Kyoto Protocol and the evolution of local music
IN conjunction with Malaysia Day on Sept 16, local rock outfit Kyoto Protocol has released a video featuring a medley of popular Malaysian songs from the past six decades.
The idea came about when the band’s lead singer Fuad Alhabshi, who was born in Singapore, wanted to learn about the history of famous local songs from the past.
“Being born in Singapore, I mostly listened to English songs. I wanted to learn more about the history of pop music of Malaysia,” Fuad explained.
Together with his bandmates – Gael Oliveres, Hairi Haneefa. Shakeil Bashir and Shanjeev Reddy – the band handpicked 16 songs for this project titled Evolution Of Malaysian Music. Among the songs the band performs in the music video are Suzana by M. Osman, Bujang Lapok by P. Ramlee, Andainya Aku Pergi
Dulu by the Alleycats, Isabella by Search, Sinaran by Sheila Majid and Chow Kit Road by Sudirman.
“This is sort of an homage to outstanding Malaysian musicians who’ve excelled over the decades. We have injected a little of our own style into the songs and we hope everyone enjoys watching our rendition as much as we did making it,” drummer Shanjeev said of the project.
The over nine- minute- long music video, released on Sept 8, was shot in one take.
Shanjeev explained the shooting process: “We wanted the medley to be organic, like it was a live performance. As such we decided to shoot the video while recording the music simultaneously in one take.”
The band hopes to release another music video featuring more popular Malaysian numbers Gordon Kho soon. –