Career Facts of Ari Lesmana (Assignment 3)

By Naylii Sophea
(Assignment 3)

In Indonesia, there are many musicians who make indie songs, one of them was Fourtwnty. This indie-folk music group originated from Jakarta. The name Fourtwnty is well known in the middle of the indie music community of the country. The music group which has been active since 2010 has three members, namely Ari Lesmana, Nuwi, and Roots.

Fourtwnty has released hits that make them more well-known and famous, such as "Zona Nyaman", "Kusut", and "Fana Merah Jambu". And recently they have released their new songs which are called "Trilogi" and "Nematomorpha". The music group which was also formed by Roby 'Geisha' has its own characteristics when bringing their songs on stage.

Because of their uniqueness and specialty has made their songs that can be accepted by the people and makes them more popular than before.

However, their popularity was not easily achieved. One of the members of  Fourtwnty, Ari Lesmana was known as the vocalist, had to go through several experiences that made him able to achieve their success for today.

Here's are the facts of Ari Lesmana's career journey before he's become a full-time famous vocalist and showmanship for 'Fourtwnty':

1. Work at the Stock Exchange

Through a channel account owned by Gofar Hilman that was uploaded on September 1, 2019, Ari Lesmana shared his experiences and career journey. Gofar Hilman invited Ari Lesmana in his YouTube content entitled NGOBAM (Chat with Musician).

In the video, Ari Lesmana shared his story when he was working at the Jakarta Stock Exchange (BEJ) for only three months. At that time his appearance was very far different from today. Previously, he needs to wear formal and now he can wear anything that makes him feel more comfortable.

"Gue pernah kerja di Bursa Efek Jakarta. Gue di bagian internal communication-nya. Rapi banget penampilannya, pakai pantofel. Tapi kalau bosnya enggak ada, gue tetap pakai piercing," said Ari.

But then he decided to quit his job because of the high cost of living.

2. Become a Private Bank Employee

Only worked for 3 months at the Jakarta Stock Exchange, Ari Lesmana then continued his story of working as a bank employee. Ari Lesmana, who needed money at that time, decided to work at a private bank.

In that position, he worked as a marketing, which promoted credit cards to prospective customers. This time Ari Lesmana worked far longer than his previous job, which was around 2 years.

"Gue marketing. Gue pergi ke mal-mal, ditaruh di satu booth, CCTV di mana-mana dan gue harus pegang flyer," he said.

He lasted up to 2 years as marketing at the bank. From his work,  he has improved his economy until it gets better and stable. In fact, he had time to experience new things to spread his wings. The Fortwnty vocalist admitted that he really likes a challenge.

3. S2 graduates

Although he only worked in his hometown in Pekanbaru, Riau, Ari Lesmana was an educated person. He knows how to balance his work with his life and he had attended the Strata-2 lecture at the London School of Public Relations.

"Kuliah di London School, lanjut S2 di sana juga ambil Corporate Communication," said Ari.

Initially, he only tried to register for the S2 scholarship while he accompanied his friend to apply for an S2 scholarship.

"S1 nya bener tuh 4 tahun, tapi semester 8 pas ngurusin skripsi dibukalah batch ketiga untuk S2 (schlorship)" he added. 

Ari Lesmana also claimed that he was a focus type of person. If he focused and aimed at one particular target, he will focus and attempted until he reaches his dreams. Interestingly, Ari's parents found out that their child attended London School on a scholarship when he was already in his second semester.

4. Start Focusing on Music and Started to be known by the public

Came from the city of Pekanbaru, Riau, Ari Lesmana has shown interest in the world of music. In Palu, he even studied recording, recorded music and he was able to make money from studying in the studio.

He even willingly started his career as a singer in a small shop in the Tebet area, Jakarta. Ari also began to compose songs and spread them through social media.

Fourtwnty was known and popular because of one of their songs titled "Aku Tenang" was known to the public and sung by street musicians. In fact, Ari was surprised when the song 'Aku Tenang' was more popular than the name of his music group.

"Sampai pas kapan itu gue pergi ke daerah Bulungan, tiba-tiba ada satu pengamen yang suaranya bagus banget bawain lagu Aku Tenang. Terus gue tanya, 'Lagu lo keren juga Bang. Lagu sendiri?'. Dia bilang, 'Enggak. Ini ada band namanya 4.20'," said Ari.

"Gue tanya orangnya kayak gimana, di enggak tahu. Pas gue tanya tahu dari mana, 'Dari YouTube lah bang. Lo main YouTube makanye'," he continued. 

Ari Lesmana admitted, at that time he was not enthusiastic about YouTube's platform or gadgets. It turned out that starting from Youtube, the song was known to many people. Not only in Indonesia but also in Malaysia.

Last year, 2019, it was the first concert that fourtwnty has performed in Kuala Lumpur and Ari said in the concert that he was shocked and happy that his supporter was not just from his beloved country but also from Malaysia. He was truly happy knowing that his band has brings joy to everyone.