Malaysian Pop Music

A Brief History of Malaysian Pop Music
Pioneered by bangsawan musicians in the 1890s (Tan 1993), popular Malaysian music in its truest form is made up of a fusion of various elements from the various musical cultures in the country. This role was continued by Malaysia’s most well-known musician to date, Tan Sri P.Ramlee, in the 1950’s and until his death in 1973 (Lockard 1991, Ang 1996). P. Ramlee began composing music at the age of 17, in the 1940’s, in order to fill the gap which he perceived existed in Malaysian popular music at the time. P. Ramlee’s vision was to create a uniquely Malaysian style, based on Malay folk music but infused with elements from the various local musical cultures. His over 250 songs reflect the influence of Malay syncretic music forms, especially the inang, zapin, masri, asli, boria and joget forms, as well as Western dance rhythms (rhumba, slowfox, waltz, cha cha, mambo and twist), and Hindustani and Arabic melodies and rhythms. (Arkib Negara 1986).

The Pop Yeh Yeh era between 1965 to 1971 was dominated by Western pop star imitators, although the uniquely Malaysian style of blending local musical cultures continued in some quarters with some singers using asli or traditional Malay vocal techniques and others including elements of Indian film music (Lockard 1991). This merging of cultures continued in the 1970s, although not on a conscious or focused level, with western jazz, rock and pop, and Indian film music or irama Hindustan being the major influences on local pop musicians. Indonesian dangdut musicians also gleaned a large following with some local singers adopting this style. Ahmad Nawab is the significant composer / songwriter from this period writing local pop songs influenced by Western, Indian and asli styles. (Lockard 1991).

The 1980s were dominated by the soft rock group the Alleycats with the most consistent record sales. Their music blended elements of Western folk and pop music with local asli rhythms. Non-Malays recorded, wrote, produced and performed increasingly in the Malay language. Songwriters began consciously incorporating elements from the various musical cultures in an effort to encourage a true integration of local musical cultures (Chelliah 1988, Lockard 1991). Significant songwriters from this period are M. Nasir, Manan Ngah, Zubir Ali and S. Amin Shahib. (Lockard 1991).

Several contemporary popular Malaysian artistes continue to carry this vision of a uniquely Malaysian music. Artistes such as Mukhlis Nor, M. Nasir, Jenny Chin, Mac Chew, Michael Veerapan, Zahid Ahmad, Samuel Das and Lewis Pragasam all strive to fuse various elements from the various musical cultures in their music, either from a compositional viewpoint or from the combined use of musical instruments, themes, styles and rhythms derived from the different cultures in Malaysia.

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TYPES OF MUSIC IN MALAYSIA: Pop Music This page provides a background to the Malaysian pop music scene. Links to websites about Malaysian pop music are found here. A Brief History of Malaysian Pop Music Pioneered by bangsawan musicians in the 1890s (Tan 1993), popular Malaysian music in its truest form is made up of a fusion of various elements from the various musical cultures in the country. This role was continued by Malaysia’s most well-known musician to date, Tan Sri P.Ramlee, in the 1950’s and until his death in 1973 (Lockard 1991, Ang 1996). P. Ramlee began composing music at the age of 17, in the 1940’s, in order to fill the gap which he perceived existed in Malaysian popular music at the time. P. Ramlee’s vision was to create a uniquely Malaysian style, based on Malay folk music but infused with elements from the various local musical cultures. His over 250 songs reflect the influence of Malay syncretic music forms, especially the inang, zapin, masri, asli, boria and joget forms, as well as Western dance rhythms (rhumba, slowfox, waltz, cha cha, mambo and twist), and Hindustani and Arabic melodies and rhythms. (Arkib Negara 1986). The Pop Yeh Yeh era between 1965 to 1971 was dominated by Western pop star imitators, although the uniquely Malaysian style of blending local musical cultures continued in some quarters with some singers using asli or traditional Malay vocal techniques and others including elements of Indian film music (Lockard 1991). This merging of cultures continued in the 1970s, although not on a conscious or focused level, with western jazz, rock and pop, and Indian film music or irama Hindustan being the major influences on local pop musicians. Indonesian dangdut musicians also gleaned a large following with some local singers adopting this style. Ahmad Nawab is the significant composer / songwriter from this period writing local pop songs influenced by Western, Indian and asli styles. (Lockard 1991). The 1980s were dominated by the soft rock group the Alleycats with the most consistent record sales. Their music blended elements of Western folk and pop music with local asli rhythms. Non-Malays recorded, wrote, produced and performed increasingly in the Malay language. Songwriters began consciously incorporating elements from the various musical cultures in an effort to encourage a true integration of local musical cultures (Chelliah 1988, Lockard 1991). Significant songwriters from this period are M. Nasir, Manan Ngah, Zubir Ali and S. Amin Shahib. (Lockard 1991). Several contemporary popular Malaysian artistes continue to carry this vision of a uniquely Malaysian music. Artistes such as Mukhlis Nor, M. Nasir, Jenny Chin, Mac Chew, Michael Veerapan, Zahid Ahmad, Samuel Das and Lewis Pragasam all strive to fuse various elements from the various musical cultures in their music, either from a compositional viewpoint or from the combined use of musical instruments, themes, styles and rhythms derived from the different cultures in Malaysia. Back to Malaysian Pop Music Links Musical Instrument Index \| MIDI Archive Original Malaysian SoundFonts \| SEARCH Musical Malaysia		Musical Context Music by Genre Music by Region Bibliography Author Credits SITE MAP Guestbook
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