Tickets are selling at $21 (students) and $27 (adults). Can anyone tell me how often can you watch Imran performing P Ramlee numbers?

Its happening on 7 November 2007, 8pm
Esplanade Recital Studio

Sistic Hotline : 63485555

These are where the Sistic Outlets are located:

Alliance Francaise de Singapour
Bishan Junction 8
Bugis Junction
DBS Arts Centre Home of Singapore Repertory Theatre
Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay
HMV – For selected shows only, please call SISTIC Hotline: 6348 5555 for details.
Hougang Mall
IMM Building
Jurong Point
Lot 1 Shoppers’ Mall
Millenia Walk
Novena Square
Parkway Parade
Plaza Singapura
POP@Central (Bras Basah)
Raffles City Shopping Centre
Singapore Conference Hall
SISTIC Box Office (Singapore Indoor Stadium)
Tampines Mall
Tiong Bahru Plaza
Victoria Concert Hall
Wisma Atria

When the project coordinator for LTA’s underground radio station called to ask me to do the song, it felt weird because I’d be joining Don Richmond and Jason Tan work on songs promoting the new Expressway. How weird is that? The catch is that we’d have to do songs that circle around the theme of driving.

I wrote the Malay version of what Jason had previously worked on and it was this country roadtrip, hair in the wind kinda song about moving on. It could also mean liberating oneself from a previous pitfall. Funny that I wrote so closely to the theme given, and felt the song so much, considering I do not drive. I love the 2nd verse so much.

Well, thanks to serundingpedas, for highlighting to me that the song is out. We did this mid-year this year and I almost thought it wouldn’t come out. You can also download the song at the site, something most of ya’ll are notorious for.

Please continue supporting my work and local music in general. Thank you to those who made it possible for me to be part of this experience! A song for the new tunnel! Yippee!

http://www.kpeunderground.sg/ >> Menu >> Sounds of the Underground

You are selfish, in many ways that you cannot admit. While you stayed around for the good parts, and lent me a shoulder a few times, you have no idea how insufficient you are as a pillar of strength you are supposed to be. I did not set expectations, infact, you probably have no idea on what to do and when told off, you apologize simply to make me stop talking. I know you inside out like how you think you know me, so it’s unfair that I have to wake up to the idea that nothing will change today, despite all that’s happen in the past few years. Nothing at all. But yet I tolerated it.

I don’t suppose you’ve ever been sad. I’ve seen you angry, and I’ve seen you mad, but I’ve never seen you sad. It must be difficult to not be able to show that expression or, worse still, not even have that emotion because of the situation you’ve been in all your life. I know it’s not fair that I pinpoint your flaws like a traveller with a map, but you’ve been cold and it’s freezing here on my side. I tolerated it.

Why do you ask people to accept the way that you are, when we cannot accept the way that we are? Why do we set limitations like Facebook and Multiply on each other with regards to what you are entitled to see and know about me, when I’ve made it public in the first place? If I carried my emotions on my sleeve all the time, would you have a little more compassion? Why do we pity people in trouble when probably they got themselves into shit in the first place? Why do offer hugs to people when we cannot do anything about whatever it is that they are going through? Listen here you stupid punk, all you have to do is brave yourself and become the exact person you were told not to be, and that would solve some problems. But no. You chose to pretend that one day it will all be okay. And in the end, I have to tolerate it.

I promised to protect you but you need none. While my security levels run low, and you think a text message could save today, I’ve probably already lost you yesterday. It would be easier if you pissed me off and I could punch you in the face, but the thing is, the only wrong thing you’ve done to me, and by far, the worst ever, is that you were yourself. And I tolerated it.

So I offer you, curious reader, the insight on how frustrating it is, that I live my life in between things. I am in between this and that, all the time. I am not this, yet I am not that either. I am not angry, but I am not calm either. I am not lost, but yet, I am not being myself when I’m around you. I am sorry that you have to deal with me being this way and that I know we’d be ok til the day one of us dies but right now, it just feels so wrong that you have no clue on how I feel, no clue on what to do about it, and that all I can do is tolerate it.

What could save the situation is that we seriously need to part. I do my own thing and care less about you, and you be yourself, and do exactly what you’ve been doing for this relationship, which was nothing at all, then it could work. So then I could call you by your name, and you could do the same. I could simply shake your hands, and you could do the same. I would bump into you, and I’d just wave, and you’d probably understand it by then. And when we need each other, when we really need each other one day, you would also get it that that’s not how it works anymore, and that the only thing that could come in lieu of a good hug that you really need, was actualy the good times you took for granted all this while. And that, you have to tolerate it and don’t pretend that it’s not a burden.

In the Fitrah compilation where this song is fitted, I specifically didn’t want to write a song that’s jarringly Raya. I did the same for Sleeq’s “Jangan Sampai Terlambat”, Lady E’s “Bertemu Lagi” and Hyrul Anuar’s “Keajaiban”. I feel that we’re in a day & age of Singaporean Malays that the thinking population is made up of a generation who has no history of the wonder of Raya’s yesteryears. I, myself, do not go back to a kampung, for starters. I do not have grandparents anymore. My family has never made our own ketupat. And the closest thing we’ve been near to a slaughtering a chicken for the Raya dishes is seeing on tv. It’s not sad, that’s just how it is. So no offence to fans of old school Raya songs, I love them as well, but as a new songwriter influenced by Western music, I just feel that we shouldn’t write one that discusses how magical Raya is, with traditional instrumentation or using the words “Selamat Hari Raya”. It’s just plainly overdone.

Mine here, in all its arty-fartiness, is about a man who believes he will be cured of his sadness soon, and he uses Raya as a dateline. There was a promise made before that somebody will remain true to him, but since that wasn’t the case, he has since forgiven and asked for the same. He hopes by Raya when they meet again, it won’t be awkward. “Walaupun jauh kau tetap dekat di hati” (Even though you’re far, you’re always near in my heart) is a typical melody and lyric from old school Raya songs that I fitted in to work with “Mungkin rasa luarbiasa itu dapat kembali” (Hoping that extraordinary feeling might return). It means, I hope the magical feeling of listening to old Raya songs might return. I hope you get it.

A radio DJ says that it sounds like Siti Nurhaliza’s “Menanti Pasti” rip-off and I beg to differ. The song is written on a 3/4 tempo, a typical Parisian Waltz, in which so was Siti’s song. Other songs written in this manner are Seal’s “Kiss From a Rose” and Gita Gunawan’s “Kembang Perawan”. Ok, you know the song from Sound of Music, “Eidelweiss”? That’s a Waltz! Ah, there you know that one. Tu lah kutuk orang lagi…

My cousin, Irfan and I got inspired to do this while playing around with the CD collection that I have and he pointed out that my style is so old-school Melayu unlike my influences. I suppose that’s what I wanted. Freaky Z arranged the music and I recorded it in 2 takes, while holding the laptop in my arms because we didn’t have a printer. The original reverb was so haunting that we kept listening to it over and over again. I suppose the Tim Burton influence is both very Freaky Z and myself in many ways. I want to write Malay music the European style and Fazli wants to make carnival themes pop! Haha. It does sound like the soundtrack of ‘Nightmare Before Raya’ if you ask me. The skeletal protaganist pakai tanjak and samping black&white checks.

All in all, it simply means, I hope I get to see you this Raya and I hope that you still care.

I hope you like it because I wrote it for you.

If you’ve watched Kerana Cintaku Saerah, you must have noticed the instrumental music background of Seribu Tahun throughout the entire episode.

Seribu Tahun instrumental have been played in Warna 942FM, before adzan Zuhur, so if you want to listen to it, tune in to the station. If you love it, send your sms in to them during their segment. The instrumental is amazingly beautiful; so don’t miss it.

Before you flood in the tagboard with questions, these instrumentals is not available in any albums for now, yet.