Anggun

Anggun was born in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, on 29th April 1974. Her full name is Anggun Cipta Sasmi, in Bali it means "A grace born out of a dream". 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.

Following the success of "Dunia Aku Punya", Anggun returned to the studio to record new albums ("Tua Tua Keladi in 1990, "Anak Putih Abu Abu" in 1991, "Noc Turno" in 1992 e "Anggun C.Sasmi...Lah!" in the 1993). The young rock diva was also busy outside the studio, performing a number of extensive tours throughout Asia. It was while on tour in Borneo that Anggun met her future husband Michel Georgea (a young French engineer on one of her tours). Her parents did not approve of her marriage at first, but eventually relented.


"You wonder what's next -- and you just don't know. I dreamed of an international career, but the American and English record companies weren't going to come to Indonesia looking for a new talent, when there is so much available in their own countries. So, I had to bring my talent to the West."

So the young couple moved to London, but the following year they changed their plans and moved into an appartment in Paris. She was a complete unknown on the Paris music scene. Not for long however! Anggun soon met up with the French musician and producer Erick Benzi. Impressed by the young Indonesian singer's talent, Benzi immediately offered to write an album with her and eventually managed to persuade her to move away from her original rock influences and experiment with a more sensual, romantic sound. Anggun's smooth new style would prove an immediate success in France.

Her new album "Au nom de la lune", released in 1997, featured a mix of tracks recorded in English, French and even two songs in Indonesian. But it was the phenomenal success of Anggun's single "La neige au sahara" (which rocketed to the top of the European charts and became one of the hits of Summer '97 in France) that would really establish the Indonesian star on the French music scene. Following the chart success of "La neige au sahara", Anggun's album would really take off - indeed, "Au nom de la lune" would soon go on to sell more than 150,000 copies in France and Belgium. The album "Au nom de la lune" not only rocketed Anggun to fame in France, it would also prove to be a major hit in the singer's homeland. Released under the title "Anggun", the album has gone on to sell well over 100,000 copies in Indonesia. The young diva's new repertoire of soft, romantic ballads certainly looks set to prove as popular with her Indonesian fans as her previous rock hits!

In 1998, Anggun toured with Sarah McLachlan and Erykah Badu among others, on the Lilith Fair tour. At the end of 2000 Anggun received an invitation from the Vatican, asking her to appear at a Christmas concert alongside a host of international stars including Bryan Adams.


*angunworld.com*


Anggun-snow on the sahara

Posted in: Indonesian