- November 2, 2026
- 06:04 PM
Bingkai Karya — GANGGA, the stage name of Jakarta-based Indonesian singer-songwriter Gangga Kusuma, returns with ‘5 hours apart, 2017’, a three-song EP that opens a new chapter in the rollout of his second album. Featuring “Moonlight” as its focus track, the release marks GANGGA’s first new music since his single “SHE,” released on 14 November 2025. The EP is available on digital streaming platforms starting 26 October 2026.
At its core, ‘5 hours apart, 2017’ follows a narrator trying to make sense of a relationship that has become unreachable. Across its three songs, the story moves through betrayal, grief, regret, and an enduring longing to meet someone again. Rather than offering an easy resolution, the EP explores how love and memories can remain even when a relationship, or the person once associated with it, is beyond reach.
The project brings together Los Angeles-based producer Spathies, who worked on two of the EP’s songs, and Will Mara, who contributed to the third. It also connects with GANGGA’s earlier album through references to “Blue Jeans” and “Whiskey Bottle,” extending the emotional thread of his previous work into this new release.
The EP opens with “Dear April,” a song about betrayal and the pain of giving everything to a relationship that ultimately ends. Through the symbol of April, the narrator questions whether love will return and whether he will find the courage to believe in it again.
Meanwhile, “I Will” reflects on the loss of someone who is no longer alive. It carries the regret of wishing there had been more time to speak, care, or do something differently. The song captures the difficult realization that some conversations and opportunities can never be revisited.
As the EP’s focus track, “Moonlight” brings these feelings into a dreamlike setting. Blending memories of the relationship with the imagined possibility of meeting that person one more time beneath the moonlight, the song captures the longing that runs throughout the project.
GANGGA encapsulates the emotional atmosphere of the release through a reflective statement: “somewhere in the past tense, the song still plays, the voice long gone.”
Beyond the music, the EP features an intimate, documentary-style visual direction. Portraits, quiet spaces, and damaged objects serve as traces of emotions once held close, reflecting the vulnerability and unresolved attachment explored throughout the songs.
Through ‘5 hours apart, 2017’, GANGGA invites listeners to revisit the memories, regrets, and feelings that remain long after someone is gone. The three-song EP is available on digital streaming platforms from 26 October 2026.
