3 years after “Telisik”, Danilla back with fresh new album called “Lintasan Waktu (2017)“. I first listened to this album when alone at home in rainy Sunday afternoon, which turns out really fit the ambience perfectly. This album presented a major leap from the previous smooth-jazz/bossa influence to a broad mixture of trip-hop, dream-pop, to space pop/rock, if I allowed to categorize the genre for the sake of giving a better imagery how this albums sounds like.
I knew Danilla since a few years ago when my band and her’s playing at the same gig then noticed her with a mixture of a husky voice and a smooth mixture of a lounge-y vibe downtempo arrangements . Years after that, I got introduced to her via my band manager then she asked me that I’m also co-founding Kuassa then quickly introduced to her bandmate; Lafa Pratomo, which apparently produces the music and writes the songs for her first album “Telisik (2014)“. The conversation escalates quickly about music production, plug-ins, things that inspire us, obscure movies, then the story goes on…
This time, Danilla herself wrotes most of the songs and lyrics, with Lafa as the main talent behind the arrangement/production. Vocal production wise, I can’t believe on how much emotion it brings despite Danilla’s laid-back singing style, while give much impact on some heightened parts. Danilla’s lush, vulnerable vocals are cleverly enveloped by Lafa’s minimalistic approach, but impactful arrangements, started out with a minimum composition full of airy space then evolving to a grandeur psychedelia, giving the listener a smooth emotional rollercoaster ride throughout the 10 songs on this album, all in a fine selection of Indonesian vocabularies which suited the major theme of this album perfectly. I don’t think I’m exaggerating much since one of the song on this album has listed by RollingStone magazine Indonesia as one of the best Indonesian song in 2017.
The first track is “Laguland” (lagu means “song” in Indonesian), more or less telling a story about Danilla’s dream at one night about a land solely composed by songs. As an opening track in this album, “Laguland” give a grand quality which bit by bit unfolds how the overall sound of this album will be. “Kalapuna” gives a trippy impression which reminds me to a smoother version of Portishead’s “Glory Box“, while my personal favorite “Aaa”, composed with an ensemble of sounding synths and guitar leads which reminds me of Parisien electronica duo; Air’s heightened, space-rock-ish sound. All in a cleverly placed, subtle mixture of broad influences which keep us guessing where exactly their references are.
Next, I will write my interview with Lafa Pratomo about how he produced this album from recording to mastering using Kuassa plug-ins. Wait for it!
Listen to Danilla’s “Lintasan Waktu” here: