Independent Artist of the Week: Matahara

December 22nd 2020

Matahara, aka Marissa Yudinar, delivers on her name. Derived from the Indonesian word for the sun, ‘matahari’, her speciality is light and fun bops.

Raised in the south of Jakarta, she describes the city as “beautifully chaotic”, a phrase that encapsulates her sound as well. Her releases to date have been sparkly journeys through a breakup that occurred when she was just 16, with both tracks dripping with nostalgia.

Latest release ‘Missify’ opens with the line “I hope I haunt you as much as you haunt me”. There’s a sadness to the lyrics that’s completely juxtaposed with the bubbly instrumentals, produced by Tram Cops’ Michael Vince-Moin. A beachy guitar and some subtle drums take the lead before samples of children playing are layered over bright key jumps.

At the heart of ‘Missify’, though, are Yudinar’s ethereal vocals. Her voice weaves amongst the dreamy soundscape, leading us to the final stretch of the song where everything briefly blooms together over a 90s-esque techno line. It’s one of those tracks where you end up a fair way from where you started, but the journey there is lovely.

There’s a contagious positivity to Yudinar’s music, which is something we could all use a bit of at the moment. Both ‘Missify’ and ‘What A Waste’ wrap you up in a blanket of dreamy euphoric electronica. With an EP on the way, keep an eye out for more sunny pop songs from Matahara in 2021.

Tune in to Up For It with Courtney Ammenhauser every Monday from 6am to meet your Independent Artist of the Week!