From the tender age of just fourteen, Sheryl Sheinafia was embroiled in performance art tremendously. While most of us were still dipping toes in just about anything we could fancy our curiosity in, the singer-songwriter was on the cusp of releasing her debut album, aptly self-titled, and conjured for Indonesian teens everywhere that aspired to grab limelights.
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In the following years, the Jakarta-born star seemed to follow a path not too dissimilar to Disney's A-Z recipe for emerging talents and personalities to-be. Fast forward a decade later, the now twenty-five-year-old has affixed plenty more titles to her belt.
A marker of her sprouting experimentation was the singer traversing beyond the mould of an Indonesian artists' roadmap to only produce in their native tongue, amongst other distinct moves. Besides her sprawling television, hosting, and film accolades (most notably emblemised by her nomination for Best Leading Actress at the Indonesian Film Festival in 2017), Sheryl is embarking on several new pursuits that for her, has deeply affirmed her love for music once more, as well as the need for staying inventive, or as she puts it, 'on my toes'.
For many, being signed to a global label is true north; Sheinafia then went and did just the opposite.
"I can't wait to know where it takes me from here. This year's about going independent, and it's really exciting cause I'm establishing my own label too, hoping that I can have my own release after mostly being with a major label (in the past). And I'm really excited to release my own tracks, but now, also because I get to have my first releases with EMPIRE, previously with 'Want Ur Love' and now, 'Earn It'," the Indonesian artist tells Bandwagon after her dewy-eyed Schnauzer warmly interrupts us mid-virtual call.
Between house chores as a sole homeowner, go-fetch with Sunday the Schnauzer, turning indie, and metamorphosing her new Sheryl, the artist has also found the appetite to dabble into the emerging spaces of Web 3.0, with NFTs particularly taking her fancy. "Every day I'd just check on new art that I could buy, and looking at other musicians who are creating their own art, owning their stuff fully - I feel like it's really liberating and excites me."
We touch deeply into what the space meant for herself as a constant creator, too, which we get further into later in our chat on the back of selling out her own collection recently.
Sold out in minutes! Congrats on your genesis @sherylsheinafia we'll be waiting for your future drops 🎉 https://t.co/VVxqy7Ib9H
— Indra Aziz 🦊 (@IndraAziz) February 6, 2022
It's clear (and a tad frightening) the musician doesn't know her limits because quite frankly, Sheryl doesn't cap her own pursuits - which made our conversation a thoroughly illuminating one. As we discussed her past relationship as inspiration for 'Earn It', what filming her music video in one of our favourite surf destinations was like, fiddling with the OP-1 synth and more, it's no wonder the Indonesian has but 1.4 million followers on her profile page - she's everywhere, all at once.
Watch our full interview with Sheryl below.
Congratulations on your recent single 'Earn It', and the music video. Tell us a bit more about the track, its journey, and what it took to write it.
'Earn It' is the second track off my trilogy with EMPIRE, and it's an ode to second chances. This was a track but also a mantra at the same time for me. I really needed to own up to the mistakes that I made with a past lover at the time. These mistakes were circulating around basically me being abroad, running a long-distance relationship, and finishing this album at the same time.
And I'm very ambitious when I'm enthusiastic and doing something. So these became the traits that were what made us grow apart to a point where my partner was going into a more serious state of the relationship, whereas I just wanted to pursue whatever I wanted to pursue without being hooked on to any sort of relationship. That's why in the lyrics it states 'Felt like any second/You was gonna get a ring/I was scared so I let it come between you and me'.
And you know us Asians right, when we find one person there's this notion of spending forever with them, and I was just not there. It came to an end eventually. But at a point in my life, I was asking for a second chance to earn his love back.
You focused on your music, and then you came back asking for his love again. Is that taking place right now?
Singing a song these days that I've maybe written two years ago, I might not feel the same way today. It taught me a good lesson, then it became a really great song too. It makes me happy, understanding I was at a phase in my life where I was like that, looking back.
Tell us a little about the MV and where it sits. Also, who is the guy you're dancing with?
That's Axel, but we call him Rora. I was in Bali at the time, and my team called me up and told me we were going to do three photo shoots and three videos in two days. I was like, "That's crazy!" But when I saw the concept come in I didn't have any complaints, it was perfect. I wanted to enter this strange alien universe, an unspecified planet, and have orbits circulating my air and whatever. It was exactly that. I rushed back to Jakarta, we finished it in two days. With 'Want Ur Love', it's stating how much I adore my partner, and specifying what it is about him that makes me want him, and moving forward with 'Earn It', I've kinda lost it, and I need to earn his trust back.
So 'Want Ur Love', then 'Earn It'. Is the next single titled 'I Got It', coming full circle?
I feel like I'm just gonna tell you as a Bandwagon exclusive - the next single is called 'Dedicate', and it's coming really soon in March. It's about stating why you love [someone], and trying to win it because you're dedicated. I can't say full circle - I don't "got it." All I have is a book called 'A Handful of Happiness'; I'm just looking and reading for the secrets. I'm just a single mother to my pups.
Besides your release, a little bird (Twitter) told me about your activity in 'shilling' projects, and you dabbling in the NFT space. How'd you get into this space, to begin with, and what do you own currently?
I have been shilling. I've just released my collection two days ago. I'm playing in the Tezos chain - it's much more feasible, it's at a lower rate, it's more eco-friendly, it's a clean NFT. I started there, and it's really a space for me to explore myself aside from my status as a musician, singer, and songwriter. It's pretty much my little playground now; I actually created the art, and I had been thinking about it since October last year. It's so tricky to set up a wallet and get started, and to know what's good and what's not is so frustrating.
I called it off, but two of my girlfriends told me "Stop it, just get (the art) out there, you'll never know what's good or what's bad, but you have to know when it's enough." And I just went for it - and it sold out! I'm really thinking of this space to escalate my music in the future, but only when I understand fully what I want to release in my NFT space, and then building that community first. I think that's what's important, making new friends.
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With every technology or advent comes its critics as well. There's been a lot of naysayers and sceptics in regards to what's going on in NFTs. When you read all the negativity in this space and what people are saying, what do you think?
I've been focusing on my music, and trying to create something new for this year, building my team, my own community on Discord. I saw NFTs as a space not just for reaping benefits, it's a space for 'New Friends Too' - that's what NFT stands for [for me]. Getting to know new people in the space is exciting.
Some people can be really really rude, but many are supportive, kind, and we're still in that phase where people just want to help one another. I feel, as a new entry into the ecosystem, it's fresh. There are so many people who can create music and get it out on digital streaming platforms. But little do they know how they're going to sustain their art.
i came back from my sleep to highlight that i’m not an influencer…
— Sheryl Sheinafia (@sherylsheinafia) February 7, 2022
i’m a enthusiast & creator, honey. with a drive to experience and witness the growth of women in this NFT space. GN Eliana 😘 https://t.co/hjL5fYPnDq
You've had musings about transitioning from Indonesian pop, to your sound now, and you've gone independent. You've also spoken about how you'd like your sound to be in the industry, so where do you think this trilogy as well as future tracks sit in terms of what your sound is?
I think it's easy to say that it's the language. I'm much more comfortable singing and writing in English, and that's something I want to exercise further, improving my writing and production. That's where I'm at. For my sound, I really wanna head towards Hyper pop, but with like Alternative Rock. I don't know if that makes sense, but it's like a mixture between maybe Miley, King Princess. You know Paramore's acoustic session where they're using the OP1? I got one! And I can't wait for it to come. But just exploring myself, I think that's the best thing about going indie, to be able to make my own decisions now.
I'll see you in Canggu, Bali.
Hit me up anytime, we'll connect and surf.
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