, it’s likely the first of many to come from him, “I believe that is the next step in my evolution as a musician” he says.
Speaking on “Waktu Tiba” SonaOne says “I’ve always imagined a song just like this for Nayaka but was never able to convey the idea. After a long night in the studio and minimal sleep, the next day when we returned to work, we knew exactly what to do and the rest, as they say, is history”
The song comes paired with an animated music video courtesy of the visual wizard Eddie Edzuan and was designed by Cwnddien from of Malaysia’s acclaimed production outfit 33.3 Studios. Despite the colourfulness of the music video, through it they create a Groundhog Day-esque narrative that illustrates the desperation of escape from the mundane patterns Nayaka endured in his past relationship.
