A Most Profound Pop
August Man SG|Issue 209 (January 2025)
AS INDONESIAN SINGER-SONGWRITER AFGAN TRAVERSES DEEPER INWARDS ON HIS 2024 EP SONDER, HE EMERGES WITH HIS MOST POWERFULLY RESONATING WORK YET.
INDRAN PARAMASIVAM
A Most Profound Pop

SONDER, A BRISTLY CONFESSIONAL five-song collection, emerged from the ether mid-last year. Yet, its maker, Afgan, has not entered the tortured poets’ department. Like always, he remains firmly rooted in reality, where his songs are born.

In a tiny home studio over a particularly rainy swathe of days in London in 2024, he plumbed the darkest extremes of his psyche, eventually surfacing with confessions simmering with an unquenchably universal sway. Each track pulses with a heat-seeking emotional intensity buoyed by a musicality forged in fires fanned by both passion and pain.

In the age of Instagram-assembled influencer-artistes, Afgan continues to stand tall as an originator who has earned his influence.

What kind of mood does a new year typically bring to an expressive singer-songwriter like yourself?

This story is from the Issue 209 (January 2025) edition of August Man SG.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the Issue 209 (January 2025) edition of August Man SG.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM AUGUST MAN SGView All
THE BACHA COFFEE RENAISSANCE
August Man SG

THE BACHA COFFEE RENAISSANCE

AUGUSTMAN speaks to Bacha Coffee's chief commercial officer, Maranda Barnes, who shares some insights into the brand's impressive expansion plans.

time-read
4 mins  |
Issue 209 (January 2025)
Sports Democracy
August Man SG

Sports Democracy

STARHUB HAS DONE MUCH TO BRIDGE EVERYDAY SINGAPOREANS WITH THE BEST IN SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT WITH ITS SPORTS+ PASS. CHIEF OF CONSUMER BUSINESS JOHAN BUSE TELLS US MORE ABOUT THEIR EFFORTS IN BRINGING FOOTBALL TO ALL.

time-read
6 mins  |
Issue 209 (January 2025)
Titanium Second Skin
August Man SG

Titanium Second Skin

Combining ergonomics, horology, and materials, the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Monobalancier Titanium becomes an extension of the wearer.

time-read
2 mins  |
Issue 209 (January 2025)
AFTER THE PARTY
August Man SG

AFTER THE PARTY

This new year, I reject the new and embrace the old.

time-read
2 mins  |
Issue 209 (January 2025)
OH, WHAT A NIGHT!
August Man SG

OH, WHAT A NIGHT!

The party to fete AUGUSTMAN Malaysia's Men of the Year 2024 was one to remember.

time-read
2 mins  |
Issue 209 (January 2025)
Metal To Pedestal
August Man SG

Metal To Pedestal

Kia's much-vaunted EV9 is a sleek, powerful electric vehicle stealing attention from Chinese upstarts and European giants. Will it keep our gaze or will the hype sputter?

time-read
3 mins  |
Issue 209 (January 2025)
IT IS NOT A WRAP
August Man SG

IT IS NOT A WRAP

THIS YEAR, I REJECT THE FLAWED FINDINGS OF MY 2024 SPOTIFY WRAPPED ROUNDUP AND VOW TO BE, DO, AND LISTEN BETTER. THE WORK STARTS NOW.

time-read
3 mins  |
Issue 209 (January 2025)
When Nature Called
August Man SG

When Nature Called

...I ANSWERED IT AT EVERY BREAK OF DAWN.

time-read
6 mins  |
Issue 209 (January 2025)
THE ONE WHO MOVES THE NEEDLE
August Man SG

THE ONE WHO MOVES THE NEEDLE

Opera Gallery may be the world's most famous purveyor of fine art. AUGUSTMAN traces its Singapore roots with Gilles Dyan, its founder and chairman.

time-read
4 mins  |
Issue 209 (January 2025)
RAY OF LIGHT
August Man SG

RAY OF LIGHT

Mark Foster, founder and frontman for the multi-platinum-selling, somewhat-eponymous band Foster The People on creating the most vital music of his existence.

time-read
3 mins  |
Issue 209 (January 2025)