- November 24, 2025
- 3:47 PM
Bingkai Karya – In 2003, Marcell popularized “Semusim,” a song that became an anthem for many heartbroken listeners of that era. Now, 22 years later, as 2025 comes to a close, listeners can enjoy a remake arranged by Tohpati, featuring rising musician Nadhif Basalamah as the lead vocalist. “Semusim” itself will serve as the opening track for Tohpati’s upcoming album project.
Tohpati’s interest in rearranging “Semusim” began with his curiosity about how the hit song would sound if performed with today’s musical sensibilities. “The remake started with a question that came to mind: what if a well-known 2000s song was sung by a young artist with their own musical character and perspective? From there, I started working on the arrangement. For the vocals, I discussed with the label (WeCord Indonesia) to find the right artist to collaborate with. Nadhif’s name came up. From his vocal character alone, I truly felt he was a perfect match for ‘Semusim.’ So we chose Nadhif to collaborate with me on this project,” said Tohpati.
According to Tohpati, choosing “Semusim” as the lead single didn’t come from any special reason. “It didn’t have to be ‘Semusim,’ but at that time, it was the most ready among the 10 tracks to be released. With Nadhif’s availability and the recording timeline, ‘Semusim’ was selected as the first single,” he explained. The main challenge in producing the single came from adjusting schedules with Nadhif and the string players, which took two months to align. Still, Tohpati is grateful that the production itself moved quickly, taking only about a week.
Nadhif’s involvement, he admits, brings a distinctly different feel compared to Marcell’s version. “Nadhif’s vocal character is unique, gloomy, slightly mysterious, with a very recognizable timbre. As a result, this new version ends up quite different from Marcell’s more pop-styled rendition.” The difference extends to the production and arrangement. “In terms of arrangement, of course it’s different the sound is more updated, and the song structure has subtle changes. In my opinion, this new version reaches its climax in the final chorus, while the old version was more flat. The music is more modern as well,” Tohpati added.
Following this release, the musician born on July 25, 1971, has several more singles prepared as part of his album project. “After ‘Semusim’, the next single will be ‘Cinta Kita,’ sung by Fabio Asher, which is expected to be released in January. After that, there are two more tracks ready to be recorded. In total, the album will have 10 songs. I hope the current generation enjoys ‘Semusim’ and the upcoming tracks,” he concluded.
