After successfully releasing his album "Wallflower" in 2021, Indonesian singer Afgan sets in a new mood on his latest released EP "Sonder."

Sonder is his second all-English and most ambitious project yet. The EP includes collaborations with two groundbreaking, female Asian acts, “Criminal” with Vietnamese American R&B star, Thuy, and “Escape” with K-pop icon, Jessi.

The release includes an official music video for “Escape,” which finds Afgan and Jessi on a friend’s retreat in Bali.

In an exclusive Zoom with Manila Bulletin Entertainment last July 11, Afgan shared his creative process for creating the EP.

"I did this EP in London because I wanted to write in a new environment, working with new people and meeting music producers. Hoping that I could bring out something new, and working in a new environment brings out the best ideas in me," Afgan said.

Although the recording and creating of the songs only took them two weeks, Afgan shared that his EP brought out the confidence in him by collaborating with other artists.

"The whole process of creating this EP took us two weeks, so it was very fast. But this time around, I feel like I'm more confident with saying what I wanted to say and giving out ideas to the producers," he added.

Being in the music scene since he was 18 years old, Afgan has been an Indonesian household name for over a decade.

"I’ve come so far and have grown and experienced so much,” Afgan shared. “I didn’t have a say back then on how I wanted my music to be. I was controlled by the market, by what people expected me to be. I didn’t have the confidence to speak out. But through the years, I’ve become more and more courageous to explore new sounds and to open up more about myself, for people to get to know me on a deeper level."

Rediscovering his new sound and getting more vulnerable with his lyrics was not an easy journey for Afgan. Starting his career on the ballad side, he mentioned during the interview that it was a challenge for him to transition into RnB.

"There was a challenge because, before all this, I was known in Indonesia for singing a lot of ballads and love songs, and I wanted to dive into my RnB side. So, after releasing my first English album in 2021, I decided I wanted to explore more and I don't want it to stop there," he said.

Working with K-pop icon Jessi
Aside from working with Jackson Wang and Robin Thicke on his last album, Afgan shared his experience working with Jessi on his single "Escape."

"We met way back and started being friends online we kept in touch. And when I was looking for a collaboration for this album, I reached out to her and it was very quick, I think in about a week she sent her vocals and that's was just very nice of her to help me in this project," he said.

Afgan has headlined arenas throughout Asia, including at Java Jazz Festival, Joyland and PESTAPORA, and toured 60 dates in 2023 alone. His dynamic performance extends from the stage to TV and film, such as the popular Korean reality series, Tripmate: Who Are You.

Over the years, his exceptional talents have been recognized with accolades such as winning the MAMA Award for Best Asian Artist Indonesia in 2018 and the VLive Award for Favorite Artist Indonesia in 2019.

He’s collaborated with fashion brands, like Louis Vuitton, Prada, Coach and Kenzo, and with artists such as B.I, Jackson Wang, Robin Thicke, and Raisa.