Nadin Amizah has dropped the new EP ‘Kalah Bertaruh (A Losing Game)’, which is written based on a past romance and her experience with heartbreak.
In an interview with The Jakarta Post, the Indonesian singer-songwriter spoke about the theme of doomed romance on ‘Kalak Bertaruh’, stating: “This EP is about a fiery love cycle that ran its course. It felt like we were playing a game that offered no victory in sight, but we kept on playing it anyway because, I don’t know, for the satisfaction of it, I guess?”
Compared to her 2020 debut album, ‘Kalah Bertaruh’ is much shorter, at only five tracks. Nadin revealed that this was a deliberate decision, as she did not want to spend too much time working on the EP. “I guess I just didn’t want to drown in my grief for too long,” said Nadin. “This EP [and the relationship that inspired it] will always be a treasured chapter of my life, but I wanted to put an end to it as soon as possible. I believed five songs were enough.”
The sombre EP features titles such as ‘Sebuah Tarian yang Tak Kunjung Selesai’ (‘A Dance With No End’), previous single ‘Seperti Takdir Kita yang Tulis’ (‘As If Our Destiny Was Written’) and ‘Dan, Selesai’ (‘And, Finished’).
Nadin worked with producer Eky Rizkani, who is also an indie singer-songwriter under the name Reruntuh, on her latest release, which also incorporates elements of bluegrass and folk. These choices in musical elements paired with Nadin’s lyrics about the troubles and challenges she faced during her past relationship.
Nadin shared that the initial idea for ‘Kalah Bertaruh’ was inspired by her song ‘Taruh’ (‘Bet’), which featured on her debut album ‘Selamat Ulang Tahun’ (‘Happy Birthday’).
“It’s the only song [on ‘Selamat Ulang Tahun’] that ponders the concept of romantic love. Many of my family members are divorced, so I find love immensely terrifying. But for the first time, I met this boy who made me want to take that risk. It didn’t go well in real life, though. It actually ended up being the biggest heartbreak of my life,” admitted Nadin. “I’m basically laughing at how naive I was. With all my fears of love, why did I dare to risk it all like that?”