Kotak (band)

Origins

Kotak was formed by vocalist Julia Angelia Lepar a.k.a. Pare, bassist Prinzes Amanda a.k.a. Icez, guitarist Mario Marcella a.k.a. Cella, and drummer Haposan Haryanto Tobing a.k.a. Posan on 27 September 2004 after its members won TV 7 (Indonesia)'s "The Dream Band" 2004 talent competition. At an audition they met Dody Isnaini, a bassist from Kahitna, who became their producer. That year the musicians started working on their first album, the eponymous Kotak, which was launched on Warner Music Indonesia in 2005.

Kotak consists of 10 songs, including "Hilang", "Terbang", "Damai Hati", and "Kau Pilih Dia". Three years later, the band released a new album called Kotak Kedua, that garnered critical acclaim in Indonesia and Malaysia. It consists of 12 songs, including hits such as "Beraksi", "Masih Cinta" and "Tinggalkan Saja". The third album Energi was released in 2010, the record Energi Repackage in 2011 and the group's fifth album Terbaik in 2012 followed by KFC Adu Bintang in 2013.

Changes

In 2007, Pare and Icez left the band. Shortly thereafter, the lead vocalist's position was filled by a female singer Tantri Syalindri a.k.a. Tantri, and Swasti Sabdastantri a.k.a. Chua replaced bassist Prinzes Amanda a.k.a. Icez. The band membership changed once more after their drummer, Posan, left . The band released a second successful album called Kotak Kedua in 2008. A piece of it was converted into a ringback tone which has been downloaded more than a million times as of 2013. ("Energi: Tendangan Dari Langit", "Energy: Kicks from the Sky").

In 2011, Kotak teamed up with Simple Plan to record a new version of their song, "Jet Lag". The band has performed in many countries.

The Jakarta Post on 13 Nov 2012, stated: "One of Indonesia’s most loved rock bands, Kotak, has just released its Best album, containing nine of the most popular tracks from the band’s previous albums, three new songs and a bonus track." The song “Jet Lag”, produced with Canadian pop-punk band Simple Plan, is also available in this album. The album has sold 200,000 copies.

Tantri, the vocalist, received the Best Rock Band/Group and Best Rock Album awards at AMI in 2009. The band was nominated for,"Best Newcomer Group" by Anugerah Planet Music in 2009 and "Favorite Breakthrough Artist 2009" by MTV Indonesia Awards.

At the end of 2009, Kotak released its new single, "Pelan-Pelan Saja," which was included in their third album, Energi, released in November 2010.

Tour to Singapore

The group was invited to perform in Singapore, at an event called Muzik FM, organised by Superstar & Legends and Raistar Entertainment.