Bingkai Karya – It seems that this belief is true: that a completely honest piece of music will definitely reach the ears of the listener — even without any echoes or reverberations. Since the Indonesian singer, songwriter, and music producer Arash Buana released his second full-length album, Life Update, back in September 2024, there has been a deep cut on the album that has slowly caught the attention of the Indonesian music scene audiences. The deep cut is an indie pop ballad titled “Tavoryn”, which was performed, written, and co-produced directly by the 21-year-old musician.
Crafted akin to English voice notes, “Tavoryn” is a form of Arash Buana’s expression of grief over a past separation. However, through this ballad, Arash Buana also realizes that there is a type of regret that, unfortunately, is difficult to fade with time. This 4-minute and 40-second number then becomes Arash Buana’s way of conveying a message to a figure named Tavoryn, which contains: “Oh Tavoryn, I’m really missing you / Didn’t mean to hurt you / Which I did / I understand now / With all the mess I made / I don’t belong to someone like you”
For music audiences who have listened to the entire Life Update album, you may have noticed that the song “Tavoryn” has a rather different feel. Compared to the other songs on the album, “Tavoryn” exudes a more minimalist, almost serene, yet more emotionally ripping feel than Arash Buana’s previous works. Perhaps it’s time for Arash Buana to answer the following question: Who exactly is Tavoryn?
“Tavoryn is my first ex. I can’t reveal her real name, but Tavoryn is her social media handle,” said Arash Buana, who received his first AMI Awards nomination in 2024 for the Best Alternative Solo Artist category. “The reason why I packaged this song with a more minimalist music production is because I wanted to give more space to my feelings for Tavoryn.”
That ‘feeling’ factor is also the reason why, specifically for this particular tune, Arash Buana decided to present a more straightforward style of lyricism that is also free from double meanings.
Arash Buana continued, “Before I wrote this song, the romantic relationship I was in at that time had just ended, coincidentally. But, for some reason, when I decided to reflect, what came to my mind was when I broke up with Tavoryn — even though the breakup happened about four years ago. For some reason, I always reflexively compare every breakup I have with my *first* breakup.”
Ultimately, no one can look forward to tomorrow without first understanding what really happened in the past.
“When I decided to dig deeper into those past memories, I realized that maybe there was some unfinished ‘business’ between me and Tavoryn. Maybe there was something I should have told Tavoryn four years ago, but I didn’t,” Arash Buana added.
In terms of musicality, “Tavoryn” also represents Arash Buana’s distinctiveness as a songwriter. Time and time again, Arash Buana continues song-crafting tunes that are completely rooted in reality and not fantasy. This almost-radical honesty has become Arash Buana’s greatest strength, and “Tavoryn” is its most powerful example yet.
“I think the realism in my songwriting, including this song ‘Tavoryn’, is due to the fact that I’ve been pursuing the profession of being a songwriter since a very early age,” Arash Buana reflected on his evolution as a musician thus far. “I see my work as a kind of ‘check point’ of my life — in the sense that writing songs is my way of documenting and dissecting what life has given me so far. And, for some reason, the more specific and personal the ‘check point’ is, the more relatable my musicianship is to the eyes and ears of my listeners.”
This February will be a momentum worth witnessing from Arash Buana. In addition to (re)introducing the song “Tavoryn”, Arash Buana, together with Tap Projects, will present a live event titled “The Class of 2000’s: Arash Buana and The Nakamas” at Krapela, Row 9 on February 26, 2025. Although this live event is not a showcase concert for the entire Life Update album, Arash Buana revealed that “The Class of 2000’s: Arash Buana and The Nakamas” will nonetheless be a pretty unique event.
“Throughout this live event titled ‘The Class of 2000’s: Arash Buana and The Nakamas’, I plan to perform some of my deep cuts that are rarely performed on my previous stages,” explained Arash Buana. “Here, the ‘main mission’ is to show the audiences what’s inside my soul as a musician. Maybe this live event will be ‘wilder’ and more ‘fun’ than my usual stuff.”
Last but not least, Arash Buana revealed that “The Class of 2000’s: Arash Buana and The Nakamas” will be a ‘warm-up’ for the big plan he has prepared for the year 2025.
“It can be said that the journey of Life Update will continue in this new year,” concluded Arash Buana.
“Tavoryn”, along with its parent album Life Update, by Arash Buana was released under the music label Friends Records and can be listened to on all digital streaming platforms (DSP) right now.
About Arash Buana
Singer, songwriter, and music producer Arash Buana became an anomaly in the Indonesian music scene when, at the age of 17, he managed to create one of the most popular songs of the 2020s with “If U Could See Me Cryin’ in My Room”. Not stopping there, Arash Buana has proven himself to be an influential figure behind the introduction of the bedroom pop subgenre to mainstream attention through other popular solo numbers such as “Say You’re Done With Me”, “I’ll Be Friends With You (Phone Recorded)”, and “Stars”. When Arash Buana released his first full-length album, Logic Mess, in the year 2022, he (then still 19 years old) received unique recognition as one of the very few teen Indonesian musicians to be covered by the prestigious international media The Jakarta Post. The album succeeded in scoring another remarkable number “We’ll Be Okay, For Today” which became one of the sleeper hits in the Indonesian music scene in the year 2022.
Entering the year 2024, Arash Buana further strengthened his credibility as a musician who possesses strong idealism through a solo number entitled “Take Me Home”, which later brought his first-ever AMI Awards nomination for the Best Alternative Solo Artist category. A few months later, Arash Buana released his second full-length album, Life Update, which was co-produced by Farrel Cahyono, Rendy Pandugo, Will Mara, and Petra Sihombing. Arash Buana is currently under the auspices of the music label Friends Records.
