THE SWEET SOUND OF STEPHANIE POETRI

BY DENISE MALLABO

Always a delight to listen to STEPHANIE POETRI as she weaves through the airwaves with her tunes.

Singer songwriter Stephanie Poetri wouldn’t have probably expected to be standing live in-front of people singing along with her. The cruel pandemic left us all wondering when it’s safe to go out and have fun. 88rising, the multinational music and record company wherein Stephanie is under, took matters in their own hands and pushed through with the annual Head in the Clouds Music Festival, a 2-day event that she was part of it. “It was great! I had a lot of fun watching everyone and I’m glad that I got to be a part of it,” says the 21-year-old Indonesian artist when asked how the festival experience was like for her.

Stephanie released AM:PM during the time when the world was currently on shutdown. The 6-track EP is a mix of her 2020 and 2021 released songs, toned-down to get that brightness of day and darkness of night vibe. In the course of two years, Stephanie had been actively writing songs while stuck in the confines of her home and a lot of the songs she wrote were very inspired by how she felt inside in the pandemic. But now that there’s already some semblance of “normalcy” in the world, her creative mindset also changed. “Now I’m able to focus more on other things and write more than just the feeling of being stuck inside the house,” Stephanie shares.

A Book Of caught up with the singer songwriter and she shared to us what song made her want to create her own songs, how was it like working with all-around talent Jackson Wang, and her latest song “Picture Myself.”

Hi Stephanie! How are you? What were you doing before you decided answer these questions from a book of?

I just went and painted some pottery and got my hair recolored to red :D

What was the first song that you listened to that made you realize that you wanted to be a singer / songwriter?

I really loved this song called “Really, Really” by Winner, it accompanied me through my exams and last year of high school. I then wanted to be a music producer for K-pop and hoped that one day I could make a song like that. I ended up being a songwriter instead but it started my passion for music making.

Was there any pressure from you to be successful in the music since your mom is a known pop star in Indonesia (Stephanie’s Mother Is Titi Dj, a well-known singer songwriter and talent show judges in Indonesia)?

There was a definite external pressure from the general public but never really from my mom or anyone I personally know. They all just told me to do what makes me happy.

When is the best time for you to write a song? How do you know that you’ve written a good song?

I like writing songs when I’m alone in my room and feeling a certain emotion. I think I know a song is one of my better ones when it’s stuck in my head while I’m showering.

Who are you listening to nowadays?

I really like Chungha’s new song “Killing Me.” It’s super fun to dance to!

In one of your interviews, you mentioned that you went back to Indonesia from la during the pandemic. How has that been like, going back home? What did you miss most in Indonesia?

I really missed being able to be in sessions and not having to do online ones. I really like meeting people in real life. Now that I moved back, I really miss my family and friends. One of the things I miss the most about Indonesia is how every store and restaurant opens at 10AM and closes at 10PM so it’s so easy to understand when things close and open, in LA its always so confusing.

You love K-Pop and working with Jackson Wang must have been a dream come true. How was the experience like being able to see and listen to him sing a song that you wrote? How was it working with him and how did that plan to do that version of “I love you 3000” come about?

It was amazing working with Jackson. He was super kind and very funny in real life, and made everything super easy. I think what happened was they showed him the song and he said he liked it and everyone just kind of agreed that a collab would be great!

Is there anyone that you would like to do a song with, to either to sing or produce? Why?

I’d love to work with Eaj and Keshi! They’re so talented!

How was it like collaborating with M-Phazes and Sarah Aarons for your new track “Picture Myself?”

 “Picture Myself” came to me during the pandemic, before AM:PM came out. It was such a pretty song I couldn’t turn it down.

What are you looking forward to this year?

For all the songs I have saved up and ready to come out, and to try more things creatively, like write for other people and learn how to produce again.