She started singing in 1986. Her father, Darto Singo, was a famous singer and producer in Indonesia and Anggun decided to follow in her father's footsteps. At the tender age of 7 years she recorded her first album with children's song.
At 12, after becoming interested in rock music, she recorded her second heavily rock influenced album, "Dunia Aku Punya", that in the indonesian language mean "World of mine". This album became very popular and she became a megastar in East Asia. Having already had tremendous success in her homeland Indonesia, she decided to pursue an international career and left Indonesia in 1995, when she was only 19.
She settled in Paris, France and met producer Erick Benzi, who later helped her sign a record deal with Sony Music France and recorded her first French album, Au Nom de la Lune, in 1996. The album was released in 1997 and spawned a hit single, "La neige au Sahara". She re-recorded the album in English and it produced her biggest worldwide hit single to date, "Snow on the Sahara." The album has been released in 33 countries across the world, including the US.
To date, Anggun has sold approximately 3 million copies of records worldwide and has become the most successful Asian artist outside Asia. Her success has spread throughout Europe, particularly in France and Italy.
What if you could tell the world who you really are in 12 songs? That’s a bit what it feels like when you listen to Echoes, Anggun’s much-awaited new album.
A lot has been written about the Indonesian singer. Some people have mentioned a fairytale to explain the rise of a young music-loving girl who became a superstar in the country of her birth before striking out to conquer France and Europe when she was only about 20. Following a stream of hits in French, English and Indonesian (and her massive international hit Snow On The Sahara), she has now sold over 2 million records in just a few years. Her albums have been released in 35 countries and she has made the Top 5 in the European charts and the Top 20 of the US Billboard charts. Add to this a wide-ranging list of prizes and honours including a World Music Awards performance, giving the Christmas concert at the Vatican in the presence of Pope John Paul II, an interview with CNN in New York and her extremely prestigious nomination as a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in France. Quite simply, Anggun is the Asian artist who has sold the most records outside Asia, without doubt one of the most famous Asian stars internationally.
People have also often listed the duets the woman has been involved in. Her eclectic musical tastes make her feel just as comfortable singing with Peter Gabriel, Michael Bolton, Julio Iglesias, Bryan Adams and Zucchero as with DJ Cam, Laurent Wolf and Pras from The Fugees. Her eclectic taste in movies have seen her perform the theme tune for American blockbusters (The #1 US box office movie The Transporter II) ; arthouse films (Open Hearts directed by Academy Awards winner Susanne Bier) and even the soundtrack to the latest feature film by legendary French director Claude Lelouch (Ces Amours-là).
With each passing year and album, she has kept surprising us and kept reinventing herself through new artistic projects and her own personal development. Echoes, in a sense, sums up this transformation, returning to the pop sound that made her name, but this time with new collaborators. The origins of this album are to be found in the coming together of two teams familiar with success: Gioacchino and Pierre Jaconelli on the one hand, and the duo of Jean-Pierre Pilot and William Rousseau on the other. Anggun has been involved in every step of the making of Echoes. She has written the lyrics of every song, making this album probably her most personal to date.
“I love her timbre. I’d been wanting to work with her for a while,” explains Giacchino, who has already collaborated with the biggest French stars, and who is currently working on Celine Dion’s upcoming new album. “I found in her the very same depth of personality that I liked about her voice.” This profoundness is felt in the Irish-influenced smash hit single Only Love, which deals with the quest for true and unconditional love. A Stranger timidly speaks of the loneliness and fear of the unknown that were often a feature of the singer’s constant moving around. Whereas a few years ago Anggun still sang of exile as a painful experience, now she knows where she is headed, as she has accepted that her destiny will always be bound up with travelling. Year of the Snake is a restrained song that gives the thoughts of a woman remembering painful momentsof her life. And yet, without any excess exoticism or pointless clichés, you find subtle traces of the singer’s Indonesian roots via the various subjects she tackles. Eternal talks of accepting the death of a loved one, without seeking to squeeze a tear out of the listener at any cost. On the other hand, the extremely sensual Rollercoaster, composed by Axel Bauer, conjures up the passion and sense of drama that can be part of the singer’s life aswell.
Jean-Pierre Pilot and William Rousseau were coming off the back of major successes in France when they met Anggun. “What surprised us was the contrast between the simple, fun-loving woman we had in front of us and the image of the superstar diva we know from her videos or live performances. The two personalities coexist inside her in perfect harmony,” William Rousseau explains. “As a result, we were keen to explore her more private side without going off into completely pared-down musical style.” Many women will identify with the themes of the album: an upbeat girl’s power message in Weapons, the weariness of My Addiction or the acceptance of who we really are in Impossible. Anggun reveals herself to be both mischievous and totally fulfilled. Yet the power of the melodies does not supplant the emotion, as illustrated by the bittersweet Buy me happiness and the discreet Silent vow.
Anggun is offering exclusive bonus tracks in this new album: Count on me, Sorry and the hypnotic song Always You produced by German electro-pop superstar Schiller, taken from the artist’s latest album which has reached the #1 spot in the German Album Charts and went Gold a few weeks after its release.
Sometimes fatale, sometimes disappointed, often amorous and always strong, Anggun sings about the woman she was and above all about the woman she is today. Neither completely the same nor completely someone else, with Echoes she gives us her most personal and paradoxically most universal album: the Echoes of an artist who is no longer torn between two cultures – her heartland of Indonesia and her adoptive country France; she has managed to find an equilibrium between these two worlds and to make the very best of them.
Discography
Indonesian-language albums:
* 1986: Dunia Aku Punya
* 1990: Mimpi
* 1990: Tua Tua Keladi
* 1990: Takut
* 1991: Anak Putih Abu Abu
* 1992: Nocturno
* 1993: Anggun C. Sasmi... Lah!!!
* 1994: Yang Hilang
* 2011: Echoes (May)
French-language albums
* 1997: Au nom de la lune
* 2000: Désirs Contraires
* 2005: Luminescence
* 2006: Luminescence Edition Speciale
* 2008: Elévation
* 2011: Echos (September)
English-language albums:
* 1998: Snow on the Sahara
* 1999: Anggun
* 2000: Chrysalis
* 2002: Open Hearts
* 2005: Luminescence
* 2006: Luminescence Special Edition
* 2007: Best Of
* 2008: Elevation
* 2011: Echoes
Life On Mars?
Anggun Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To the girl with the mousy hair
But her mummy is yelling "No"
And her daddy has told her to go
But her friend is nowhere to be seen
Now she walks through her sunken dream
To the seat with the clearest view
But the film is a saddening bore
For she's lived it ten times or more
She could spit in the eyes of fools
As they ask her to focus on
Sailors fighting in the dance hall
Oh man! Look at those cavemen go
It's the freakiest show
Take a look at the Lawman
Beating up the wrong guy
Oh man! Wonder if he'll ever know
He's in the best selling show
Is there life on Mars?
It's on America's tortured brow
That Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow
Now the workers have struck for fame
'Cause Lennon's on sale again
See the mice in their million hordes
From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads
Rule Britannia is out of bounds
To my mother, my dog, and clowns
But the film is a saddening bore
'Cause I wrote it ten times or more
It's about to be writ again
As I ask you to focus on
Sailors fighting in the dance hall
Oh man! Look at those cavemen go
It's the freakiest show
Take a look at the Lawman
Beating up the wrong guy
Oh man! Wonder if he'll ever know
He's in the best selling show
Is there life on Mars?
The song "Life On Mars?" by Anggun is a cover of the 1971 song by David Bowie with an Indonesian language verse. The lyrics describe the mundane reality that the singer is trying to escape from, as represented by the silver screen. The girl with the "mousy hair" is stuck in a situation where her parents are disapproving of something, and she has lost her friend. She turns to the silver screen in search of escape, only to find that the film is a "saddening bore" that she has "lived it ten times or more". In the film, there are sailors fighting in a dance hall, cavemen, and a Lawman beating up the wrong guy. It's the "freakiest show" that the singer has ever seen. The song questions the existence of life on Mars, adding a touch of surrealism to the lyrics.
The song is a commentary on the state of entertainment in the 1970s, where people were turning to the silver screen to escape reality. The singer's struggle to find an escape in a boring film is a metaphor for the escapism prevalent in society. The sailors and cavemen represent a primal nature that is being suppressed in a society that demands conformity. The Lawman beating up the wrong guy is a nod to the abuse of authority by those in power. The line "That Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow" is a reference to the commercialization of art, where popular culture is taking over instead of authentic art.
Line by Line Meaning
It's a God-awful small affair
This situation isn't ideal and seems insignificant.
To the girl with the mousy hair
The singer of the story is a quiet, unremarkable girl.
But her mummy is yelling 'No'
Her mother is disapproving of something she wants to do.
And her daddy has told her to go
Her father is urging her to leave the situation.
But her friend is nowhere to be seen
Her friend is absent and unable to help her.
Now she walks through her sunken dream
The singer is moving through a hopeless situation.
To the seat with the clearest view
She goes to a place where she can see everything clearly.
And she's hooked to the silver screen
She is engrossed in a movie or television show.
But the film is a saddening bore
The movie is depressing and uninteresting.
For she's lived it ten times or more
She has seen this movie many times and it no longer holds any meaning for her.
She could spit in the eyes of fools
She is so disillusioned that she doesn't care what anyone thinks of her.
As they ask her to focus on
Despite her apathy, others still expect her to pay attention and be invested in things.
Sailors fighting in the dance hall
The movie she's watching is of a scene with men fighting in a dance hall.
Oh man! Look at those cavemen go
The people fighting look primitive and uncivilized.
It's the freakiest show
The spectacle is bizarre and unsettling.
Take a look at the Lawman
A police officer arrives on the scene and catches the wrong person.
Beating up the wrong guy
The officer is using excessive force against someone who is innocent.
Oh man! Wonder if he'll ever know
The innocent person being attacked doesn't understand why this is happening to him.
He's in the best selling show
This situation is part of a popular story or spectacle.
Is there life on Mars?
The artist is questioning the reality of her situation and whether there is something more out there.
It's on America's tortured brow
The reference to America suggests that this struggle is not unique to just one individual.
That Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow
Something that used to be innocent and enjoyable has become corrupted and ugly.
Now the workers have struck for fame
People are doing whatever they can to be recognized, whether it is noble or not.
'Cause Lennon's on sale again
People are willing to do anything to make money, even if it means trivializing art and culture.
See the mice in their million hordes
The masses are like mice, running on a wheel and not really achieving anything.
From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads
This type of behavior is happening everywhere, regardless of location or culture.
Rule Britannia is out of bounds
Tradition and culture have lost their meaning and are no longer respected.
To my mother, my dog, and clowns
Even things that would normally be comforting or entertaining provide no solace in this situation.
It's about to be writ again
This story is never-ending and cruel.
As I ask you to focus on
As the singer tells this story, they ask the listener to pay attention and see the reality of the situation.
Sailors fighting in the dance hall
The story repeats itself, with the same scene of men fighting in a dance hall.
Oh man! Look at those cavemen go
Again, the men fighting look primitive and uncivilized.
It's the freakiest show
The situation is bizarre and scary.
Take a look at the Lawman
The same officer arrives on the scene, repeating his actions.
Beating up the wrong guy
Again, the officer uses excessive force on someone who is innocent.
Oh man! Wonder if he'll ever know
The innocent person being attacked is still confused.
He's in the best selling show
This situation is still part of a popular story or spectacle.
Is there life on Mars?
The original question is repeated, as the singer is still searching for a way out of her situation.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
Written by: David Bowie
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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