Rangga Jones Tells His Story of Heartbreak and Healing in Sophomore Album
Telling tales of loss and love, Rangga Jones is back with his sophomore album, Everything I’ve Wanted To Say. Released on May 9, the album reflects on a hard time in Jones’s life as he dealt with a long-term relationship ending. But as it goes, love always comes back around. Everything I’ve Wanted To Say is a romantic album of plot, character development, and concludes with a resolution satisfying enough to heal any hopeless romantic’s heart.
Two nights before the album released, EnVi chatted with Jones over Zoom to dive into everything from his sound discovery to visual process. With his headphones on and mic at the ready, Rangga Jones welcomed EnVi to the screen with a warm smile. Relaxed and at the ready, he jumped right into answering all of our questions.
The End to the Beginning
Everything I’ve Wanted To Say is a story. It’s one of a man who watched his seven year relationship end, leaving him sad, angry, and at a loss of love. Jones went into this album looking for the closure he didn’t receive after the relationship came to a close. Searching for an outlet for his bottled up anger, he began writing.
“I had a lot of emotions, a lot of feelings that I wanted to get through. The first song of the album is called “Pushing Me Away,” which was my first single of last year.” Reflecting on the frozen memory in time, Jones continued. “I told my manager, ‘Dude, I think I want to make a project out of this and “Pushing Me Away’ is a good start.’”
With that, Everything I’ve Wanted To Say was no longer a fuzzy concept, but an album with purpose, and Jones was set on living his life, healing his heart, and singing his story as he went. But initially, that’s not how listeners heard it. “Pushing Me Away” may have been the first release off the album, but soon came “Divine” then “Infatuated” and “i confess.” As releases came, listeners jumped around in the love life of Jones, hearing snippets with every song, but now the full story is here.
“I would recommend listening from top to bottom because it’s a whole story of what I went through from a really rough breakup to healing, accepting, and then finding new love. So, it’s all tied together,” Jones said with an excited laugh. “[Before the album releases], maybe you’re thinking, ‘how are these six singles gonna…’ you guys will see, trust me! The new songs really fill the gaps.”
Production Evolution
While the emotions of the songs came naturally, the production, lyrics, and visuals involved some thought, as well as outside assistance. Jones has performance, writing, and production credits on all 10 tracks on the album. Showcasing his evolution from his previous work, he strove to be more direct and intentional with every chord and word.
“In the beginning [of my career], I didn’t really solidify my sound yet. Then, I fell in love with pop,” Jones explained, expanding on his musical evolution. “Basically it’s just simple, catchy hooks and straightforward lyrics. I feel like that’s what the Rangga Jones sound is.” And this album truly is pure Rangga Jones.
Everything I’ve Wanted To Say has no features and is almost fully Jones’s solo work, resulting in the tracks consisting of nothing but his voice and intention, keeping it true to himself. Jones opened up about his production process, how he starts off with his acoustic guitar, or occasionally uses Splice when he needs inspiration. But what gets his flow going is typically the hook.
“Usually I start with a guitar or loop and 90% of the time it’s a hook idea first, like a chorus. I need something catchy to work on. Then I’ll extend it to the verse and the pre-chorus,” said Jones. “Verses take me quite a while to write which I hate. Especially verse two. I don’t know why it’s always the second verse.”
This comes at no surprise as Jones’s choruses have captured the attention of many. From the smooth and sweet chorus of “Infatuated” to the head-bobbing chorus of “i confess,” his knack for creating something perfectly repetitive yet new have led to some of his biggest releases yet.
Creating and Collaborating
Though Jones is a musical feat within himself, he brought in some friends along the way to bounce around ideas and get the creativity flowing. Jones’s close friend and musical partner, Weiwan Seah, assisted in the production of the lead single, “Love Again,” and “If You Don’t.”
“Without him, I don’t think “Love Again” would be where it is now,” Jones added. Other talents on the album’s credits include James Angus and Toby Hobart on “By My Side” and Jason Gelchen on “Divine,” shoutouts that Jones made sure to give.
As these songs slowly released throughout 2024 and 2025, so did matching visualizers, lyric videos, and music videos. With almost every song having a correlating video, Jones was working nonstop on these projects, as the creative direction comes from him as well as his conceptualization partner, his girlfriend.
“I think I just pick what resonates with the song mostly. I just want a good vibe every time I film a music video or visualizer, especially visualizers,” Jones explained. “Whatever vibe fits the song, that’s probably my goal.”
Jones’s video content is often warm and personal: taking the camera on date nights, around the city, or used as a third person point of view in music videos like “i confess.” He described his innovation process as “go with the flow,” giving every project a relaxed and comfortable feel that translates to the listener and viewer.
All You Need Is…
With his story told and album released, Jones’ chapter of heartache has come to an end, and his journey with love continues. After all is said and done, love is miraculously what Jones has walked away with. Though Jones hopes listeners love the album and understand the storyline throughout, love is what he hopes listeners ultimately take away as well.
“The whole message of this album is honestly, love will always come back to you,” Jones added candidly. “Even if you hate it or you don’t wanna be dating, you don’t wanna see someone, it will always come back to you, but when it is the right time and at the right place.”
Along with that sentiment, Jones wishes for long-time listeners to hear his progression. With his manager, team, and self-determination, he has been able to create this album, what he calls his “proudest work so far.” This album showcases Rangga Jones as the musician and person he used to be, evolving into the one he is today. Rounding out our conversation, Jones comments, “I hope people really do enjoy it and get to see how far I’ve come and how far I’ve grown on Everything I’ve Wanted To Say.”
For those who haven’t listened to the album yet, be mindful of two of Jones’s personal favorite moments: the ballad of “If You Don’t” and the verses of “Strangers.” The ballad contains a meaning that encapsulates what Jones went through and how he moved on, while the latter “has some tea.”
As for future projects, Jones is keeping an open mind to everything. “I wanna get this project out of the way first and let everyone listen to it. But I think I have a rough idea on what I want to do [next],” Jones commented. “Maybe more to the true R&B side or do a full indie project. I don’t know.”
With a mischievous grin, Jones added, “We’ll see what I feel. I like to go with the flow. Who knows? Maybe a deluxe version. I don’t know, we’ll see!” Fans can take that as a sign to have their eyes and ears open at the possibility of more Rangga Jones tunes soon.
Everything I’ve Wanted To Say is available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music. Make sure to stay up to date on all things Rangga Jones on his Instagram and TikTok.
Want more EnVi exclusives? Check out our interview with Alisa Xayalith about her debut album here!
