KapanLagi Talks: Teddy Adhitya Talks About His Career Journey and Andre Hehanussa

Kapanlagi.com - Teddy Adhitya, a singer and songwriter from Yogyakarta, shares his fascinating career journey. In an exclusive interview with KapanLagi, the man born on June 21, 1991, also discusses the influence of Andre Hehanussa in his life.

Andre, known for his hit songs, has become one of Teddy's inspirations in his career. This time, it will also be discussed how the legendary musician Andre Hehanussa met Teddy Adhitia.

1. You’ve Known the Music World Since You Were a Child, But How Could You Start Playing Drums at Age 4?

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Teddy Adhitya: "I think when I was little, seeing musical instruments was the coolest thing that first caught my interest. Then, coincidentally, my dad used to have a band with his siblings, so there were band instruments at home that didn’t require much effort to play. Drums don’t need to be plugged in, don’t need speakers, nothing. So I would just wake up and play the drums, and I really liked the sound; it just sounded cool to me when I was little. So my first interest was playing drums; I was taught but not really taught, more like I learned by watching. There was no theory, nothing, just learning by doing."

2. What Was Your Childhood Like?

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Teddy Adhitya: "But when it comes to childhood, my childhood was really beautiful. I was in elementary school in Ambon before the riots. Waking up and going outside, coincidentally our house was in front of the beach. So the house, the road, and then straight to the beach at Ambon Bay. It was like waking up and stepping out of the room to see dolphins; my childhood was beautiful, but it got ruined just like that because of the riots. Eventually, we had to leave Ambon. So actually, my childhood was balanced, maybe no one should have to experience riots in their childhood. But if I look at it from a more mature perspective now, it was balanced; I was given beauty, I was given happiness, but there were also trials, and those trials actually brought my family closer together. So my childhood was enjoyable but also challenging, yet enjoyable."

3. Are You Popular in School?

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Teddy Adhitya: "I don't know if I was ever popular in school, but clearly I was somewhat popular in elementary school because of fighting. In middle school and high school, I was popular because of basketball, and in high school, I just started a band. So I never really felt like I was popular in school; maybe I was popular because I was always the new kid. I moved 6 times in elementary school, 3 times in middle school, and 2 times in high school. So I was always popular in school because I was the new kid. What I learned is that there are a lot of lessons, especially languages. I can speak many languages. So because my life was always moving, I had many friends. The biggest lesson I got is that as an adult, life is actually more relaxed. Because I've seen the worst part of Indonesia and the best part of Indonesia. So I know that when I was a kid, in elementary school, the PPKn book said Indonesia is a rich country. But when I looked around, I was like, where? It seemed like people were living like this. My friends went to school and bathed in the sea. So in class, it smelled like dried fish, but in the book, it said Indonesia is a rich country; it just didn't connect."

4. Since When Did You Fall in Love With Music?

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Teddy Adhitya: "When I decided that music, that I like to sing, it was only in high school during the school farewell event, like a talent show. Then, as usual, the class representatives performed. I happened to play the drums, and the singer was sick. In the end, I sang because my friends often slept over at my house and said, 'You like to sing in the shower, you can sing, just replace him.' So I ended up singing. It turned out to be more enjoyable to be applauded in front than behind. So it seemed fun to sing. And actually, I liked singing even before being in a band; I had often been signed up for singing competitions by my mom. But at that time, I wanted to be an athlete. What boy doesn’t want to be an athlete? So when I was signed up for singing, I pretended my voice was gone, like I couldn't sing. The decision to pursue a professional career in music came when I graduated from high school, and at 18 years old, I met my dad's friend named Andre Hehanusa. He introduced me to this industry; the story goes that we were gathering at his house. Then, as usual, Ambon people always sing when they gather, and when I sang, Uncle Andre said, 'Why didn't you tell me your kid sings like this?' So he invited me to join a vocal band. Then I worked at his office and got to know the industry from there, which is when I finally stopped going to college."

5. During Your Career, What Were Your Lowest and Highest Points?

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Teddy Adhitya: "Hmm, the lowest point might be really easy to point out, it’s the pandemic. Because I live from the stage, I’m a musician who gets stressed if I don’t perform. It’s not just about not releasing or not making songs, because there are actually many musicians who don’t perform
and it’s fine as long as they keep releasing, as long as they keep creating content, as long as they keep making songs. Well, I’m not like that, I’m one of those people who can’t do that. It’s like my entertainer soul rebels if I don’t perform. My savings ran out because there was no income, I had to disband my team that had grown to 7 people, I had to lay them off, I had to not have an office anymore. Yeah, a lot of things happened, the highest point hasn’t been reached yet, just keep following along."

6. Do You Regret Not Having a Plan B During Difficult Times?

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Teddy Adhitya: "Not at all, not at all because I made that decision with full awareness that I really am at my worst. At my worst, I become a musician who performs other people's songs at who knows what café or at weddings; I don't mind as long as it's still music. So that's already a full decision, and there will be no regrets. Maybe the regret is learning about finance earlier when talking about regrets, maybe that's it."

7. What Are Your Concerns as a Singer?

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Teddy Adhitya: "My concern is the government regulations that perhaps, what do you call it, are not yet aligned to prosper all components within the music industry. Like maybe recently we see the issue that songwriters have a hard life, singers are rich, and there's that narrative. But that doesn't mean it's the fault of us songwriters, it's not the fault of us musicians, it's not anyone's fault or anything like that. It's just that the system hasn't supported, what do you call it, hasn't supported so that this entire ecosystem can prosper. So maybe my main concern is that because when talking about creativity, talking about regeneration, talking about new music, talking about the way to communicate through music right now, it's actually going crazy. There are so many new musicians who are very, very enjoyable and very, very fresh. But we need to fix the system. Hopefully, with the help of friends also highlighting this issue, we don't need to take sides. But we highlight the issue so that the government also pays attention to fix what needs to be fixed."

(kpl/cvn)