His face may not be familiar, but longtime lovers of Indonesian music may feel a twinge of recognition when they hear Chandra’s smooth vocals.
Chandra has been in a succession of groups and also performed backing vocals for many of the country’s top performers – the late Chrisye, Ruth Sahanaya, Krisdayanti, Titi DJ, Titiek Puspa – in the grand and glitzy SRO concerts popular in the 1990s and early years of this century.
With the release of his second album, Chandra joins the bevy of single-name male singers vying for air time amid the current fad for boy bands. The difference is that, unlike the 20-something Ello and Afgan, Chandra is, at 37, more cuddly than boy-next-door cute and took 13 years to make his debut solo album.
He laughs off the popular notion of backing singers desperately waiting for a big break, gnawing on their knuckles as they pray for their chance at center stage.
It was his dream, he says, but during that time he was learning his craft and about the workings of the business, as well as developing the network that is helping him today. His “teachers” included the groups he performed with as a vocalist over the years, from the top-40 KSP Band, the jazz group 4U Band and then Acoustic Punch, which focused on show tune numbers.
“Actually, I’m very grateful,” he says. “People ask me, ‘how come you’ve only just made an album after 13 years?’ I think of it the other way around, that I’m thankful after 13 years to make this album, and the network that I have acquired over this time helped me a great deal on the first album and on the second.”
On his debut album Hati Yang Terdalam (The Deepest Heart), released in 2007 and produced by Tohpati, he sang a duet with Ruth. On his second, Ingatlah Diriku (Remember Me), released at the end of last year, he teams up on the title track with another former client, Malaysian singer Sheila Majid. It has become a hit on several local radio station charts.
Someone who says he sets targets in his life that must be achieved even if it takes longer than he expected, Chandra also has his own interior design business and recently established a music distribution and remixing company with several partners.
Music and interior design (an assortment of furniture is featured on his second album cover, a nod to the latter profession) are his “hobbies”, he says, and it’s a bonus to be able to earn money doing the things he loves.
Born the third of four children of a doctor in Padang, West Sumatra, Chandra Satria grew up singing along to music programs on TV and then taking part in talent competitions.
He does not say it outright, but singing was probably not considered a viable profession holding secure prospects for a doctor’s son.
“They were OK about it,” he says of his family. “The good thing is that my parents really just let me do my own thing, let me try it for myself. I do remember taking part in a singing competition in junior high and winning it, and being by myself. But it wasn’t a big thing for me. And of course the next day my parents saw the trophy and were excited about it.”
A career in music seemed an even more unlikely prospect when he moved to Bandung to study architecture at Parahyangan University. Inevitably, with his musical leanings and powerful voice, he eventually became part of the close-knit musical community of the West Java capital. He joined KSP Band in 1991 and three years later was selected as a back-up singer for Chrisye at the Jakarta Convention Center.
Before the dawn of the reality show era, when everybody and their brother is now fixated on becoming a celebrity, Chandra says being a supporting artist bore its own sense of accomplishment and responsibility.
“It was enjoyable. In 1994, there weren’t that many backing vocalists so we were really starting from zero. Preparation for one concert could take from four to six months, imagine that.
Sometimes the lead singer would rely on the backing singer to make them even better ... Right now, maybe because it’s easier to find jobs than before, it’s not the same. I was proud to be the backing vocalist for Chrisye, for Sheila Majid, to help Erwin Gutawa. I don’t see that as much today – they just do the back-up singing.”
Now the one out front facing the music, he says the responsibilities of being professional are not too different, it’s only the position is different. His family also supports his career choices.
“My family is pretty modern – what’s good for you, then do it. They see that I have released two albums, that I’m doing a duet with Sheila Majid, and they also know I’m continuing my interior design business. They’re proud I think.”
A steady presence, he admits to butterflies when meeting up once against with his musical idols.
“I was shaking a bit,” Chandra says of Sheila Majid’s attendance at the Jakarta media launch of the Ingatlah Diriku. “But I think being nervous before a performance is a good thing.”
He performed his hit song live last week on the popular Dahsyat TV music show, the teenage audience bopping along to the tune that fits firmly into the adult contemporary genre.
“I think I’m giving more of a choice to music listeners in Indonesia, particularly Jakarta. You see veteran musicians like Elfa’s Singers coming out with new albums now. I think the important thing is how we maintain things, so that I come out with an album but I remain a presence through being consistent in what I do,” he says.
“I’m confident that even if my album isn’t a huge hit, I will still have my own group of fans.”
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