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Reviews: Reza Artamevia's Discography

Reza Artamevia, or Rezza Artamevira, or simply Reza, maybe Rezza, is one of the most cherished Indonesian singing divas of her time. Debuted in the year of 1997, she was one of the instantly recognizable voices of Indonesian music industry.

Her husky voice and sultry singing style had once captured many hearts and some of her songs seem to be eternally remembered by many Indonesians.

Let's take a look of what made her very special!

Note: I just discovered her music a week ago and cannot stop listening to it, however, I'm actually not familiar with her career at all.

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Keajaiban (1997)
This album is really good. It's a very impressive collection of soft R&B-influenced pop songs and I'm liking everything on here. Her voice enchants me; it's almost haunting. Her debut single, aptly titled "Pertama" (lit. translated as First), is a sexy number which subliminally commands you to move with the groove. Already, she co-wrote this one, as well as two other songs on here. These are very fine, especially the titular track which wouldn't sound out of place had it been placed on Toni Braxton's debut album either. The weak spots are honestly the last couple of tracks on here which aren't actually bad at all but rather dragged for a bit longer than necessary, or at least that's what I feel. There's a cover of a Vina Panduwinata song, "Dia", and it's lovely but really should've stopped earlier before it could get that hectic.

Keabadian (2000)
Another good album. Honestly, it could have been great if not for the fact that there's a very sentimental ballad which sounds like a mid-90s production and the male vocalist featured in it was also not that good. However, the titular track is gorgeous and dance tracks like "Aku Wanita" and "Dansa" are satisfying. She co-wrote a total of four songs here. There are two cover songs, one is an energetic Malaysian song titled "Getaran" and the other is a song originally done by Dewa 19, "Cinta 'Kan Membawamu Kembali", which is written by Dhani Ahmad/Ahmad Dhani of the band mentioned. In fact, both this album and Keajaiban are produced by him, which is sadly something that wouldn't happen again for her next project(s).

Apparently, Wikipedia informs that she also reissued her debut album for Japanese market and it was quite successful. Good for her, that voice is so gorgeous.

Keyakinan (2002)
This is the album that kind of conflicted me at first listen and still does. She appeared as the producer of the music and it was to various results. Songs like "Putus" (not related to her other similarly titled song from her debut, "Putus Saja"), "Kau Jadi Milikku", and "Kepastian" are fine, but what is with the duet song? Titi DJ's songs are really fitting for Titi only; I don't ever want to listen to her songs on other singers' albums ever again. Anyway, Reza kind of abandoned her sultry R&B sound here (unfortunately), but "Berharap Tak Berpisah" is such an ultimate jam that I don't really complain for too much. If only she had created more of that disco-esque songs rather than J.Lo copies like "Putus".

Apparently, Wikipedia informs me again that she was going to develop a follow-up project called Ketulusan during the year of 2005 but eventually got shelved because of personal life problems. It was quite unfortunate to read about that, considering that the singer already set a unique trademark in titling her albums and Ketulusan sounds like a hit. Anyway, she also released a compilation (greatest hits) album in 2009 titled The Voicer. You know the deal, it's a compilation album. With extra "Z".

Conclusion: Artamevia is a really good singer and a very talented songwriter. Her songs are lovely and admirable, sexy yet modest, and appealing without any limitations. It's quite sad to read whatever happened to her intimate life, especially knowing her brilliant career as a recording artist.

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I hope she can release another batch of songs. That will be good for my health. Anyway, hope for the best!

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