SHE performed the song at the 2017 SEA Games closing ceremony. The lyrics to it are simple, two repeating verses after two repeating verses. Three years later, when she chose to include the song in her latest album, Dayang Nurfaizah found her younger fans asking why she made a song about pot covers.
“Most young people don’t know that Tudung Periuk is a song by Tan Sri P. Ramlee from the movie Sumpah Orang Minyak. They thought it was my original,” said Dayang.
It is this desire to reacquaint the youth of Malaysia with its musical legacy that motivated Dayang to produce her latest album. At the same time, it was the use of language and the emotion of the performance that made Dayang fall in love with classic Malaysian music.
Belagu was made possible with the collaboration of Aubrey Suwito, the same man who worked with Dayang as a music director during her 2017 performance.
Dayang said the idea for the album came about 15 years ago, on the heels of Kasih, her first contemporary classic album. However, it was not until February last year that the album began to take form in earnest.
Despite the pandemic, it took less than a year to complete and only two days to record.
The first challenge was to choose the songs to include in the album. Each of the eight songs in Belagu was handpicked by Dayang and Aubrey.
“This time, we wanted to stay as true to the original as possible. We picked the songs based on our capabilities and ambitions,” explained Dayang, who also said she took making the album as a challenge.
She has an aptitude for singing pop and R&B songs. Those are the genres she is well known for. Singing classical Malaysian music was something she needed to learn and to do that, she turned to Bob Yusof.
“He is a fountain of classical Malaysian music knowledge,” said Dayang, adding that what makes the songs challenging is how the singer needs to convey the emotions.
Take Tudung Periuk as an example. The seemingly simple words are very expressive, especially when paired with the appropriate performance. This was what Dayang had to learn.
When the eight-month nationwide lockdown was lifted in October last year, the recording began. It was decided that not only will the album be recorded live, the music video would also be recorded at the same time.
“One of the many challenges was to find a studio big enough to accommodate everyone,” said Dayang.
“We also wanted to do the recording fast and to be concise. So Aubrey and I agreed that a song will only be performed no more than three times, unless there was something major that was wrong with it.”
Because of the pace, extra attention was given to details such as costumes. Dayang had to wear something that was not only beautiful but also comfortable. A dress that she could comfortably perform, breathe and sit in for a whole day. She also had to pick different outfits for the two days.
“You can see it in the music videos. There are almost no costume changes. Just the two dresses.”
One lesson that everyone involved in the recording of the album and music video had to learn and accept was that singing, real singing, does not look pretty. It was a real challenge.
As a performer, Dayang had to focus on the music while the videographers had to make her look good.
“I closed my eyes and had to really sing, but it doesn’t always look beautiful on camera,” Dayang said with a laugh.
Belagu is produced by Dayang’s own company, DN & AD Entertainment, with support from the Communications and Multimedia Ministry, and is distributed by Universal Music Malaysia.
It consists of eight classic Malaysian songs, including one duet with Hael Husaini for Gurindam Jawa. The album playtime is 30 minutes, a testament to how brief songs from the old days were.
It was also only meant to be a digital release, available on all major music platforms such as Spotify, iTunes, KKZBox, Deezer and Joox, with the music video also available on Apple Music. However, because of popular demand, Dayang decided to produce limited edition box set CDs as well, that were promptly sold out.
Dayang revealed that if she had the chance, she would love to produce the album in a phonograph record format. The warmth of the sound, the pop and crackle of the needle on vinyl that no digital equipment and editing can faithfully replicate, would be the icing on the cake that is Belagu.
