KUALA LUMPUR: Music maestro Datuk M. Nasir has given Malaysia's homegrown genre of dance music a shot in the arm with the release of the country's first multi-artiste Joget album.
Titled Joget Made In Malaysia, the album is produced by Nasir's company Luncai Emas Sdn Bhd with the support of the Communications and Multimedia Ministry and the participation of music lecturers and students from four universities — Sultan Idris Educational University (UPSI), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) and the National Arts, Culture and Heritage Academy (Aswara).
Nasir has invited 12 artistes to perform 10 songs written and composed by 20 composers and lyricists.
The artistes include Kmy Kmo and Lucka Sickta, Amir Jahari and Puteri Khareeza while the composers and lyricists include Amir, Salamah Basiron, Ayob Ibrahim, Lucka, Kmy and S. Amin Shahab.
"We completed Joget Made In Malaysia early this year, with the help of the Digital Content Fund of the Ministry. It's our special project to promote a homegrown music genre and national heritage among the younger generation," said Nasir at the launch of the album in the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur (WTCKL) in Jalan Putra here today.
Nasir added: "It's our mission to make traditional pop music a major force in the music industry. Many young Malaysians love dance music, and they should get acquainted with Joget, which is the original Malaysian dance music."
The album's executive producer Keon Omar said that Joget Made In Malaysia made Joget music more energetic by merging traditional musical instruments such as the rebana, accordion and flute with guitars, keyboards and drums.
"Some of the songs such as those by Kmy and Lucka contain hip-hop elements, a favourite amongst youngsters," he said, adding that the album took five months to complete.
Nasir is the creative adviser who supervised the production process of each song, while UMK creative technology head Associate Professor Dr Raja Iskandar Raja Halid was its cultural and artistic adviser.
"Six songs are performed by new singers Jaclyn Chia, Didie Shazry, Jannati Alaudin, Lydbie, Puteri Khareeza, Azizul Hakim and Zarina Nordin. Each song will be promoted digitally on Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music," said Keon.
Joget Made In Malaysia was launched by the ministry's secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohammad Mentek today.
"Luncai Emas' initiative to promote Joget amongst young Malaysians is most welcome. We hope that the songs from this album will be played by all radio stations," said Mohammad.
