Lani Leyli

She's a teacher, a model and a (great) singer. She's Australian who's been living in Jakarta for quite a while now---and loves it so much. Let's hope she will stay longer---I bet some of the boys would prefer forever---in Indonesia.
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She’s a teacher, a model and a (great) singer.
She’s Australian who’s been living in Jakarta for quite a while now—and loves it so much.
Let’s hope she will stay longer—I bet some of the boys would prefer forever—in Indonesia.

Q: Lani, first things first. What brought you to Indonesia?
A: Haha… luck. I actually just got bored in Australia and was looking for somewhere to go. I had already been to Bali, and had made a few friends so I figured Indonesia was a good place to venture to.

Q: Why Jakarta, why not Bali?
A: well actually cause it’s kinda hard to get a job in Bali, the first job I was offered was in Jakarta, and I figured it’s close enough that if I get bored or want to see my friends I can go for a weekend or something.

Q: How did you end up singing in the band Amazing in Bed and where did the name come from?
A: Haha… the name is from a song, I don’t actually know too much about that part as I joined 4 years after the band started. A friend of mine used to be the publicist for AiB and when they were looking for a new singer she threw me in, it all clicked and here we are!

Q: You’ve released an album, right? Are there more coming?
A: yeah AiB has released an EP, Get up and Do Your Job, one album, self titled, and has joined in on a few compilations. We’re actually getting our second album ready now, we’ve just released our new single, Hancur dan Berserak, and are getting ready to record asap.

Q: How do you find the music scene in Indonesia?
A: I love it! It seems to be a lot more open than in Australia, I mean it seems like people get a chance to play here. There are a lot of indie gigs and festivals and such. It’s great to see that the people who really want to play, or really want to follow the music, can.

Q: How do you see the future with Amazing in Bed?
A: Uh, I don’t know, I can’t look very far ahead, really. I try to think about now, if it’s going well today and we’re having fun then that’s fantastic. If you’re too worried about everything in the future then you don’t enjoy it so much now. If possible I would love music to be my life, my job and everything but we’ll have to see how that goes haha. For now im happy with all the opportunities we have been given and are getting.

Q: The simple one but always interesting to find out, who’s your fave music artists?
A: Wah, that’s actually a really hard one to answer for me. I have always loved Brian Setzer, especially his orchestra, and Slipknot from my younger days haha… But it changes every few weeks I guess. At the moment the All American Rejects, Paramore and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Q: And then jumping into the modelling world. Wow, would you mind sharing some stories?
A: Uh, it actually just all happened by accident. I modelled in Australia a bit but when I moved here I didn’t pursue it as I have a lot of tattoos, and I though it would be really hard, which is true most of the time. Tommy Siahaan was the first person I shot with, he needed a model and persuaded me in getting back into it. Since then everything has gone really well, I’ve done heaps now and made a lot of good friends from it. My favourite though is shooting music videos for bands, even though it’s a really long day its really fun working with other “music people”.

Q: What do you think about the modelling scene in Jakarta?
A: Honestly it’s really biased. If you have white skin you’re a model. Don’t get me wrong the models here are gorgeous there are just so many more girls around that are gorgeous too that I feel wouldn’t get a chance because they have darker skin. But, hey, I’m so thankful I was given the opportunity to give it a go and I’ve had so much fun being a part of it! Also the fashion is great here, and it’s ahead of a lot of the world, there are so many great Indonesian designers!

Q: Which do you prefer, being a teacher, a singer, or a photo model?
A: Singer! Haha… music is the best part of my life! As I said before if it could be everything it would be! I sing in a few cafés around Jakarta just for fun with my fiancé and a few friends. They’re the days of the week I most look forward to.

Q: Anything left unsaid?
A: A big thank you to everyone that’s helped us and supported us along the way! And hi Mum!

*Wawancara antara saya dan Lani ini pertama kali dimuat di majalah The Beat Jakarta edisi Februari 2010

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Picture of Rudolf Dethu

Rudolf Dethu

Music journalist, writer, radio DJ, socio-political activist, creative industry leader, and a qualified librarian, Rudolf Dethu is heavily under the influence of the punk rock philosophy. Often tagged as this country’s version of Malcolm McLaren—or as Rolling Stone Indonesia put it ‘the grand master of music propaganda’—a name based on his successes when managing Bali’s two favourite bands, Superman Is Dead and Navicula, both who have become two of the nation’s biggest rock bands.
Picture of Rudolf Dethu

Rudolf Dethu

Music journalist, writer, radio DJ, socio-political activist, creative industry leader, and a qualified librarian, Rudolf Dethu is heavily under the influence of the punk rock philosophy. Often tagged as this country’s version of Malcolm McLaren—or as Rolling Stone Indonesia put it ‘the grand master of music propaganda’—a name based on his successes when managing Bali’s two favourite bands, Superman Is Dead and Navicula, both who have become two of the nation’s biggest rock bands.

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