TO REMIND people to stay indoors, Universal Music recently released a song called Jangan Keluar.
What made this song unique is that it is a collaboration between 17 artistes who perform their parts from their respective homes, where they are currently obeying the movement control order (MCO).
Composed and written by rapper Yonnyboii, the song is catchy, its lyrics are memorable, and while it calls out those who defy the MCO while the country is trying to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic, it also has a gentle message of hope.
Even more astounding is that the artistes featured all hail from different musical backgrounds. You have ballad singers and pop artistes, as well as rock and hip hop stars all coming together.
The press conference which was held to promote the song was something I had never experienced in all my years of journalism. With over 90 people connected via Zoom, recording executives, artistes, members of the media and representatives from streaming platforms got together to talk about this ambitious project.
Universal Music Malaysia managing director Kenny Ong said: “We have been excited about this project since it began ... We are doing it for two reasons. The first is as a music entity, we want to help the government. So we created this as it is something that will resonate with people from all over Malaysia. The artistes also wanted to contribute their time and effort to support the frontliners.
“The second reason is that we want to show the Malaysia Boleh [spirit]. We are one of the very few countries [with] a full song [featuring] professional artistes recorded during MCO. I think this shows the Malaysian spirit and I want to thank all the artistes involved. This is something incredible.”
They did not want a song that sounded like a jingle or a patriotic number. They wanted something trendy which people will like. That is why they turned to Yonnyboii, who is also the hottest producer in the country right now.
Yonnyboii said the greatest challenge was making the recording as professional as possible, considering the limitations of having artistes record from home. Fortunately, the ‘shortcomings’ in the recordings just added to the aesthetics.
He said: “I wrote this song on the second day of the MCO. The first thing I observed was that many people were still being stubborn, and I did not want this to last. To break the chain is our responsibility.
“The lyrics are straightforward – just don’t go out. Basically the song is saying please stay at home, there are a lot of things to do, and please don’t be so stubborn.”
While some artistes recorded their part of the song in their own respective studios, others did it from home using their smartphones. Thanks to some good music engineering, the end result is commendable.
Each artiste was given three days for their audio stamp and the whole process of putting together the song and music video took a week.
Singer Sophia Liana feels that many people will embrace the song because it was recorded by the artistes at home, unlike previous collaborations that have been done in the past.
Singer-songwriter Hafiz Hamidun who is also part of the ensemble said it wasn’t that difficult because all 17 artistes each had their own part. Hafiz adds that the only difficult thing was putting their work together, and feels that things worked out due to the commitment and discipline of the artistes involved.
Recording his part in his studio was also not hard for rapper Rabbit Mac, who said: “I just want to share my appreciation for the artistes who were stuck at home who tried their best to do their recording. I also want to give a shout out to Yonnyboii and the recording engineers. I respect all their efforts.”
Singer and actor Alvin Chong said: “I wish to go in this musical direction for my next single. So Yonnyboii, I am going to look out for you. I love the song, and especially the lyrics ‘Ada otak, sila guna’ that will [draw] attention to the song. Some might find it offensive, but some might see it as the truth. People now want the truth. One of the reasons I became a singer is that I wanted my voice to contribute to society. I think this song does that.”
