Muzik Melayu ke antarabangsa

silentwinner

THEdemise of the nation’s traditional music and performance advocates one after the other has left a big void to fill up in the world of Malay traditional performing arts.

There has yet to be another of the likes of the late Hamzah Awang Amat, the wayang kulit dalang (shadow puppet master), or the one who could replace the Gambus King, Fadhil Ahmad. Neither is there another Rahim Jantan, the proponent of the traditional Malay songs.

In continuing the spirit of the traditional performers of the yesteryears, Mohd Kamrulbahri Hussin, better known as 'Wak Long', today takes the baton from his predecessors and continues their legacy, especially in the traditional Malay songs genre.

The 35-year-old is among the handful from the younger generation with a clear mission and vision in the journey of seeking not only local but also international acceptance of the art.

CONQUERING THE WORLD THROUGH MUSIC

His medium-sized built belies his high spirits and dream of ensuring the perpetuity of traditional music.
The writer had the opportunity to witness his performance along with five musicians from Istana Budaya in Istanbul, Turkey recently.

The Turks were evidently entertained by the hour-long performance, and judging by Wak Long’s smile throughout the show, he enjoyed performing for them as well.

Songs of the traditional Malay music genre such as Joget Pahang, Empat Dara and Joget Malaysia played during the dinner held that night was part of the efforts to promote Malaysia as a cultural tourist destination, in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia Year 2014.

Wak Long, who played the Kelantanese gendang (barrel drum), serunai (flute) and the dikir barat rebana (frame drum) that night, seemed pleased that his foreign audience were enjoying the traditional Malay music.
Born in Kampung Banggol Gelang Mas in Pasir Mas, Kelantan, Wak Long has traveled extensively to introduce Malay traditional music to the world.

He has performed in Sweden, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Spain, Italy, the U.S., Vietnam and Indonesia.
In fact, he has even gained a small following in Japan through a traditional Kelantanese song in his album entitled "The New Authentic Kelantanese Traditional Music Of Malaysia".

“I want to see our traditional music thrive with time, not forgotten,” he said.

BRINGING CHANGE

Wak Long was born to a family of musicians specialising in traditional Kelantanese arts. His father was a dikir barat and 'main petri' musician.

He mastered several Kelantanese traditional music instruments by the age of 10, namely those played during dikir barat, 'silat', 'mak yong' and 'menora'.

He was aware of the misplaced perception that traditional music is exclusive to a certain group only and wished to change that.

“I want to make it more accessible, just like contemporary music,” said the guest music scholar at the Music Faculty of Universiti Teknologi Mara(UiTM).

Recalling his musical journey, Wak Long admitted that his perception of traditional music only changed when he was invited by the late Hamzah as a guest trainer for the dikir barat performance in conjunction with the Traditional Music Appreciation Programme at the National Arts Academy in 1994.

“While traditional Malay arts and music has always been my passion, I only started to see it on a larger context during my stint at the academy,” he said adding that he was only 16 at the time.

ADVICE FROM A RESPECTED TEACHER

The late Hamzah who was quick to spot his talent at the time had advised him to continue seeking knowledge in the field and advocating for the cause. This led him to pursuing a diploma in Musical Performance, which he graduated in 2000.

He was under the tutelage of various prominent figures of the local traditional arts scene during his time at the academy, including the late Fadzil Ahmad, Nasir Yusof (wayang kulit), Ibrahim Senik (flute and rebab), Ismail
Mamat (technical expert on traditional Kelantanese performing arts) and Rahim Jantan (traditional music and popular tunes).

"I have also been offered teaching positions in the field of music in almost all universities in the Klang Valley,” said Wak Long, who is now pursuing a masters degree in Performing Arts Management at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Today, Wak Long is capable of playing 145 traditional and western percussion instruments.

AN EMERGING TALENT

Wak Long broke the barriers that normally hampered the growth of traditional music when he collaborated with contemporary music performers.

This is something rarely done by traditional music performers, causing the performers and their music to remain stagnant even within their genre.

“Wayang kulit performers, for example, will only remain within their group, as is the case with the Mak Yong performers.

“I try to do something different by incorporating the 'gendang ibu' (drum) in contemporary music, and playing it standing up instead of the usual way, which is sitting down,” he said.

A WELL-RECEIVED COLLABORATION

His efforts in fusing traditional and contemporary music has been well received and turned him into a sought-after act locally and overseas since 2002.

He also often appears on the television programme “Nasi Lemak Kopi O” on TV9 as the accompanying musician. He was also involved in major concerts like that of Tan Sri S.M Salim at the Petronas Philharmonic Hall in KLCC here, Datuk Siti Nurhaliza’s concert in Albert Hall, London, as well as the concert by Noraniza
Idris, Zainal Abidin, and antiphony group Raihan.

He was also the musical director for the Kelantan wayang kulit and traditional music performance at the United Nations' headquarters in New York.

He has received numerous awards and accolades for his work, including the Selangor Young Talent Award 2011, the National Arts Award – Young talent in music, the World Master In Arts and Culture 2007 award and the Excellent Graduate Award in conjunction with the National Arts Culture and Heritage Academy by the then prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

CULTURAL VILLAGE IN KELANTAN

Reliving the traditional Kelantanese arts in a cultural village is Wak Long’s dream all this while and which may soon come into fruition.

The family project, seven years in the making, would see the gathering ofthe “Wak Long Gang” comprising his father Hussin Yusoff, his brothers Kamarul Baisah and Ahmad Ridwan as well as other family members.
His own village of Kampung Banggol Gelang Mas was selected for the project, which promised a side income for the villagers.

“We would gather the musicians and craftsmen of musical instruments here. It will become a training centre and a traditional Kelantanese arts school.

“Anyone wanting to learn about traditional music can come here. We may start a homestay programme for the purpose,” he said.

Petronas has agreed to sponsor the project to help introduce and promote traditional Kelantanese music.
Two theatre halls will serve as the silat court while a cultural theatre will be built to promote arts and cultural activities to attract youths.

“We want the children and grandchildren of the traditional music proponents in the village to become the generation that can be trained professionally, until they are capable of taking the traditional arts to a higher level,” he said. -- by Kurniawati Kamarudin


Read more at:http://english.astroawani.com/news/show/wak-long-brings-traditional-music-to-the-contemporary-world-28062?cp

sokmogitu

seriously, masa gi puket ada omputih layan lagu dikir puteri. muzik tradisional malaysia/indonesia (nusantara) sebenarnya lebih 'menjual' berbanding muzik pop yang dah sedia ada di dunia nan fanaa ni. lewat 10 tahun kebelakangan ni komersialisasi muzik etnik makin ketinggalan, x ada producer yang nak buat lagu lagu2 dan album tradisional (DISEBABKAN OLEH DISKRIMINASI RADIO SWASTA YANG TENTUKAN SELERA PENDENGAR).  akibatnya, muzik tradisional hampir pupus, manakala irama pop melayu diambil alih oleh indonesia dengan band2 kemelayuan seperti ST12, wali band, kangen band etc.

Aku harap kerajaan malaysia boleh bagi geran/dana kepada penerbit muzik tempatan untuk cipta dan rakam lagu2 tradisional (various kind)...melalui cara ni penerbit x teragak2 untuk melabur (biasanya bimbang rugi). kerajaan harus main peranan supaya radio swasta boleh wajibkan minimum 1 lagu etnik/hour dan 1 lagu nasyid every solat prayer, prior to azan.

trust me, muzik tradiional malaysia BOLEH JUAL.... kita je malas, terlalu western.

Muntz

Misai janggut serabai jah. Cubalah trim elok2.

Muntz

STONER posted on 9-1-2014 05:47 PM
misai tebal la sedap cemolot.

Tak kisah misai tebal, tapi kenalah trim cantik2, jgn biar serabai jah.

unhas

tapi muzik2 tradisional ni memang best layan. ape lagi yang jenis2 irama joget. bila dengar tu cam feel nak bergoyang sekali.