PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TIL 20TH AUGUST 2007

Me, Myself & Imran

It’s the National Day Celebrations all month long at the Esplanade and they’ve gotten Imran to throw a party, and he’s doing away with his ballads for 1 nite to pump up the jam over at the giant stage, at the PowerHouse. Bring all your girlfriends and party people down over to the Bay.

Imran Ajmain will be doing R&B/Hiphop covers, backed by DJ Altimet (KL) and his non-stop buffet of guest performers from the local Hiphop community.It will be 90 minutes long with a half hour intermission.

26 year old Imran recently bagged Best New Regional Male Artiste and Best Singapore Artiste at the Anugerah Planet Musik 2007 Award. Dina (Malaysian Idol) and Jessea Thyidor (Singapore Idol) appears in this “Move To The Groove” weekend starting Friday 17th August, Imran Ajmain closes the performances for this Esplanade Presents event.

WHEN:

Date     : 19th August 2007, Sunday
Time    : 7.30pm sharp (90 minutes with intermission)

Venue  : Stage@PowerHouse, Esplanade Theatres On The Bay

FEE      : Free Admission. Free Standing.

For more information, visit the following sites.

www.myspace.com/imranajmain | www.imranajmain.com

Contact point:

imran@beats.sg | nurraudha@gmail.com

http://www.esplanade.com/

I used to be tense during setup of events, I’m more relaxed now. I don’t think anything can go too wrong, if we forget something, it can always be substituted or we can always do it some other time. I am only assured everything will be okay when everybody involved has arrived. Can’t stand it when I’m early and everybody’s late. I’m never late for events, especially not my own. Yesterday, I was truly laidback. Thanks to my reliable team.

I swallowed hard when I announced that next month will be Speakeasy’s last ever instalment and that we won’t be doing it anymore. Felt even worse when I left mid-show for a singing engagement at a hotel nearby; I felt like the energy was so good yesterday. The crowd was supportive and responsive, the numbers were good, the performances went smooth. I particularly love the in-out/in-out thing that the hosts were practising, so it doesn’t get boring when only I am on stage. I think, in the past two years, that I’ve been trying to put together a proper Hiphop gig, with the help of my comrades including Freaky Z, and we’ve had so much ups and downs, yesterday was probably the first time I felt like we hit it bull’s eye. I know there was a bit too much Malay element but I suppose that was how I embraced the kind of support that we get. Freaky Z says Speakeasy should stay but we have to move it out of SAM, it has become disorganized. I agree to some extent. Thank you to those who came! Sorry to those who wanted to meet me! I saw some regular faces and I saw some unfamiliar faces too. Syabas!

We’d have to work a little harder to put together something better. Right now, I’m going to focus on PLATFORM 7 that’s going to happen on the 8th September. The lineup’s pretty crazy so you all better make sure you all come, especially those who do not club. It’s a tudung-friendly event, no age limit, no smoking, no drinking, no problems.

So much has been done in the past 3 years, can’t give up just like that, right?

I can be caustic, a little sarcastic but I do not think that I’d go over the line. But of late, I’ve been in situations where I needed to speak up, and if I didn’t have the guts to do so, I’d walk away. It’s one of my bad habits, this walking away from the problem and not confronting it immediately, and afterwards I’d suffer from its repercussions. Bad habit. So can I stand up and speak out and suffer worst?

Didi says there is a ‘dark side’ to music in Singapore, and half of me wanted to disagree. I’ve always believed that the scene in Singapore is too small for us to debate any nitty gritty bits over. But the other half of me realised what the ‘dark side’ was. Perhaps in the short year that I’ve been singing professionally, I have finally experienced what it meant to be scrutinized, criticized, shortchanged, be biased unto, be picked on, be rejected, and while the good things that happen to me is easily called rezeki, the bad things are the ones that shape me, mostly.

So when somebody says something untrue or unjustifiable of me or my doings, at which point is it right for me to defend myself? Of course I’m not perfect and I make mistakes, but what if these rumours or these things people say can be bad for my business or my reputation, and then the ‘dark side’ is that if I stand up against it, I’d become a bad seed, and possibly be banned or be casted off from the opportunities lined up with my name on it. For example, a producer tells the somebody “not to make the same mistakes that Imran Ajmain makes by not thanking us enough”. Tell me that sounds wrong. I could point out the number of times I repeatedly thanked them, and now they want a little bit more credit. I could give it to them, yes, but if I sounded them out about it, they’d probably won’t call me anymore. Tough luck.

I’m not about to start a racist chant but being Malay, I’ve observed that our community loves taking credit for things that we have nothing to do with. Well, they are happy, and they are proud, like how Ahli Fiqir carries the Malay Language flag in our Peninsular, everybody’s applauding for them and also for themselves. Sheikh Muzzafar goes to space and the entire nation is gloating like nobody’s business. When Miss Universe Singapore was a Malay girl (Tun Neesa, Noraliza Osman), we celebrate it for so long, and the hoohah about the swimsuit segment was totally forgotten. I’m not saying that it’s wrong, but a mother proud of her child’s success is a little different from the rest of the community taking credit for it.

“Ah dulu aku yang buat show dia”
“Aku yang dapatkan benda tu untuk dia”
“Ah tengok, kita kerja kuat untuk dia”
“Dia berjaya bukan seorang tau, kita semua tolong dia”

That was why when I saw the MSN nick of somebody I recently had a fall-out with, I quickly assumed that this was the popular rumour that his gang of friends have been spreading around. “Oh pls, stop taking credit for the work you didn’t do”. Of course I got pissed off and retaliated. But he said it wasn’t meant for me. I apologize. I gave in. But still, it boils down to our folks getting angry over being discredited or somebody taking too much credit for it. I have suddenly, simultaneously, tasted both sides.

Maybe that’s why Fahmi says it’s not right for him to blog about why he left the company, and that’s why Singaporean musicians want to go over to Malaysia and start afresh in a new circle of friends, and that’s why some songs are not heard anymore, and some tv stars are not seen anymore. Simply because it ate them up, how the ‘dark side’ things it’s the ‘correct side’ and how we have no contest to that. They gave up, or gave in. If I fought against it you’d probably won’t hear my new song and then you’d know why.

So if you think Aliff wouldn’t have won without your SMS, you are wrong. Stop taking credit for it, it was his rezeki. This is the furthest I’ll take my fight because I’m about to walk away from it. Me and my bad habits.

Imran appears in the 15 to 31 July edition of Malaysia’s Media Hiburan about his APM winnings and promotions in the country. Will include scans!

Oleh
Amirul Putra
Penulis Sambilan

SATU karnival yang memberi peluang para belia berinteraksi akan diadakan esok di Tampines Green, berhadapan Blok 159, Tampines Street 12.

Bertemakan Kuasa Belia: Berhubung, Yakin, Menyumbang, ia memberi peluang kepada para pemimpin belia daripada masjid-masjid Al-Istighfar, Darul Ghufran, Alkaff Kampong Melayu, Al-Istiqamah, En-Naeem, Masjid Haji Yusoff dan Jawatankuasa Pembinaan Masjid Sengkang daripada Rumpun Masjid Timur Laut (NEMC) mendekati dan mendapatkan penyertaan para belia di kawasan sasaran tempat karnival itu diadakan.

Selain ceramah, terdapat acara bola sepak gelanggang, sukan memanjat tembok, silatrobik bersama Persatuan Grassio Singapura, perlumbaan harmoni belia sempena Hari Keharmonian Kaum dan pertandingan menggubah lagu untuk band.

Acara nyanyian akan diserikan oleh Imran Ajmain, Didicazli, Hyrul Anuar, Md Aliff Aziz (juara Anugerah 2007), Sofyan Yadi dan Mu’adz.

Turut diadakan ialah ceramah menarik berjudul Remajaku, Kau Dambaan Ibu Ayahmu yang dijangka menarik perhatian remaja.

Permainan yang melibatkan penyertaan ibu bapa dan anak-anak mereka akan juga diadakan.

Acara berlangsung dari 9 pagi hingga 10.30 malam.

Sumber dari: Berita Harian, Sabtu, 21hb Julai 2007

Oleh
Amirul Putra
Penulis Sambilan

SATU karnival yang memberi peluang para belia berinteraksi akan diadakan esok di Tampines Green, berhadapan Blok 159, Tampines Street 12.

Bertemakan Kuasa Belia: Berhubung, Yakin, Menyumbang, ia memberi peluang kepada para pemimpin belia daripada masjid-masjid Al-Istighfar, Darul Ghufran, Alkaff Kampong Melayu, Al-Istiqamah, En-Naeem, Masjid Haji Yusoff dan Jawatankuasa Pembinaan Masjid Sengkang daripada Rumpun Masjid Timur Laut (NEMC) mendekati dan mendapatkan penyertaan para belia di kawasan sasaran tempat karnival itu diadakan.

Selain ceramah, terdapat acara bola sepak gelanggang, sukan memanjat tembok, silatrobik bersama Persatuan Grassio Singapura, perlumbaan harmoni belia sempena Hari Keharmonian Kaum dan pertandingan menggubah lagu untuk band.

Acara nyanyian akan diserikan oleh Imran Ajmain, Didicazli, Hyrul Anuar, Md Aliff Aziz (juara Anugerah 2007), Sofyan Yadi dan Mu’adz.

Turut diadakan ialah ceramah menarik berjudul Remajaku, Kau Dambaan Ibu Ayahmu yang dijangka menarik perhatian remaja.

Permainan yang melibatkan penyertaan ibu bapa dan anak-anak mereka akan juga diadakan.

Acara berlangsung dari 9 pagi hingga 10.30 malam.

Sumber dari: Berita Harian, Sabtu, 21hb Julai 2007

Jumpa anda di sana!