Dwiki Dharmawan

Dwiki Dharmawan (born 19 August 1966) is an Indonesian singer-songwriter, orchestrator and conductor. He began taking classical piano lessons at the age of six, then began writing songs and founding Krakatau with his bandmates Pra Budi Dharma and Donny Suhendra in high school. The band released their breakout single "Gemilang" in 1987, to critical success, selling over 800,000 copies.

After the break-up of Krakatau in 1990, Dharmawan attempted to begin his solo career, released his first self-titled Indonesian album, Dwiki Dharmawan in 1991. One of his work, "Dengan Menyebut Nama Allah" which he co-wrote with Ags. Arya Dipayana in 1990, also received critical and commercial responses and has been used in numerous films and television programs, including Regret and Kabulkan Doaku.

Dharmawan's Indonesian-language discography includes five studio albums and one compilation album. He also ventured into the international music scene with the first four studio albums So Far So Close (2015), Pasar Klewer (2016), Rumah Batu (The Stone House, 2018) and Hari Ketiga (Day Three, 2020). Dharmawan have received numerous accolades, most notably the Citra Award for Best Original Score and the AMI Award for Best Jazz Album.

1966–1990: Early life, Krakatau and solo endeavours
Dharmawan was born on 19 August 1966 in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. He is the son of Yuniarti Sugatin and Safiyudin Sastrawijaya. He began taking classical piano lessons at the age of six. As a child, Dharmawan often likes to singing and listening to children's songs. When he enters middle school at the age of thirteen, he started taking jazz music lessons. He later founded Krakatau in 1984, with his bandmates Pra Budi Dharma and Donny Suhendra. In 1986, the band has changed its formation in addition of Trie Utami, Indra Lesmana and Gilang Ramadhan. They released their breakout eponymous album including the title track "Gemilang" ("Dazzling") composed by Dharmawan and written by filmmaker Mira Lesmana, which became a critical and commercial success, selling over 800.000 copies. Later, "Gemilang" has been covered by many artists, such as the Dream Band finalists in 2005, Andien in 2010, and RAN for the film Run to the Beach in 2018. Until 1992, they released all of their albums, like the eponymous debut and second studio albums, released in 1987 and 1988 respectively, Kembali Satu (1990) and Let There be Life (1992). In 1990, he rearranged and interpolated the sound poetry "Aku Ingin" ("I Want") by artist Ags. Arya Dipayana and Sapardi Djoko Damono into a soundtrack for Garin Nugroho's film Cinta dalam Sepotong Roti (Love Is in a Slice of Bread). Following the film's release, he won the Citra Award for Best Original Score for this film.

1990–2009: "Dengan Menyebut Nama Allah" to World Peace Orchestra
In the same year, Dharmawan and Arya Dipayana wrote their first Islamic song "Dengan Menyebut Nama Allah" ("Saying the Name of Allah"). The song, which recorded by singer Novia Kolopaking in 1992, became a critical success and has been covered by many artists, including the fellow singer Ita Purnamasari and the band Gigi. It was also used in numerous films and television programs, such as Regret (Sesal; 1995) and Kabulkan Doaku (2000). Shortly after, he began his singing debut with the release of his eponymous debut studio album, Dwiki Dharmawan, in which he sung the title track "Di Antara Harapan" ("Between the Wishes") featuring Irma Basuki, and "Sia-Sia Ku Menunggu" ("I'm So Futile to Wait for You"). In 1995, he wrote "Tak Kan Hatiku Mendua" and won its first place at the 1995 Pop Song Festival. Shortly after, he founded his own chamber orchestra, the Dwiki Dharmawan Orchestra, with the orchestra's first performance was an Eid Mubarak concert in 1995. Dharmawan also composed the score for many films and television series, with the first series Dharmawan scored to make use of string orchestra was Christ Helweldery's Harkat Wanita (A Woman's Trait) in 1996. A year after, Dharmawan provided the score and soundtrack for Bidadari Yang Terluka, another series directed by Helweldery. That same year, he also re-established the Farabi Music Education Centre with his wife, Ita Purnamasari, formerly owned by Indra Lesmana.

In 2002, he released his first instrumental album under Sony Music, Nuansa, which consists of his previously unreleased works in the last five years, from 1996 until 2001. On 4 August 2006, it was reported that Dharmawan and his 99-piece orchestra would held an inaugural concert, Menembus Batas (Beyond the Limits), featuring popular singers and Islamic acts, like Melly Goeslaw, Opick, Sam Bimbo, Rachel Amanda, his wife Purnamasari, and Seurieus, accompanied by the 66-member choir, which is a combination of the choirs of Unpad, Farabi and ESQ. A year after, he founded his other international supergroup, the World Peace Orchestra. They performed at the Temecula Wine and Music Festival in California, the United States, making the first time that the orchestra performed at the event.

2013–present: Krakatau Reunion and international career
In 2013, it was announced that Dharmawan return to perform with his band Krakatau for the first time since 1988, under the Krakatau Reunion banner. On 25 February 2014, Dharmawan released his first tribute album and his second album under the Sony Music label, Collaborating Harmony, which is consisting of nine cover versions of his written songs and was worked in 2013 to commemorate his thirtieth anniversary of debut. In February 2015, Dharmawan began his international career and signed a contract with MoonJune Records to release his first international studio album and sixth overall, So Far So Close. Initially titled Passion, Love, Life, this album recorded in the United States in January, and recruited several musicians including violinist Jerry Goodman, bass guitarist Jimmy Haslip, Chad Wackerman and Dewa Budjana. He later released his second international album, Pasar Klewer in 2017, to receive positive reviews from DownBeat and Jazzwise. His third international album with MoonJune, Rumah Batu, released in 2018.

Personal life
Dharmawan married singer-songwriter and actress Dyah "Ita" Purnamasari on 23 October 1995. They have a child, Muhammad Fernanda, born on 4 December 1997.

Other awards

 * The Best Keyboard Player on Yamaha Light Music Contest (1985)
 * 1995 Indonesian Pop Song Festival, for his song "Tak Kan Hatiku Mendua"
 * Grand Prize at the Asia Song Festival (2000), for his song "Biarlah Ku Simpan dalam Hati"
 * Nugraha Bhakti Musik Indonesia award from Persatuan Artis Penyanyi, Pencipta Lagu, dan Penata Musik Rekaman Indonesia (PAPPRI) (2011)
 * WIPO Gold Medal for Creativity (2018)