'Heaven is a concept, you can buy it now'
I’m the pain, electric pain, bolt of thunder in the rain
Nidji is perhaps the most exciting band to embrace Indonesian mainstream music scene last year. A guilty pleasure for many people, Nidji somehow managed to balance themselves between all kinds of listeners. (A hardcore-lover friend of mine used to ashamedly confess, “I only listen to Nidji nowadays…”) And it is because they are simply, undoubtedly good. Not perfect, no, but unique in their own ways while not straying themselves away from Indonesian pop music. In less than a year, they quickly built a massive fanbase (‘Nidjiholic’) and set up their own throne alongside other pop kings such as Letto and (rather insipid) Samsons, and returned curly hair to fashion. Watching Nidji’s live performance is always fascinating, because of singer Giring’s trademark epileptic motions and their love of re-arranging their songs. (Recently I just watched a TV show featuring Nidji, in which they performed a new version of Heaven, in which they changed RunD’s keyboard coda into handclapping.)
And now, they are, as far as I know, the first Indonesian band to release a full English version of their album. It is no wonder since their debut is also released in other South-East Asian countries and even in Japan. And it is mandatory since their song Heaven was chosen as an original soundtrack for the hit TV series Heroes - surely the band has a wider audience now.
Nidji didn’t just translate their songs. That would be purely silly. What they did is rewrite their debut album in English. They keep most of the music, changing a little here and there, but some songs went a total make over meaning-wise - for instance, Engkau which is a song about brokenheart became Don’t Stop, a song about crazily falling in love. Cutely enough, although the meaning of the English version of Kau dan Aku (‘You and Me’) is not very different from the Indonesian original, Nidji decided to name the track ‘Adam and Eve’. All in all, the English lyrics are sometimes corny, but Nidji can write some surprisingly good lines, such as ‘(I) desire the angels of my pain that walk the city of a lonely man’.
Some songs in this English version are better than their Indonesian counterparts - Angel (Walk, Talk, Sing & Bleed) is more fascinating than its original version, Manusia Sempurna. But some other songs are better in Indonesian. These lines of Engkau (in which Giring sings in Indonesian, ‘I’m an ordinary woman’) can’t just be translated, replaced and sung as beautifully as they are in Indonesian: ’Bernyanyilah, di tengah dinginnya air mata / Jadi inilah, selamat tinggal, jadi pergilah engkau‘. There will be much lost in translation.
But the most interesting track of the album to me, is, surprisingly, what is titled ‘Heaven (Remix version)’ on the booklet. I was expecting a lame house mix of the song. To my surprise, it’s actually a nice dance version of Heaven, with new lyrics, Goodnight Electric beats (could it be that Henry Foundation is the man behind this version?) and Giring shouting ‘Heaven is a concept - you can buy it now!’
My complains are few, and they are 1) I don’t see why they must record a paler version of the already perfect Child. Well, maybe they were just trying to see what they can do with the song. 2) They keep the weakest track of the Indonesian album, Breakthrough, in the English version. (Oh sure, it was meant to be the key track.)
The bonus for the English version of the album is a Nidji sticker - the same thing you get if you buy the newer copies of the Indonesian version. But I was one of the first buyers of the Indonesian version, so I got a pin :P
Tracklist of the album, with the title of their Indonesian counterparts in brackets:
1. Hard to Feel (Hapus Aku, Erase Me)
2. Child
3. Lights of Love (Bila Aku Jatuh Cinta, When I Fall In Love)
4. Heaven [original version]
5. Don’t Stop (Engkau, You)
6. Believe (Sudah, Over)
7. Disco Lazy Time
8. Breakthrough
9. Angel [Walk, Talk, Sing & Bleed] (Manusia Sempurna, The Perfect Person)
10. Adam and Eve (Kau dan Aku, You and Me)
11. Heaven [‘Remix’ version]
'One in English and another one in Indon'? Geez.
Nidji is perhaps the most exciting band to embrace Indonesian mainstream music scene last year. A guilty pleasure for many people, Nidji somehow managed to balance themselves between all kinds of listeners. (A hardcore-lover friend of mine used to ashamedly confess, “I only listen to Nidji nowadays…”) And it is because they are simply, undoubtedly good. Not perfect, no, but unique in their own ways while not straying themselves away from Indonesian pop music. In less than a year, they quickly built a massive fanbase (‘Nidjiholic’) and set up their own throne alongside other pop kings such as Letto and (rather insipid) Samsons, and returned curly hair to fashion. Watching Nidji’s live performance is always fascinating, because of singer Giring’s trademark epileptic motions and their love of re-arranging their songs. (Recently I just watched a TV show featuring Nidji, in which they performed a new version of Heaven, in which they changed RunD’s keyboard coda into handclapping.)
And now, they are, as far as I know, the first Indonesian band to release a full English version of their album. It is no wonder since their debut is also released in other South-East Asian countries and even in Japan. And it is mandatory since their song Heaven was chosen as an original soundtrack for the hit TV series Heroes - surely the band has a wider audience now.
Nidji didn’t just translate their songs. That would be purely silly. What they did is rewrite their debut album in English. They keep most of the music, changing a little here and there, but some songs went a total make over meaning-wise - for instance, Engkau which is a song about brokenheart became Don’t Stop, a song about crazily falling in love. Cutely enough, although the meaning of the English version of Kau dan Aku (‘You and Me’) is not very different from the Indonesian original, Nidji decided to name the track ‘Adam and Eve’. All in all, the English lyrics are sometimes corny, but Nidji can write some surprisingly good lines, such as ‘(I) desire the angels of my pain that walk the city of a lonely man’.
Some songs in this English version are better than their Indonesian counterparts - Angel (Walk, Talk, Sing & Bleed) is more fascinating than its original version, Manusia Sempurna. But some other songs are better in Indonesian. These lines of Engkau (in which Giring sings in Indonesian, ‘I’m an ordinary woman’) can’t just be translated, replaced and sung as beautifully as they are in Indonesian: ’Bernyanyilah, di tengah dinginnya air mata / Jadi inilah, selamat tinggal, jadi pergilah engkau‘. There will be much lost in translation.
But the most interesting track of the album to me, is, surprisingly, what is titled ‘Heaven (Remix version)’ on the booklet. I was expecting a lame house mix of the song. To my surprise, it’s actually a nice dance version of Heaven, with new lyrics, Goodnight Electric beats (could it be that Henry Foundation is the man behind this version?) and Giring shouting ‘Heaven is a concept - you can buy it now!’
My complains are few, and they are 1) I don’t see why they must record a paler version of the already perfect Child. Well, maybe they were just trying to see what they can do with the song. 2) They keep the weakest track of the Indonesian album, Breakthrough, in the English version. (Oh sure, it was meant to be the key track.)
The bonus for the English version of the album is a Nidji sticker - the same thing you get if you buy the newer copies of the Indonesian version. But I was one of the first buyers of the Indonesian version, so I got a pin :P
Tracklist of the album, with the title of their Indonesian counterparts in brackets:
1. Hard to Feel (Hapus Aku, Erase Me)
2. Child
3. Lights of Love (Bila Aku Jatuh Cinta, When I Fall In Love)
4. Heaven [original version]
5. Don’t Stop (Engkau, You)
6. Believe (Sudah, Over)
7. Disco Lazy Time
8. Breakthrough
9. Angel [Walk, Talk, Sing & Bleed] (Manusia Sempurna, The Perfect Person)
10. Adam and Eve (Kau dan Aku, You and Me)
11. Heaven [‘Remix’ version]
'One in English and another one in Indon'? Geez.