Sometimes the best musical discoveries happen by pure chance. One album cover in a Bangkok street market introduced me to one of Indonesia’s most unforgettable voices.
Transcript:
Years ago, while wandering through the bustling street markets of Bangkok, one album cover stopped me in my tracks.
It was called Snow on the Sahara.
I had no idea it would introduce me to one of Indonesia’s greatest voices.
Years ago I was travelling through Bangkok, exploring the bustling street markets filled with little shops and music vendors.
One album cover caught my eye. It was called Snow on the Sahara.
I had never heard of Anggun. I didn’t know what the music sounded like.
But something about that cover made me pick it up and hand my baht to the vendor.
Later that evening, after a long day of sightseeing, I settled into my hotel room, dimmed the lights, put on my headphones and pressed play.
What I heard completely surprised me. Beautiful arrangements. A rich, atmospheric sound. And one of the most powerful and emotional voices I’d ever heard.
I had to find out more. That’s when I discovered Anggun had already become a rock star in Indonesia while she was still a teenager.
In the mid-1990s she left Indonesia to pursue an international career, eventually settling in France where *Snow on the Sahara* introduced her music to audiences around the world.
What I admire most is that even as her career became international, she never lost the identity that made her music so unique.
Every now and then, one album cover changes your day.
Sometimes it changes your playlist for years.
I’m Tess with JRok Music.
Have you ever discovered an artist completely by accident?
I’ll see you in the next story.
Anggun Snow on the Sahara 1997 Official Video