Oleh Ellyna Ali
elly@hmetro.com.my
petikan Harian Metro 13 April 2005
PEMBABITANNYA sebagai penulis lirik dan pemain teater bermula ketika dia melanjutkan pengajian Diploma Western Painting dari The Nanyang Academy Of Fine Arts di Singapura pada 1978.
Kemudian, bakatnya dalam bidang nyanyian pula dikesan produser Polygram Singapura, Wan Ibrahim.
Segala-galanya bermula apabila dia membuat persembahan bersama sebuah band tempatan di Kota Singapura.
Bertitik-tolak dari situ, M Nasir kemudian diperkenalkan dalam dunia rakaman seni suara.
Lahirlah sebuah album, Pencinta Seni. Sayangnya, album itu tidak mendapat sambutan yang baik daripada peminat muzik.
Nasir kemudian menubuhkan Kembara dan sempat merakamkan tujuh album bersama..
Malah, dia muncul sebagai pelakon utama dalam filem Kembara Seniman Jalanan ketika itu. Filem itu juga menyaksikan pembubaran Kembara.
Pada 1985, Nasir mengambil keputusan kembali semula sebagai penyanyi solo. Bersama PMC yang kini dikenali sebagai BMG Music, Nasir menghasilkan album berjudul, Solo, Saudagar Mimpi serta Canggung Mendonan. Bersama Warner Music pula, Nasir muncul dengan album berjudul Raikan Cinta.
Apakah Nasir akan muncul dengan album terbarunya tidak lama lagi? Bagaimana pula dengan reunion Kembara?
Adakah M Nasir akan kembali di layar perak selepas membintangi filem cinta agung, Puteri Gunung Ledang?
Bagaimana pula dengan kembara M Nasir menerusi program M Nasir: Destinasi.. Dunia yang dipaparkan di Astro Ria? Ikuti wawancara bersama sifu muzik ini.
Soalan (S): Boleh ceritakan sedikit perkembangan program dokumuzikal M Nasir: Destinasi...Dunia yang anda kendalikan sendiri sebagai pengacara.
Kalau mengikut jadual asalnya, pembikinan program ini sepatutnya sudah berakhir. Tapi, apa yang menyebabkan ia mengambil masa yang lama untuk disiapkan?
Jawapan (J): Tidak mudah sebenarnya menghasilkan program sebegini. Paling sukar mendapatkan ‘contact’ orang luar dari setiap negara yang dituju.
Mereka ini pula haruslah mempunyai kepakaran yang boleh membantu kita melaksanakan pembikinan program ini ketika berada di sana (di luar).
Tapi, setakat ini, kita tidak hadapi masalah terlalu mencabar dan kita akan meneruskan lagi kembara kita ke destinasi yang seterusnya selepas ini.
S: Khabarnya, anda baru sahaja pulang dari salah satu destinasinya iaitu Maghribi. Bagaimana pengalaman anda ketika berada di sana?
J: Sebagaimana yang ditonjolkan dalam dokumentari lain, orang mungkin sudah tahu kelainan dan keistimewaan yang terdapat di Maghribi.
Tapi, kehadiran saya ke sana adalah untuk melihat sendiri dengan mata kepala saya mengenai kehebatan negara ini.
Apabila berada di sana, ia menambahkan lagi keyakinan saya Maghribi punya sebahagian asal usul muzik moden. Tidak kira apa genre sekalipun, sama ada blues, rock n roll dan sebagainya.
Ini berdasarkan latar belakang sejarah serta geografi negara itu yang pernah dijajah Sepanyol sebelum ini tetapi menjadi sebahagian empayar benua Afrika.
Secara tidak langsung juga orang kulit hitam juga banyak tertumpu di situ serta mereka yang datang dari Timur dan Eropah.
Pertembungan budaya ini mewujudkan segala jenis muzik di sana tetapi yang lebih kelihatan dominan ialah muzik Arab (pengaruh Sepanyol yang pernah dijajah empayar Islam) dan Afrika dalam bentuk yang sudah pun diberikan suntikan fusion.
Menerusi sistem hamba abdi yang dulunya berlaku dengan meluasnya di Eropah dan Amerika Syarikat, segala jenis muzik ini kemudian berkembang apabila ia dibawa keluar.
Memang banyak sebenarnya ciri-ciri kebanyakan muzik dunia yang boleh dilihat di Maghribi dan pastinya sudah ada kajian mengenainya dilakukan.
S: Selepas Maghribi, ke mana pula destinasi seterusnya?
J: Setakat ini kita masih belum punya perancangan lagi. Tetapi, yang pastinya, kita cuba untuk pergi ke negara yang agak berbeza daripada apa yang sudah kita tuju dulu.
Mungkin ke negara yang tidak mempunyai kaitan dengan Turki, Sepanyol dan Maghribi atau Mediterranean. Kita tunggu sajalah nanti kerana kita masih belum mendapat jadualnya lagi.
S: Sedikit hari dulu timbul cerita di dalam ruangan gosip Soseh-Soseh terbitan akhbar ini, syarikat produksi milik anda, Luncai Emas akan dijual kepada syarikat rakaman Warner Music Malaysia. Bagaimana reaksi anda selepas membaca berita itu?
J: Sudah tentu saya terperanjat. Saya juga suruh salah seorang kakitangan di syarikat ini untuk jelaskan perkara sebenar bahawa Luncai Emas tidak akan dijual kepada syarikat rakaman itu.
Sebab saya tidak mahu orang menimbulkan macam-macam spekulasi mengenai perkara ini. Tapi, dalam perniagaan, jual beli adalah perkara biasa. Apa yang memeranjatkan?
S: Tapi, bagaimana boleh timbulnya desas-desus sedemikian?
J: Mungkin juga ia berpunca daripada perbincangan kami bersama Universal Music.
Hasil perbincangan itu, wujud perjanjian antara Luncai Emas dengan syarikat rakaman itu tetapi membabitkan artis di bawah naungan syarikat produksi kami.
Mungkin dari situlah, tercetusnya desas-desus itu. Tapi, kalau hendak diikutkan, tiada siapa yang tahu mengenai perkara itu.
S: Kenapakah album artis naungan Luncai Emas diedarkan syarikat rakaman lain. Kenapa, tidak Luncai Emas saja menguruskan pengedarannya?
J: Penubuhan asal syarikat ini sebenarnya lebih tertumpu kepada penerbitan, bertanggungjawab mengurus dan menjaga hak cipta karya pencipta lagu dan penulis lirik tempatan. Ia kemudian dipecahkan pula menjadi produksi.
Tapi, untuk bab pengedaran, kita rasa orang lain lebih bagus menguruskan hal berkaitan dengan bidang ini. Jadi, biar mereka sajalah melakukannya. Perlu ada penumpuan khusus kepada sesuatu bidang yang dilakukan.
S: Apa perancangan yang sedang dilakukan Luncai Emas ketika ini?
J: Selain buat perkara biasa, kita sedang berusaha untuk mencari bakat baru yang boleh dijadikan artis naungan syarikat produksi ini.
Kita sudah bentuk Spider dan sekarang ini ada beberapa kumpulan yang datang dan menjalani uji bakat di Luncai Emas.
Kita lihat ada di antara mereka ini berbakat tetapi kita masih belum menandatangani apa-apa kontrak dengan mereka lagi.
Selalunya, kita bagi peluang kepada mereka untuk buat demo. Kita biayai sendiri kos produksinya.
Daripada demo dihasilkan itu, kita nilai semula bakat mereka. Nampaknya ada yang berpotensi dan kebanyakan mereka ini tampil dengan pelbagai idea muzik kreatif.
Tapi, tidak tahulah sama ada ia akan diterima masyarakat Malaysia atau tidak kerana hakikatnya kita sentiasa tidak berasa yakin dengan apa yang dihasilkan industri muzik kita.
Satu persoalan besar juga ialah pasaran muzik kita. Pasaran kita terlalu kecil kerana itu putarannya sama, ia lebih tertumpu kepada pendengar Melayu saja.
S: Tidak ada jalan untuk mengatasinya?
J: Kita benar-benar buntu. Kita ada lebih 25 juta penduduk di Malaysia. Tetapi daripada jumlah itu hanya sebahagian kecil saja masyarakat yang menyokong pasaran muzik kita.
Anggarannya mungkin 500,000 orang. Jumlah ini mungkin akan dipecahkan lagi kepada lain-lain. Tapi, artis kita masih tidak mampu jual album melebihi 100,000 unit.
Mungkin juga kita perlu tinjau pasaran muzik Malaysia kerana hakikatnya hanya orang Melayu saja mendengar muzik Melayu.
Orang Cina, India mungkin kenal artis Melayu tetapi mereka tidak akan beli album Melayu. Industri filem juga mengalami nasib sama.
Kadang-kala kita tidak tahu macam mana nak cakap atau salahkan sesiapa dalam hal ini. Mungkin juga ia berpunca daripada budaya toleransi yang diamalkan masyarakat Malaysia. Begitu juga dengan sejarah pembentukan Malaysia itu sendiri.
Kita tidak seperti Indonesia yang berpegang kepada Pancasila. Tidak kira apa bangsa, mereka ini berpegang kepada satu bahasa iaitu bahasa Indonesia.
Hingga kini, kita masih belum dapat mencari apa formula boleh kita gunakan untuk menghasilkan seni yang berjiwa Malaysia.
S: Bagaimana dengan pembikinan album baru?
J: Sedang dalam perancangan. Bahan sudah ada dan sebahagiannya sudah dirakamkan.
S: Hala tuju muzik anda kali ini?
J: Buat masa ini, saya hanya cuba membuat lagu yang sedap didengar. Hala tuju akan diketahui selepas selesainya pembikinan album ini.
S: Bila pula ia akan dipasarkan?
J: Selewat-lewatnya dalam tahun ini juga. Kalau boleh kita juga merancang untuk mengadakan konsert sempena kemunculan album baru itu.
S: Bagaimana dengan filem?
J: Ada beberapa tawaran filem yang saya terima. Tapi, ia masih dalam perancangan. Namun, ada satu yang benar-benar serius sudah saya pertimbangkan.
Wataknya cukup dramatik dan tidak pernah saya lakukan sebelum ini dan saya juga belum pernah bekerja dengan pengarahnya sebelum ini.
S: Dalam majlis ABPBH 2004, anda tampil dengan persembahan reunion Kembara bersama A Ali dan S Sahlan. Adakah ini titik-tolak kepada kewujudan kembara semula.
J: Reunion itu diadakan sekadar untuk menjayakan segmen persembahan majlis ABPBH 2004 itu semata-mata.
Rasanya tiada masalah untuk Kembara menjayakan persembahan di mana-mana, tapi kalau reunion sebenar untuk buat album, rasanya mungkin tidak.
S: Khabarnya, ada tribute album reunion yang bakal diterbitkan Luncai Emas. Adakah ia bersempena dengan kemunculan Kembara dalam majlis ABPBH 2004 ini?
J: Sebenarnya, projek album ini sudah lama ingin dilaksanakan. Ideanya wujud daripada beberapa band muzik. Ada yang dikenali dan ada yang kurang dikenali. Orang lain yang terbitkan album ini tapi kosnya dibiayai Luncai Emas.
Sememangnya juga kemunculan album ini bertepatan reunion Kembara dalam segmen persembahan ABPBH 2004.
S: Benarkah anda mengucapkan selamat tinggal kepada bidang seni suara tidak lama lagi. Ada ura-ura mengatakan anda akan menjayakan konsert persaraan anda itu di Istana Budaya?
J: (ketawa) Tidak adalah. Saya menyanyi sebab saya mahu menyanyi. Saya akan terus lakukan apa yang saya suka lakukan.
Memaparkan catatan dengan label Destinasi Dunia. Papar semua catatan
Memaparkan catatan dengan label Destinasi Dunia. Papar semua catatan
Rabu, April 13, 2005
Jumaat, Februari 25, 2005
Up close and personal with M. Nasir
By MUMTAJ BEGUM
The Star 25 February 2005
In the next room, an up-and-coming female singer is being interviewed, accompanied by an entourage of three. In this room, there is only M. Nasir who drove to the meeting place and adhered to the rule of signing in and getting a visitor’s pass without much fuss. After chatting with this reporter for more than an hour, he took his leave. He gave the impression of being a humble, intelligent and an easy-going fella.
The 48-year-old artiste is blessed with a sense of humour; he takes swipes at his own public image – at times, punctuating his remarks with hearty laughter. Yet, Nasir is very serious about the entertainment industry and is bashful when the topic touches on his many talents.
One doesn’t really know what to expect of this man who has managed to keep his life private despite being in the public eye for almost three decades. We know him as a singer, composer, producer, actor, director, writer, painter and TV host (and something he would be uncomfortable acknowledging – sex symbol).
Puteri Gunung Ledang director Saw Teong Hin who has worked with Nasir admits he wouldn’t hesitate to work with him again.
“Contrary to popular belief, I didn’t find him to be difficult at all. He’s particular about the kind of project he’s involved in, but once he’s committed himself, he is very professional and well prepared,” reveals Saw.
“And I cannot imagine anyone else playing Hang Tuah.”
So is Nasir a difficult and uncommunicative individual?
Well, he was hardly untalkative during this interview held at The Star’s office in Petaling Jaya.
“Most of the time I am talking and people think I don’t talk much. I’m always talking, talking, talking,” says Nasir with a guffaw.
No wonder then, when he gets together with an old pal like Ramli Sarip, they can talk for a long time and sometimes their topics of conversation are so wide that other musicians do not understand what the two are going on about.
Ramli, 52, and Nasir have been friends for 25 years. That friendship began when Nasir was a fan of Sweet Charity, Ramli’s band in the 1980s. Nasir’s band at that time, Kembara, was once the opening act at a Sweet Charity concert.
Later, when both artistes embarked on solo careers, Nasir was once again asked to open for Ramli at his concerts.
No wonder then, at last week’s Anugerah Planet Muzik (a Singaporean music awards ceremony held to honour musicians in the region), it was Nasir who was chosen to present Ramli with the APM 2005 Special Award.
According to Ramli, Nasir is a thinker with a sensitive side. “He is a sentimental guy. We are both shy people. I am a bit anti-social actually, but Nasir has become less shy.”
While it is true Nasir has been more accessible in recent years, it is also obvious he is uneasy when the spotlight is turned on him. Asked to pose for photos, his immediate reply is that he doesn’t pose but he sportingly leans against the wall and smiles for the camera.
Anyone who follows Nasir’s career knows that he is also a respected figure in the local entertainment industry, and rightfully so.
His contribution over the years has been limitless and from the looks of things, he plans to do more for the flagging industry. Nasir realises that knowledge is the best weapon. An avid reader, he is interested in various topics – especially philosophy and poetry. Even for his TV viewing, he favours HBO movies and the documentary channels. Hence, his lyrics are never simple, with many references to classic lore and stories from the Quran.
Nasir reveals: “Until now people are still asking what the (Tanya Sama Itu) Hud Hud song is all about. The story is told by the lyrics, by the mood of the songs. Some of the lyrics are like modern poetry and sometimes we cannot explain it.”
Admittedly the fans don’t mind, singing along happily to his songs.
Writing meaningful lyrics was something he wanted to do from the very beginning so he learned poetry by listening to songs and reading other people’s work, then writing it himself. As a matter of fact it was his lyrics that paved the way for him to be in the music industry.
Singapore-born Nasir's ambition while studying at the Boys Town Vocational Institute in the island republic was to be a scientist. Then he wanted to be a painter, and earned his fine art diploma from Nanyang Academy of Fine Art.
He recalls: “I was doing my diploma and staying with a friend, and the friend’s brother got a job with Polygram to compose songs for Alleycats. I was a wedding singer before, so I suggested to him that I write the lyrics. Erm, I didn’t want to say that I wanted to write the songs because he was a composer (laughs). A few weeks later, he got the job as a producer. And I got to write more lyrics.”
He is now leaning back dangerously on his chair (as the interview moves on to the topic of his early days), focusing on his fingernails and avoiding eye contact.
2005: M. Nasir tries his hand at pottery while in Turkey for the new TV series, Destinasi Dunia, which is screened on Astro Ria. In the programme, Nasir looks for communities who keep traditional forms of music alive.
“They were not very good lyrics if you ask me,” he finally adds with a laugh. “I coached them to sing in Malay and when I coached them, I had to sing also. So they thought I could, erm, erm, sing, so ...” he abruptly ends the reminiscing and then quickly changes the subject to his producing experience.
He was 18 at that time. Thirty years down the line, he is still churning out songs, and also dismissing the art of creative skill with a wave of his hand. “It’s all a myth that you need peace and quiet to find inspiration. It is all inside you. You just press it out.”
Nasir was married to Junainah Johari, a singer from trio Ideal Sisters in the 1980s, who passed away in 1998 from asthmatic complications. He had five children with Junainah. In 2000, he married actress Marlia Musa and has a four-year-old daugther, Suci Musalmah, with her. His first son, Mohamed Ilham who is 20, is now in a band called Hati, which has been deemed a band to look out for.
Nasir talks about his family fondly and says that he is constantly surrounded – be it in the office or at home – by bustling activity.
There is a consensus among the media that Nasir has lightened up considerably in the last few years and is less elusive when it comes to interviews.
For a guy who writes a lot of songs and produces albums for other folk, Nasir is still working on new material for his next album.
“I have been recording for almost four years now, and maybe even more. My last album was in 2001,” he pauses and asks, “You know what my last album was? Yes, Phoenix Bangkit. It was a long time ago. I don’t remember. I finish one thing, I just forget about it. I just go on with other projects.”
His other projects include working on a book – his thoughts about everything under the sun – writing a script for a movie he is going to direct, and in April he will be starring in a movie about gangsterism (directed by newcomer Brando Lee).
Currently, he’s also in the midst of producing Search’s long awaited album.
Okay here’s the thing on his new album: he hopes to release the album in May, but he’s still hazy about how many songs it will contain or what direction he wants the album to take.
“Everything keeps changing all the time. And in four years, things can change, you know.”
True enough, it is hard to peg Nasir’s music. Even he is unable to do so. During his Kembara days and after resuscitating his solo career in 1988, the music was rock-based. Then the songs were Nasir’s observations about Malaysian life and the arrangements had elements of traditional music.
Nasir explains: “Then 10 years ago, I was influenced by Qawwalli music. Now I want to go back to rock. If anything, my music is kind of a fusion but you can’t use that word because that term is used for jazz. But it is a fusion of many things; and the song’s semangat (soul) is what I want to express according to my feelings and thoughts at that moment.”
Guess the category has to remain as “M. Nasir’s music”. Then again, that creates another problem. One that Nasir knows only too well.
“After a while, you get bored with one kind of sound. And then there’s the danger of being labelled and pigeon-holed.”
Nasir feels that people question the authenticity of Malay music which is really a combination of other cultures, mainly from China, India and the Arab world due to Malaysia’s diverse background. Another question etched in his mind is, where is the Malaysian music scene headed?
“There’s always a clash of interests on my part because I am in the pop scene and yet in less than 20 years we might not have Malaysian music. When we talk about pop music we talk about the westernisation of Asia. And that question appears from time to time and you can’t have a straight answer, a sure answer.”
It is these questions that gave him the idea of documenting folk music of this region and after that, world music.
His idea kind of materialised with production company Beyond Events, and he embarked on a journey to do just that for a TV programme titled Destinasi Dunia and travelled to places like Turkey, India, Nepal and Vietnam late last year.
Destinasi Dunia is aired on Astro Ria every Thursday at 9pm and shows Nasir investigating and discovering local communities who keep traditional music alive.
His most cherished experience was in Turkey. “I already had an idea about Turkey. Its cities, buildings and, of course, the music. The story about wars, and the young Turks, the history of architecture and culture and the landscape.”
Although it comes off more as a travel piece than a documentation of folk music, Nasir nonetheless has plans to continue with the series as long as he can, and cover countries like Morocco, Indonesia and of course, Malaysia.
As for his other ventures, Nasir doesn’t try to understand or know what other people think about what he is doing.
There is no illusion that M. Nasir does exactly what he wishes and has managed to be the best in a system that wants to tag him, even when it cannot.
The Star 25 February 2005
In the next room, an up-and-coming female singer is being interviewed, accompanied by an entourage of three. In this room, there is only M. Nasir who drove to the meeting place and adhered to the rule of signing in and getting a visitor’s pass without much fuss. After chatting with this reporter for more than an hour, he took his leave. He gave the impression of being a humble, intelligent and an easy-going fella.
The 48-year-old artiste is blessed with a sense of humour; he takes swipes at his own public image – at times, punctuating his remarks with hearty laughter. Yet, Nasir is very serious about the entertainment industry and is bashful when the topic touches on his many talents.
One doesn’t really know what to expect of this man who has managed to keep his life private despite being in the public eye for almost three decades. We know him as a singer, composer, producer, actor, director, writer, painter and TV host (and something he would be uncomfortable acknowledging – sex symbol).
Puteri Gunung Ledang director Saw Teong Hin who has worked with Nasir admits he wouldn’t hesitate to work with him again.
“Contrary to popular belief, I didn’t find him to be difficult at all. He’s particular about the kind of project he’s involved in, but once he’s committed himself, he is very professional and well prepared,” reveals Saw.
“And I cannot imagine anyone else playing Hang Tuah.”
So is Nasir a difficult and uncommunicative individual?
Well, he was hardly untalkative during this interview held at The Star’s office in Petaling Jaya.
“Most of the time I am talking and people think I don’t talk much. I’m always talking, talking, talking,” says Nasir with a guffaw.
No wonder then, when he gets together with an old pal like Ramli Sarip, they can talk for a long time and sometimes their topics of conversation are so wide that other musicians do not understand what the two are going on about.
Ramli, 52, and Nasir have been friends for 25 years. That friendship began when Nasir was a fan of Sweet Charity, Ramli’s band in the 1980s. Nasir’s band at that time, Kembara, was once the opening act at a Sweet Charity concert.
Later, when both artistes embarked on solo careers, Nasir was once again asked to open for Ramli at his concerts.
No wonder then, at last week’s Anugerah Planet Muzik (a Singaporean music awards ceremony held to honour musicians in the region), it was Nasir who was chosen to present Ramli with the APM 2005 Special Award.
According to Ramli, Nasir is a thinker with a sensitive side. “He is a sentimental guy. We are both shy people. I am a bit anti-social actually, but Nasir has become less shy.”
While it is true Nasir has been more accessible in recent years, it is also obvious he is uneasy when the spotlight is turned on him. Asked to pose for photos, his immediate reply is that he doesn’t pose but he sportingly leans against the wall and smiles for the camera.
Anyone who follows Nasir’s career knows that he is also a respected figure in the local entertainment industry, and rightfully so.
His contribution over the years has been limitless and from the looks of things, he plans to do more for the flagging industry. Nasir realises that knowledge is the best weapon. An avid reader, he is interested in various topics – especially philosophy and poetry. Even for his TV viewing, he favours HBO movies and the documentary channels. Hence, his lyrics are never simple, with many references to classic lore and stories from the Quran.
Nasir reveals: “Until now people are still asking what the (Tanya Sama Itu) Hud Hud song is all about. The story is told by the lyrics, by the mood of the songs. Some of the lyrics are like modern poetry and sometimes we cannot explain it.”
Admittedly the fans don’t mind, singing along happily to his songs.
Writing meaningful lyrics was something he wanted to do from the very beginning so he learned poetry by listening to songs and reading other people’s work, then writing it himself. As a matter of fact it was his lyrics that paved the way for him to be in the music industry.
Singapore-born Nasir's ambition while studying at the Boys Town Vocational Institute in the island republic was to be a scientist. Then he wanted to be a painter, and earned his fine art diploma from Nanyang Academy of Fine Art.
He recalls: “I was doing my diploma and staying with a friend, and the friend’s brother got a job with Polygram to compose songs for Alleycats. I was a wedding singer before, so I suggested to him that I write the lyrics. Erm, I didn’t want to say that I wanted to write the songs because he was a composer (laughs). A few weeks later, he got the job as a producer. And I got to write more lyrics.”
He is now leaning back dangerously on his chair (as the interview moves on to the topic of his early days), focusing on his fingernails and avoiding eye contact.
2005: M. Nasir tries his hand at pottery while in Turkey for the new TV series, Destinasi Dunia, which is screened on Astro Ria. In the programme, Nasir looks for communities who keep traditional forms of music alive.
“They were not very good lyrics if you ask me,” he finally adds with a laugh. “I coached them to sing in Malay and when I coached them, I had to sing also. So they thought I could, erm, erm, sing, so ...” he abruptly ends the reminiscing and then quickly changes the subject to his producing experience.
He was 18 at that time. Thirty years down the line, he is still churning out songs, and also dismissing the art of creative skill with a wave of his hand. “It’s all a myth that you need peace and quiet to find inspiration. It is all inside you. You just press it out.”
Nasir was married to Junainah Johari, a singer from trio Ideal Sisters in the 1980s, who passed away in 1998 from asthmatic complications. He had five children with Junainah. In 2000, he married actress Marlia Musa and has a four-year-old daugther, Suci Musalmah, with her. His first son, Mohamed Ilham who is 20, is now in a band called Hati, which has been deemed a band to look out for.
Nasir talks about his family fondly and says that he is constantly surrounded – be it in the office or at home – by bustling activity.
There is a consensus among the media that Nasir has lightened up considerably in the last few years and is less elusive when it comes to interviews.
For a guy who writes a lot of songs and produces albums for other folk, Nasir is still working on new material for his next album.
“I have been recording for almost four years now, and maybe even more. My last album was in 2001,” he pauses and asks, “You know what my last album was? Yes, Phoenix Bangkit. It was a long time ago. I don’t remember. I finish one thing, I just forget about it. I just go on with other projects.”
His other projects include working on a book – his thoughts about everything under the sun – writing a script for a movie he is going to direct, and in April he will be starring in a movie about gangsterism (directed by newcomer Brando Lee).
Currently, he’s also in the midst of producing Search’s long awaited album.
Okay here’s the thing on his new album: he hopes to release the album in May, but he’s still hazy about how many songs it will contain or what direction he wants the album to take.
“Everything keeps changing all the time. And in four years, things can change, you know.”
True enough, it is hard to peg Nasir’s music. Even he is unable to do so. During his Kembara days and after resuscitating his solo career in 1988, the music was rock-based. Then the songs were Nasir’s observations about Malaysian life and the arrangements had elements of traditional music.
Nasir explains: “Then 10 years ago, I was influenced by Qawwalli music. Now I want to go back to rock. If anything, my music is kind of a fusion but you can’t use that word because that term is used for jazz. But it is a fusion of many things; and the song’s semangat (soul) is what I want to express according to my feelings and thoughts at that moment.”
Guess the category has to remain as “M. Nasir’s music”. Then again, that creates another problem. One that Nasir knows only too well.
“After a while, you get bored with one kind of sound. And then there’s the danger of being labelled and pigeon-holed.”
Nasir feels that people question the authenticity of Malay music which is really a combination of other cultures, mainly from China, India and the Arab world due to Malaysia’s diverse background. Another question etched in his mind is, where is the Malaysian music scene headed?
“There’s always a clash of interests on my part because I am in the pop scene and yet in less than 20 years we might not have Malaysian music. When we talk about pop music we talk about the westernisation of Asia. And that question appears from time to time and you can’t have a straight answer, a sure answer.”
It is these questions that gave him the idea of documenting folk music of this region and after that, world music.
His idea kind of materialised with production company Beyond Events, and he embarked on a journey to do just that for a TV programme titled Destinasi Dunia and travelled to places like Turkey, India, Nepal and Vietnam late last year.
Destinasi Dunia is aired on Astro Ria every Thursday at 9pm and shows Nasir investigating and discovering local communities who keep traditional music alive.
His most cherished experience was in Turkey. “I already had an idea about Turkey. Its cities, buildings and, of course, the music. The story about wars, and the young Turks, the history of architecture and culture and the landscape.”
Although it comes off more as a travel piece than a documentation of folk music, Nasir nonetheless has plans to continue with the series as long as he can, and cover countries like Morocco, Indonesia and of course, Malaysia.
As for his other ventures, Nasir doesn’t try to understand or know what other people think about what he is doing.
There is no illusion that M. Nasir does exactly what he wishes and has managed to be the best in a system that wants to tag him, even when it cannot.
Jumaat, Oktober 08, 2004
Globe-trotting with M. Nasir
petikan The Star 8 October 2004
Local legend M. Nasir takes on a different role over the next few months as he takes on a journey of substantial proportions, writes JASON CHEAH.
IT has been almost four years since M. Nasir’s last studio effort, Phoenix Bangkit, and we’re still waiting for a new album from the Malay music legend.
M. Nasir will host M. Nasir: Destinasi...Dunia, a docu-musical about the sounds and voices of music from different regions of the world.
But before any new material is released, there is still a little journey he plans to make.
As it is, he’s already on it, having left one week ago to exotic destinations around the world.
M. Nasir: Destinasi... Dunia is the concept, and in it we see(once everything is recorded and aired)a side of Nasir rarely seen by the public – that of hosting a documentary on world music.
Think exotic locations such as Turkey, the Andalusian region of Southern Spain right to Kathmandu in Nepal and Jaipur in India and you realise that this will be no ordinary journey for Nasir.
Be it instruments, voices, dances, even archaeological remains and various cultural and architectural spots, Nasir’s all set to discover more about what music culture is like, as well as perhaps introduce our own music to the countries he visits.
M. Nasir: Destinasi...Dunia is expected to entertain music fans nationwide with its unique and attractive concept, when it begins to air on Astro Ria come December.
It will be a docu-musical or musical documentary with the objective of educating and entertaining audiences as well as informing us about the sounds and voices of music from different regions of the world.
Looking relaxed and laid back during a press conference last week just before he left for Istanbul, Nasir’s enthusiastic about the hectic schedule planned for the next two months, as he talks about this idea which has been hanging around for some time now.
“A lot of the music is recognisable, but it needs to be more exposed,” he said about the music cultures he expects to visit. “I hope that people will follow my journey in music as we want to increase musical knowledge.”
“It’s all quite exciting, although I still don’t really know what we’ll be doing. But this is the adventure of it all.”
Nasir may not be altogether sure of the concept but he certainly expects that “we’ll find out as we go along”.
Apparently, Turkey seems to be a favourite draw, even for Nasir. It will be his crew’s first stopover.
“Although all (the cultures we are visiting) are exciting, with Turkey, the whole culture has already been there since the Ancient Greeks,” he said. “The music has its own form. There’s folklore, especially the whirling dervishes (that is popular there).”
And there’s more than just folk music to cover.
“We’ll cover everything, even pop music, and hopefully it won’t just attract music fans but also those who love to travel.”
The whole journey and effort is being produced by DDB Productions and the idea came about some two years ago, according to its general manager Amen Hussen.
Obviously, there is a vast amount of culture that they can expect to encounter.
“In Turkey, we plan to discover gypsy dance, folk dancing, belly dancing, whirling dervishes, as well as visit places like Cappadoica and Konya,” Amen added.
Such historical spots and experiences like the Blue mosque, the Bosphorus cruise and the Underground City will also be part of the journey. The crew of 10 will also visit London, where they will meet street performers (buskers), and visit the likes of Covent Garden, Bond St, Canary Wharf, Westminster and Kensington Street.
In Spain, where Madrid, as well as Marbella and Cordoba in Andalusia are the target destinations, they will also find out more about instruments such as the castanets and the tambor, the Spanish guitar, and discover more about Spanish flamenco music. In India, there is always the sitar and tabla, and historical spots as the Gandhi memorial. In Nepal, they will be meeting traditional folk musicians.
Even our neighbours Thailand (Chiang Mai) and Indonesia (Bandung and Bali) will be part of the journey.
Nasir also expects to be joined on various occasion by Malaysian musicians who will be there to share the experience.
As for material for the new album, well, all Nasir says at the moment is that it’s ready.
“We’re just waiting for the right time.”
As a special bonus, joining him on this journey will be pop rock/alternative band Flop Poppy’s frontman Andy, who is expected to co-host a few episodes of the documentary.
“I suppose I could say that I am here to represent the younger generation,” Andy said before leaving with Nasir. “We’re both songwriters, producers and singers so I feel there is a link.”
In fact, his years as a cameraman with the highly reputable National Geographic, before he gave it up to concentrate on Flop Poppy full time, must be of help.
Nevertheless, Andy still feels this journey will be an education for him.
“I get find out how Nasir does his music, and he already knows something about some of the destinations we will visit.
“We will ask each other questions and we can share experiences.”
Like Nasir, Andy, too is set for a new album. He already has a title to it, Cenderajiwa.
It certainly looks like it’s world music in motion with M. Nasir as Destinasi ? Dunia is scheduled to begin airing the first 26 episodes on Astro Ria, starting sometime in December.
Local legend M. Nasir takes on a different role over the next few months as he takes on a journey of substantial proportions, writes JASON CHEAH.
IT has been almost four years since M. Nasir’s last studio effort, Phoenix Bangkit, and we’re still waiting for a new album from the Malay music legend.
M. Nasir will host M. Nasir: Destinasi...Dunia, a docu-musical about the sounds and voices of music from different regions of the world.
But before any new material is released, there is still a little journey he plans to make.
As it is, he’s already on it, having left one week ago to exotic destinations around the world.
M. Nasir: Destinasi... Dunia is the concept, and in it we see(once everything is recorded and aired)a side of Nasir rarely seen by the public – that of hosting a documentary on world music.
Think exotic locations such as Turkey, the Andalusian region of Southern Spain right to Kathmandu in Nepal and Jaipur in India and you realise that this will be no ordinary journey for Nasir.
Be it instruments, voices, dances, even archaeological remains and various cultural and architectural spots, Nasir’s all set to discover more about what music culture is like, as well as perhaps introduce our own music to the countries he visits.
M. Nasir: Destinasi...Dunia is expected to entertain music fans nationwide with its unique and attractive concept, when it begins to air on Astro Ria come December.
It will be a docu-musical or musical documentary with the objective of educating and entertaining audiences as well as informing us about the sounds and voices of music from different regions of the world.
Looking relaxed and laid back during a press conference last week just before he left for Istanbul, Nasir’s enthusiastic about the hectic schedule planned for the next two months, as he talks about this idea which has been hanging around for some time now.
“A lot of the music is recognisable, but it needs to be more exposed,” he said about the music cultures he expects to visit. “I hope that people will follow my journey in music as we want to increase musical knowledge.”
“It’s all quite exciting, although I still don’t really know what we’ll be doing. But this is the adventure of it all.”
Nasir may not be altogether sure of the concept but he certainly expects that “we’ll find out as we go along”.
Apparently, Turkey seems to be a favourite draw, even for Nasir. It will be his crew’s first stopover.
“Although all (the cultures we are visiting) are exciting, with Turkey, the whole culture has already been there since the Ancient Greeks,” he said. “The music has its own form. There’s folklore, especially the whirling dervishes (that is popular there).”
And there’s more than just folk music to cover.
“We’ll cover everything, even pop music, and hopefully it won’t just attract music fans but also those who love to travel.”
The whole journey and effort is being produced by DDB Productions and the idea came about some two years ago, according to its general manager Amen Hussen.
Obviously, there is a vast amount of culture that they can expect to encounter.
“In Turkey, we plan to discover gypsy dance, folk dancing, belly dancing, whirling dervishes, as well as visit places like Cappadoica and Konya,” Amen added.
Such historical spots and experiences like the Blue mosque, the Bosphorus cruise and the Underground City will also be part of the journey. The crew of 10 will also visit London, where they will meet street performers (buskers), and visit the likes of Covent Garden, Bond St, Canary Wharf, Westminster and Kensington Street.
In Spain, where Madrid, as well as Marbella and Cordoba in Andalusia are the target destinations, they will also find out more about instruments such as the castanets and the tambor, the Spanish guitar, and discover more about Spanish flamenco music. In India, there is always the sitar and tabla, and historical spots as the Gandhi memorial. In Nepal, they will be meeting traditional folk musicians.
Even our neighbours Thailand (Chiang Mai) and Indonesia (Bandung and Bali) will be part of the journey.
Nasir also expects to be joined on various occasion by Malaysian musicians who will be there to share the experience.
As for material for the new album, well, all Nasir says at the moment is that it’s ready.
“We’re just waiting for the right time.”
As a special bonus, joining him on this journey will be pop rock/alternative band Flop Poppy’s frontman Andy, who is expected to co-host a few episodes of the documentary.
“I suppose I could say that I am here to represent the younger generation,” Andy said before leaving with Nasir. “We’re both songwriters, producers and singers so I feel there is a link.”
In fact, his years as a cameraman with the highly reputable National Geographic, before he gave it up to concentrate on Flop Poppy full time, must be of help.
Nevertheless, Andy still feels this journey will be an education for him.
“I get find out how Nasir does his music, and he already knows something about some of the destinations we will visit.
“We will ask each other questions and we can share experiences.”
Like Nasir, Andy, too is set for a new album. He already has a title to it, Cenderajiwa.
It certainly looks like it’s world music in motion with M. Nasir as Destinasi ? Dunia is scheduled to begin airing the first 26 episodes on Astro Ria, starting sometime in December.
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