KLa Project Indonesian Band with The Best Songs and Arrangements

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Photo Source: Doc. Aquarius Musikindo

FEMUSINDO.com - Formed on October 23, 1988 in the Tebet area, Jakarta, KLa Project is one of Indonesia's legendary bands that has survived for decades.

KLa Project initially consisted of Katon Bagaskara (vocals), Romulo Radjadin or Lilo (guitar and vocals), Adi Adrian (keyboard), and Ari Burhani (drums).

The name KLa is an abbreviation of the initials of its personnel, while the use of the lowercase letter "a" is intended to indicate that there are 2 personnel who have that initial.

Production of Recording Demos

The initial funds for the production of KLa song recording demos came from Katon Bagaskara's personal money, who was able to save while working as a flight attendant.

They released their first album "KLa" at the end of 1989 which produced hits such as Rentang Asmara, Tentang Kita, Waktu Tersisa and Laguku.

In 1991, KLa launched their second album entitled "Kedua" which contained the monumental song Yogyakarta. Meanwhile, on the third album (Pasir Putih - 1992) they produced hits such as Tak Bisa Ke Lain Hati and Belahan Jiwa.

Formation and Album Release

After the launch of the third album, Ari Burhani left and switched roles as band manager. KLa then ran with a 3-person formation and released 2 albums.

These two albums were assisted by additional drummers, namely Ungu (1994) with the help of Ronald Fristianto (drummer Dr.PM, ex-drummer GIGI), and V (1995) with the help of Wong Aksan (drummer Potret - ex-drummer Dewa 19) and Rere (drummer Grass Rock).

In March 2001, it was Lilo's turn to decide to leave the band. However, KLa continued to run even though it only left Katon Bagaskara and Adi Adrian.

Photo Source: KLa Project via Timesindonesia.co.id

Adding Personnel

In 2003, KLa decided to add 3 new personnel, namely Erwin Prasetya (bass, former Dewa 19 bassist), Yoel Vai (guitar) and Harry Goro (drums).

With the latest formation, KLa's name changed to NuKLa. NuKLa had released 1 album entitled "New Chapter" (2004) with the single Ijinkan Ku Memuja.

In 2005, NuKLa released the album "New Chapter For Aceh" with the addition of 2 new songs, namely Dukamu Dukaku and Kau Tak Pernah Sendiri.

NuKLa Changes KLa Again

In 2006, Erwin Prasetya decided to leave NuKLa due to differences in vision and mission. Then, followed by the departure of Harry Goro and Yoel Vai.

Shortly after that, Katon Bagaskara stated that NuKLa changed its name back to KLa Project. One of the reasons was the difficulty of changing KLa's old image to a new one.

In 2010, they re-launched an album entitled "Exellentia". On November 8, 2011, KLa Project re-released an album entitled "A Tribute To KLa Project".

This album involves singers and bands, such as Ungu, Ahmad Dhani, Kerispatih, Maliq & D'Essentials, Vidi Aldiano, Pongki Barata, RAN, Babas, Violet and The Upstairs.

In 2023, Kla Project released the single Gerimis with a new, fresher arrangement and also collaborated with young singer Jolene Marie.

The 2023 version of the song Gerimis is one of the songs included in the list of the 35th Tribute to Kla Project albums.

During their career, KLa Project has received many awards, ranging from Best Contemporary Pop to Best Song and Arrangement. (*)