MANJA On “Last Night’s Kiss,” Bali, Future Band Plans & More — “Paltrocast” Exclusive | Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz | NewsBreak Original

**Bali, Indonesia-based alternative pop-rock trio MANJA** — as comprised of James (vocals, guitar) and brothers Nick (guitar) and Mark (keyboards) — recently just released the video for their new single “Last Night’s Kiss.”The playful, imaginative clip alternates between live and studio performances, alongside magical hallucinations and the twists and turns of a “boy meets girl” storyline; the Rein Maychaelson and Abby Latip-directed video reinforces the song’s central theme on the power of fantasy and imagination.

“Last Night’s Kiss” is reportedly the first song **MANJA** had ever written as a band and it was more than five years in the making. Initially inspired by the song “Darling” from American indie-rock band Real Estate, “Last Night’s Kiss” underwent various iterations before MANJA settled on the current version. As the trio developed the song, they struggled with writer’s block. At one point, the original sketch to “Last Night’s Kiss” was scrapped and reworked into a rock track, a la The Black Keys. Fortunately, the turning point came when they started working with producer duo Brian Kresna Putro and Enrico Octaviano, renowned drummers for Indonesian bands Tiket and Lomba Sihir, respectively. MANJA returned to the original demo and finally got their mojo back.

Originally published at https://original.newsbreak.com.