KUALA LUMPUR: It is their first song with non-European lyrics, and Malaysia has had the honour of featuring its national language in the chirpy chorus.
Dutch pop-rock singers Nick Schilder, 35, and Simon Keizer, 34, better known as Nick & Simon, are currently in town for a 10-day tour of Malaysia which began yesterday.
And to mark the occasion, they have come up with a predominantly English song titled Kasih Sayang.
Specially to introduce Nick & Simon to Malaysians, Kasih Sayang was released under Warner Music early this month.
Schilder said: “We’re touring Malaysia to film the eighth season of our music documentary series Nick & Simon: The Dream and we’ll be visiting Melaka, Johor and Kuching in Sarawak, besides the Klang Valley.”
Schilder and Keizer who hail from Volendam which is 20km northeast of Amsterdam, have been friends since high school and have always shared a passion for music.
Big fans of Jason Mraz and Ed Sheeran, the duo have released 10 albums since teaming up in 2006.
Schilder and Keizer participated in Idols, the Dutch version of reality talent show Idol in 2004 and Schilder finished 11th. Keizer was eliminated in the first round.
They also became the vocal coaches for the first three seasons of The Voice of Holland from 2010 to 2012.
“Before we landed in Malaysia, we did a bit of research on the music scene here, and we chose to learn a word or two in Malay to attract fans,” said Keizer.
“We think Malay is a beautiful language and easy to learn, and if all goes well, we hope to pen a fully Malay song by next year.”
Keizer said that they chose to visit Malaysia because they had always been fascinated by the country’s cultural diversity.
“Malaysia has many different Asian cultures and Malaysians speak good English, too,” said Schilder.
He said that they had visited the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, Cuba, Jamaica and Sweden in The Dream.
“We’re filming eight episodes in Malaysia, and it’ll be screened on Dutch television two months from now. We’re not only focusing on music, but also the country’s tourist destinations.
“We will also get involved in interesting activities unrelated to music,” said Schilder.
Before they return to the Netherlands, Nick & Simon will have a mini showcase at The Bee in Publika, Solaris Dutamas, off Jalan Duta on July 26.
