Noah
In 1997 keyboardist Andika formed a school band in Bandung, Indonesia. It was called Topi, with guitarist Uki (Mohammad Kautsar Hikmat), vocalist Ariel (Nazril Irham), bass player Abel, and drummer Ari. They mainly played British alternative rock until Ari withdrew from the group, and Topi broke up.
Andika regrouped former members of Topi in 2000. The drummer was replaced by Reza, a college student from Palu. Loekman (Loekman Hakim), a friend of Indra's elder brother, joined as their lead guitarist. Andika suggested Peterpan as the name for the band referring to Peter Pan, the character created by author J. M. Barrie. (Other names they considered were Spiderman and X-Men.) The band was formally founded on September 1, 2000. Peterpan played on Bandung streets and gigged in cafés, with the goal of becoming a house band in one of the city's cafés. They often covered alternative rock and rock songs (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Coldplay, U2, Creed, etc.) at O'Hara and Sapu Lidi cafés.
At Sapu Lidi the band was spotted by Noey, a producer who planned to release a compilation album. Peterpan recorded three demo songs: "Sahabat", "Mimpi yang Sempurna", and "Taman Langit". "Mimpi yang Sempurna" was chosen for the album, titled Kisah 2002 Malam. The album was commercially successful, selling a respectable 150,000 copies, and "Mimpi yang Sempurna" was given heavy rotation on Indonesian radio.
Musica, Indonesia's top major label, offered Peterpan a contract, and in June 2003 their debut album Taman Langit was released. Their 2nd album Bintang Di Surga was released in August 2004, selling 350,000 copies in two weeks. By the end of 2005, it had sold a remarkable 2.7 million copies.
Their 3rd album was released in September 2005, the soundtrack for the Rexinema movie Alexandria. The album was titled Menunggu Pagi and the formal release was covered simultaneously by Indonesia's six top national TV stations. The soundtrack album included five new songs for the film and renditions of five of their songs from Bintang Di Surga. Peterpan collaborated with veteran Indonesian pop singer Chrisye on "Menunggumu", which was then used as the theme song for the Indonesian soap opera Liontin.
In November 2006, Andika and Indra split with the rest of the band, with both sides citing musical differences. According to Ariel, there were problems since the making of their 1st album. Indra had also just lost his child. Andika and Indra joined a new band named The Titans, and signed with international label EMI Music Indonesia, releasing a self-titled album and a single "Rasa Ini".
In 2007 the remaining members of Peterpan released the album Hari Yang Cerah, which failed to sell as well as their debut. In 2008 David Albert joined Peterpan as keyboard player.
The agreement under which Andika and Indra left the band allowed the remaining members to continue using the name Peterpan through the end of 2008.
In early 2008 the band announced that they would be changing their name, stating that their 2008 studio album Sebuah Nama Sebuah Cerita would be their last under the name Peterpan. The album mostly consists of popular hits from the band's history, with four new songs: "Walau Habis Terang", "Kisah Cintaku", and "Dilema Besar", and "Tak Ada Yang Abadi".
| The quartet continues | to perform. |
In 2010 Ariel was arrested for violating Indonesian anti-pornography laws when videos which appear to be of himself having sex were circulated on the internet, after his laptop was reportedly stolen.
In January 2011, Bandung's District Court sentenced Ariel to three and a half years imprisonment after testimonies by digital forensic experts confirmed that Ariel was the male counterpart in the sex tape scandal involving Luna Maya and Cut Tari, and that he was responsible for the creation of the videos. In April, an appeal to the High Court was rejected, with judges deciding unanimously to uphold the sentence given by the District Court.
Ariel, Uki, Reza, Lukman and David released a new album called Suara Lainnya. It launched in a private concert dubbed “Konser Tanpa Nama,†or the “Without a Name Concert,†as they haven’t settled on a new name yet. Suara Lainnya is the band’s 1st instrumental album, and it contains 11 tracks. All but one of them were taken from the group’s previous albums and recomposed in a different style with some ethnic and classic touches. The group collaborated with other musicians, including a traditional Sundanese music group, Karinding Attack, who added some ethnic flare. Indonesian violin maestro Idris Sardi added a classical touch in “Taman Langit,†as did violinist Hendry Lamiri in several other tracks. The instrumental concert is said to be the 1st of its kind in Indonesia.
On 15 - 16 September 2012, Noah had a concert in, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and finally ended in Jakarta. Here, they have broken their 2nd MURI Record: Concert in 2 Continents, 5 Countries in 24 hours, after their 1st MURI Record: COncert 6 cities in 24 Hours in 2004. At the same day, they also released their new album called Seperti Seharusnya. The album had sold more than 200,000 copies in just 3 days. As by December 2012, the following album copies have reached around more than 1,300,000 copies. By 19 February 2013, Noah received a Multi-Platinum Awards from Musica Studio's & Swara Sagkar Emas.
