Bruneian Artist - Lives of Bruneian Singers

Mentioning the word 'artist' seemed vague to most of us ( including me, heh ) as it refers to someone who is talented either on fine arts, acting, singing, performing live shows, or could even be two of them... could even be three... could even be all of them!!

Okay, I bet all of you have sang before yes?

Saying no is not a logical answer. ( Cause I know we all do )

Looking at this picture, you'd probably recall yourself singing when you were just a little kid !

The first few lines are just introductions of the word 'artist', but when it comes to defining singer, most of us would probably say someone who can play with his/her voice with the right tone. Doesn't mean it has to be perfect, cause different people has their own unique ways of singing; some are born natural with a perfect voice and some are not.

Moving on to my main topic, which I'm gonna focus more on local Bruneian singers who has successfully made through hardwork and pain getting to what they have dream for, being a singer. It takes a lot of patience to be a great singer since music industry in Brunei is not growing at a fast rate compared to other international countries ( USA, UK, Indonesia, Malaysia ). Listed below are some solo and band local singers that I've known to myself. ( well, only 5 to be honest, though there's a lot more that I'm not familiar with )

Fakhrul Razi; one of the best local known artist, not just having the ability to sing,  but also have the professionalism in fine arts, also an independent songwriter. He has been performing live shows all over Borneo and also in US.

Maria (the picture on the right); also one of the most local known singer, has also been performing live shows abroad and the unique thing about her is that she's a student; coping both the role of a student and a singer at the same time, people will say 'its kinda hard to deal with'.

                 

 A BAND ONCE

 My all time favorite band. All of them are just student as myself, and most of the music they wrote are sentimental songs ( which I really like ) that reflects what I'm going through somehow. I've met them personally last two years when they were performing live for the  DST Carnival event. It's a lifetime unregrettable moment I must say.

The Glass Onions, consist of 4 members namely Adim Juna, Azuwan Juna, Paul, and Alimin Juna. ( from left to right respectively ).

Paul - Vocals and Bass / Working.
Adim - Guitar and Vocals / Working. ( Former UBD Student )
Alimin - Guitar / Student.
Azuwan - Drums / Student.

To think of it, honestly I don't think I can get to interview any of these famous local band / singers personally. But...yesterday, I met Adim Juna ( the band guitarist and also a friend of mine ) during a friendly football match and asked him if it's possible to for an interview. Not today, yet we did the next day. 

Eventhough I did not have the chance to meet the whole member of the band, meeting one of them is more than enough and glad the interview goes as planned (:


 The interview:

Q:Do you sing/practice daily to maintain your voice?

A:"No, I don't practice daily or seriously. Because we don't consider ourselves 'artist' like what you hear on   radio. We do this just because we love playing music as a team and have fun. There isn't any other goal         and I think that's why this band still exist. An addition to that, i. And if you play music just         for that glory, you wouldn't last long. There's a lot example that happened during the past where bands or     singers come and go right after having their first hit song, just because it didn't cater to people "taste"."t's hard to make it as a musician or artist in       this country unless you can cater to people "taste" which our music didn't do

Q:How long is it to write a song?
A: "It depends really, sometimes it just flow within minutes or hours. But there's also the ones which come   piece by piece where you wake up in the middle of the night or while you're driving."

Q:Lyrics based on experience or randomly made?
A: "A little bit of both. What we see or feel is what we wrote. Could be from personal experience, could just be a story we want to create from our imagination. Jack White once said, "It's best when you don't have     anything to write about, create one.""

Q:How long has your band been created?
A: "Been around for 6-7 years I guess."


Singing is not just about making the right tone, it's also about passion, love, and feelings too, getting involved. Lyrics are mostly experience-based and some reflects the singer itself. Let me show you some examples.

I will end my story with two videos of the song "Salahkah Aku" written by one of our local artist, Fakhrul Razi and also another video by Shaf Rahman ( a former UBD student ).

I'm really sure all Bruneians know this song, so let's hear him out!! ( Lyrics shown for "Salahkah Aku" if you feel like singing (-: 

Shaf Rahman ( former UBD student ), performing "Angel Voice" live for the BJFA ( Brunei Japanese Friendship Association ) during the gala night.

Membuka waktu,

Menghurai kisah,

Yang pernah kita jalani dulu.

Hati tersuntu,

Hilang Bicara, 

bila teringat kata azimat mu...

Membuka waktu, 

Menghurai kisah, 

Yang pernah kita jalani dulu.

Hati tersuntu, 

Hilang bicara, 

Bila teringat kata azimat mu....

Kini berjalan diatas cinta yang beku,

Hanyalah mampu,

Yang masih menguatkan ku..

Salahkah aku mencintaimu,

Walau kan bukan milikku lagi,

Bukannya mudah tuk melupakanmu,

Ku harap engkau mengerti...

Ho woo,

Hujan yang turun, di malam itu,

Temani bumi dan air mata ku,

Tiba kelabu, membuka hiba,

Kosongnya diri di hampakan cinta..

Kini berjalan di atas cinta yang beku,

Hanyalah mampu, 

Yang masih menguatkan ku...

Salahkah aku mencintaimu, 

Walau kau bukan milikku lagi, 

Bukannya mudah tuk melupakanmu, 

Ku harap engkau... mengerti... 

REPEAT

Mengeti perasaan ini

Masih berdiri walaupun susah untuk kita fahami

Relung ku ini terasa sepi tanpa kenyataan cinta sejati

Salahkah aku mencintaimu,

Walau kan bukan milikku lagi,

Bukannya mudah tuk melupakanmu

Ku harap engkau mengerti....