Friends 10th Year Anniversary: A Celebration from Dearest Friend

A warm greeting from best friend often feels kind of sweet. In fact, it may turn our day to be more happier. There’s a lot of stories or funny ideas born from one simple “hey!”. This little conspiracy from the universe sometimes change our life with its surprising way.

Perhaps those are the feelings that was framed in Friends. In 2004, this album showed up and served you 12 best songs from Bandung indiepop band, Mocca. Nuance of happyness and mellowness wrapped beautifully with mixture of jazz, swing, even bossanova. After their debut album, My Diary, Mocca was peeking a chance of wider exploration with honest smile. Just like they did in the album’s cover.

“Friends is our best album.” said Arina Epiphania (vocal, flute), Riko Prayitno (guitar), Toma Pratama (bass), and Indra Massad (drum), altogether.

Since the first track, “On The Night Like This”, you can feel the uniqueness of tunes that Mocca try to present. Sense of optimism tucked in songs like “My Only One” and “You And Me Against The World”. You can also sing melancholically when listening to “How Wonderful Life Would Be” or “It’s Over Now”. Mocca also invited Indonesia’s respected jazz icon, Bob Tutupoly, to sing together in “This Conversation” and “Swing it, Bob!”. They also collaborated with Karolina Komstedt, leading lady from Sweden’s pop duo, Club 8, in “I Would Never”.

Ten years have passed. Now, Beatball, Mocca’s licensor from Korea, is ready to celebrate Friends anniversary by re-releasing remastered version in the form of vinyls and CDs. This is the time for Mocca and their fans (Swinging Friends) to toast happily. Every aspect of them deserve to be happy, recalling the point where Mocca started to grow, evolve, and become ‘friends’ that feels like their own family. This should be fun.

A good work can continue to be remembered and not timeless. Everyone may know that, but Mocca is the one that managed to prove. Once again, with their warmful ways, just like a greeting from best friend.