AFTER more than a decade of his last show in Malaysia, Indonesian singer Charly van Houten is set to thrill fans in Kuala Lumpur next month.
Dubbed ST12 Reunion / 20 Tahun Charly Berkarya Concert, the 43-year-old artiste who was the former vocalist of the band ST12 will be performing with his former bandmates and its new members.
The latter includes singer Firman Siagan, who was a contestant of
Gegar Vaganza Season 4, as well as his current group Setia Band.
The concert, to be staged at Bukit Jalil's Axiata Arena on March 11, will also feature special appearances
by prominent Malaysian vocalists such as rock legend Datuk M. Nasir, Ezad Lazim of Exists and Jaclyn Victor.
Charly's son Restu, who has followed in his father's musical footsteps, will also be performing at the concert.
The performance will offer reflections on the 20-year musical journey of ST12.
Together with Pepep, Pepeng, and Iman, Charly founded ST12 in 2004.
Throughout their seven years in the band, ST12 released two studio albums which spawned a string of hits that included Jalan Terbaik, P.U.S.P.A and Pangeran Cinta.
The band's sophomore release, also titled P.U.S.P.A which came out in 2008, was dedicated to former member Iman who died in October 2005.
After Charly left in September 2011, Pepeng then followed suit and the two later formed Setia Band.
Overcoming aerophobia
Although Charly admits he misses performing for his fans here, one wonders why it took him such a long time to return to Malaysia for a concert.
Charly says over the years, he had developed a condition known as aerophobia, which is an extreme fear of flying.
"I began to develop this fear of flying about five years ago, probably due to having travelled by air so often and hearing many bad incidents involving air travel in recent years," says the singer in an interview.
Because of that, Charly had refused to perform anywhere
outside the island of Java for a while.
He would travel by road, before taking the ferry to cross to Bali, whenever he had shows in the Island of the Gods.
When Charly finally flew to Kuala Lumpur a couple of months ago for the press conference to announce the upcoming concert, he was so anxious that he even forgot to bring his passport to the airport in Jakarta.
"Thankfully I managed to get someone to bring it to me!" he says.
Charly is confident that the fans of both ST12 and Setia Band in Malaysia will be able to fill up the concert venue.
"Based on comments we received on our social media accounts such as Facebook and Instagram, many are looking forward to this concert."
Tickets, priced from RM99 to RM282, are currently available for purchase via www.ticket2u.com.my.
