Christabel Annora did not want to let the special date of July 30, 2023 pass without meaning. Friendship Day, which falls on that date, was marked by a collaboration album titled “A Friend Like You” released with her musician friend Steffani BPM. The two are known to have developed a close friendship both offstage and onstage, so it seemed like the perfect time to release a special song to celebrate their bond.
A light pop beat filled with straightforward and loving lyrics is the basis of “A Friend Like You”, which is said to be heavily inspired by Burt Bacharach, The Carpenters, and ABBA. Upbeat piano and synths also set the mood for Christabel Annora’s second single in 2023.
To bring this version to life, Christabel Annora and Steffani BPM collaborated with Malang-based animation studio Latrust Animation to transform the audio work into a beautiful lyric video. The animation company, which is already familiar with Christabel Annora’s work, embodies harmonious friendship through the various characters they created, known as “Furriends”.
The Furriends world contains a variety of unique animal figures from several islands in the archipelago, including Theo (pangolin), Milly (maleo bird), Uta (orangutan), Bee (proboscis monkey), and Bul (komodo dragon). The arrival of two new Furriends characters, Tabi (sugar glider) who plays Christabel Annora, and Uni (green cucak bird) who plays Steffani BPM. The characters, which are intellectual property owned by Latrust Animation, depict a journey through all the seasons of the past filled with activities, fun and nostalgic items.
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For the characters to be accepted by Indonesian audiences, the company has also done research when creating the special characters of Christabel Annora and Steffani BPM. The sugar glider character named “Tabi” is said to depict a pianist who often continued her studies and works from Surabaya, Malang, to Bandung.
The addition of round glasses brings Tabi closer to the original image of the musician who is familiarly called Ista. Meanwhile, the green cucak named Uni represents the Minanese blood of Steffani BPM, where the sister figure is called uni. Uni always wears a helmet that reflects her passion for riding a Vespa motorcycle.
While they previously met on the sets of singles ‘Sunshine Talks’ and ’60 km/h’, this collaboration marks a new level for the two friends’ work. With Latrust Animation’s help in visual effects and publicity, “A Friends Like You” is expected to be a hit among music and animation fans.
