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 KapanLagi interview, 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 Have Known the World of Music Since Childhood, But How Could You Play Drums Starting at Age 4?

KapanLagicom/Adrian Utama Putra

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

2. What Was Your Childhood Like?

KapanLagicom/Adrian Utama Putra

Teddy Adhitya: "But about my childhood, it was really beautiful. I was in elementary school in Ambon before the riots. I would wake up, go outside, and coincidentally our house was in front of the beach. So, the house, the road, and then right to the beach in Ambon Bay. It was like waking up, stepping out of my room, and seeing dolphins; my childhood was beautiful, but it was 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 that actually brought my family closer together. So my childhood was fun, but not entirely, but fun."

3. Are You Popular in School?

KapanLagicom/Adrian Utama Putra

Teddy Adhitya: "I don’t know if I was ever popular in school, but I was definitely 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 I learned a lot, definitely a lot of languages. I can speak many languages. So because of moving around, I made a lot of friends. The lesson I gained 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, like when I was a kid in elementary school, in the PPKn book, Indonesia is a rich country. But when I looked around, where? What is this? My friends went to school, bathed in the sea. So in class, it smelled like dried fish, but in the book, it says Indonesia is a rich country, it doesn’t connect, right?"

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

KapanLagicom/Adrian Utama Putra

Teddy Adhitya: "When I decided that music, that I like singing, it was only in high school during the school farewell event, like a talent show. Then, as usual, a class representative performed. I happened to play the drums, and the singer was sick. In the end, I sang because my friends often stayed 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 fun to be applauded in front than from behind. So in the end, it seemed exciting to sing. And actually, I liked singing even before forming a band; I had often been entered into 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, it felt like my voice was gone, I couldn’t sing, pretending to be out of breath. I only started deciding to pursue a professional career in music after I graduated from high school, and at 18 years old, I met my dad's friend, Andre Hehanusa. He introduced me to this industry. So the story goes, we were gathering at his house. And as usual, when Ambon people gather, we always sing, and when I sang, Uncle Andre said, 'Why didn’t you tell me your child sings like this?' So I was invited by him to join a vocal band. Then I worked at his office and got to know the industry from there, and that’s when I finally stopped going to college."

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

KapanLagicom/Adrian Utama Putra

Teddy Adhitya: "Hmm the lowest point might be easily distancing myself from the pandemic. Because I live from the stage, I’m a musician who gets stressed if I’m not performing. It’s not just if I don’t release or if I don’t make songs because there are actually many musicians who don’t perform
it’s okay as long as they keep releasing, as long as they keep creating content, as long as they keep making songs. But I can’t, I’m one of those people who can’t do that. Like my entertainer soul rebels if I’m not performing. Savings run out because there’s no income, I had to disband my team that had already formed, there were 7 people I had to lay off, I had to not have an office anymore. Yeah, a lot of things happened, the highest point hasn’t been reached just keep following along."

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

KapanLagicom/Adrian Utama Putra

Teddy Adhitya: "Not at all, not at all because I made that decision with full awareness that I am indeed at my worst. At my worst, I become a musician who performs songs for people playing in either cafes or weddings, I don't mind as long as it's still music. So that has become a full decision and there will be no regrets; perhaps the regret is learning about finances earlier when talking about regrets maybe that."

7. What Are Your Concerns As a Singer?

KapanLagicom/Adrian Utama Putra

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 are struggling, singers are wealthy, 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. 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 it comes to creativity, talking about regeneration, talking about new music, talking about the way to communicate through music nowadays is actually thriving. Again, there are so many new musicians that 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 looks into fixing what needs to be fixed."

(kpl/cvn)