circuit breaker lullaby

The first song I released on my own. It was written in the early weeks when Singapore entered its self-quarantine phase or ‘Circuit Breaker.’ My second daughter, Jyoti, was restless that night, maybe because she was bored from staying home all day and had run out of toys. When it was time to sleep, she still wanted to play. She kept asking, ‘What’s happening?’, ‘When will it be over?’, and so on.

I thought about how to calm her down, and the words that came out were, ‘It’s okay!’ Maybe we can’t play outside, and we acknowledge the fear creeping in. We have to fight it. We can’t stay afraid forever. At least by sleeping, we can dream, and dream of something better.

The basic music for this song was created with Logic Pro X and piano sounds. The idea was to have a floating quality like Portishead’s music, while still maintaining the essence of Everybody Loves Irene. My former bandmate from Fairground, Bimo, helped with the bass, and Dhendy, the guitarist from thedyingsirens, played the guitar parts.

I asked Ms. Kira for vocal direction and some input to refine the lyrics, making them easier to sing. The mixing and mastering process was done by Benjamin Studio, a recording studio located in Jatibening, Bekasi, Indonesia. It’s close to my house, though I’ve never been there. They were quite accommodating during the recording process, with all communication happening through phone calls, WhatsApp, and email.

Lagu pertama yang saya rilis sendiri. Ditulis pada minggu-minggu awal Singapura memasuki masa karantina mandiri atau “Circuit Breaker”.

Jyoti tidak tenang malam itu. Mungkin karena bosan seharian di rumah dan sudah kehabisan mainan. Pada saatnya tidur, ia masih ingin bermain. Ia banyak bertanya, “What’s happening?”, “When it’s over?”, dan sebagainya. Saya kepikiran bagaimana menenangkannya. Dan kata-kata ini yang terucap, “It’s okay!” Mungkin kita nggak bisa main di luar. Dan kita mengakui perasaan takut yang merayapi. Kita harus lawan. Nggak boleh terus-terusan takut. Setidaknya dengan tidur kita dapat bermimpi, mimpi yang lebih indah.

Sampul singlenya adalah pemandangan dari lantai 29 apartemen kami di Singapura. Diambil sekitar pukul 4 pagi saat langit kebetulan cerah dengan menggunakan iPhone Pro X. Dicetak di kertas photo instan, instax dan kemudian ditempel di kertas karton yang dipotong kotak-kotak. Font tulisannya menggunakan cetakan label nama dan ditempel begitu saja lalu di’scan‘ supaya menjadi digital.