PREMIERE: ‘3AM in Jakarta’ – Emir Hermono’s New Single with Ariel Nayaka

By JUICE Malaysia  •  13 Jun 2016 in News

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That post-girl issue melancholy so emblematic of the Six – Drake’s Toronto as a type of soundscape – has seen a rise in pop ubiquity, effectively making it not quite as geographical as Dreezy would like it to be. We’ve heard it on Tanzanian Brian Simba’s Masaki Theory, and now fresh off the release of Karma Kisses last February, Malaysia-based Indonesian producer Emir Hermono has made a potent argument for that in ‘3AM in Jakarta (feat. Ariel Nayaka)’. Here, Emir goes beyond production duties by singing the chorus, surprising us with his doleful r’n’b delivery – “I just wanna drink to get you out of me,” is sung with personal weight to it. Ariel Nayaka, whose English diction is one of the best we’ve heard from the Indonesian scene, then contextualises the pathos of the chorus with a verse detailing an emotionally invested fling. With its downcast beat and vocal delivery, being awake at 3am in Jakarta is one hell of an emotional purgatory.

Stream the exclusive premiere below:

Lyrics below:

[Emir] [Chorus]

3AM Jakarta baby
I don’t wanna think
I don’t wanna feel
Late night thoughts of you
Late night thoughts of me
I just wanna drink
to get you out of me

[A. Nayaka]

Bet you know what it feels like to be hurt
Brought down to the dirt
Neva treated like you the first
For better or for worse

You been mixing your emotions with these different kinds of potions
I be going back and forth with you cause baby that’s the motion

It’s the notion I be getting when I’m vibing next to you
Like that kosher meal I ordered when I’m eating out witchu
Just like that type of connection I get when I’m with my crew
It’s like 3AM out here and all I wanna do is you

I know that you been trynna play it safe
But my hands still wrapped right around your waist
Calling every night; how was your day
I’d sleep better if you went and said my name

Last time I went and saw you, posted videos on my Snapchat
Ex got super jealous, typed in jealous with a hashtag
Oh my, what a beautiful lie
In with our business, you think you’d survive
Hoping the most but I’m just not that guy
Makin’ the most outta this shit tonight

Watch out for a mixtape of the same name by the end of this year. Find more from Emir Hermono here. Listen to Ariel Nayaka’s recent mixtape Curriculum Vitae here.