Afgan Makes a Global Splash with His Second all-English Mini Album, “Sonder”

Afgan

Bingkai Karya-Afgan releases his latest EP “Sonder.” This work serves as his second all-English and most ambitious project yet. The EP includes collaborations with female Asian acts, “Criminal” with Vietnamese American R&B star, thuy, and “Escape” with Kpop icon, Jessi. 

“Sonder,” recorded entirely in London. Afgan is an artist since he was 18 years old, who’s been an Indonesian household name for over a decade, Afgan has found his voice. “I’ve come so far and have grown and experienced so much,” Afgan shared. “I didn’t have a say back then on how I wanted my music to be. So far I was controlled by the market, by what people expected me to be. I really didn’t have the confidence to speak out. But through the years, I’ve become more and more courageous to explore new sounds and to open up more about myself, for people to get to know me on a deeper level. That’s the direction I want to go with my artistry— I want to be more honest. I see myself leaning more towards this direction and evolving.” 

One of His Most Ambitious Project Yet

The album’s title, which Afgan came up on Pinterest, conveys the idea that everyone has a complex and complicated backstory. Among the tales Afgan shares on “Sonder” is “Escape,” which sums up his desire for some “me” time after years of living in the spotlight. The melancholic song “Shallow Water” describes his crippling dread of commitment as a result of his past trauma. And the exuberant dance music “Lonely Night” depicts his finding solace in solitude. In order to give his admirers a sense of relatability that they have never experienced before, he bravely lets his poetry flow and deviates even further from his flawless image as the darling of his country. 

Afgan has been redefining Indonesian music on the global stage with his commanding vocals, emotionally charged songwriting and R&B sensibilities. Over his illustrious career, he’s built a massive passionate fanbase of nearly 20 million followers across his social media and hundreds of millions of streams across his music catalog. 

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