MENTION a popular male artiste who is a jack-of-all-trades, and many young Malaysians are bound to answer "Alif Satar".
The 33-year-old Penangite wears many hats — singer-songwriter, TV host, businessman, actor and fitness icon since he is a regular triathlete in the annual Ironman Langkawi meet.
OLD FRIENDS
And for the last seven years, Alif has also been the lead singer of his very own band The Locos, who also comprise his old friends — guitarist Tam Cobain, bassist Efry, saxophonist Faliq Auri and drummer Rajwan.
While Alif is known for easy-listening pop tunes as a solo artiste, The Locos are not an extension of his solo act.
"Alif Satar & The Locos is a lot more diverse as each of us brings different musical ingredients to the stage," said Alif at the recent launch of his band's self-titled debut solo album on board Resorts World Cruises' cruise ship Genting Dream which docked at the Port Klang Cruise Terminal in Pulau Indah, Port Klang, Selangor recently.
NOT THE SAME
Alif added: "The Locos does not play the same music as Alif Satar the solo singer.
"They experiment with various genres — pop, R&B, jazz, hip-hop and Lagu Asli."
POP FAVOURITES
Alif, who has been a recording artiste for 17 years and was discovered in the 8TV reality talent show One In A Million's (OIAM) first season where he finished third, has always thought of becoming part of a band.
"I'm a believer in my one-time teen pop favourites New Kids On The Block (NKOTB), who had a hit song Step By Step in the 1990s.
"That motivational song advocates that we move up in our careers gradually, and since I started as a soloist, forming a band was the next logical thing to do," said Alif.
SEVEN SONGS
The Locos' album has seven songs (to mark seven years in showbiz), which they wrote and composed in collaboration with various local composers and lyricists.
The songs are Anugerah Terindah, Lelaki X Sempurna (a solo version and a duet with Diandra Arjunaidi), Toxic, Isteri, Hey and Senyum.
UK TOUR
Alif revealed that the first single Anugerah Terindah was written on a musical tour of the United Kingdom.
"It came up in our heads when we were in the UK in late 2019, entertaining 500 people, mostly Malaysian students in London as well as Leeds," he said.
As for singer-songwriter Diandra, Alif said that he and his bandmates had known her for a long time as they are contemporaries.
CRAZY FUNNY
"Some fans asked us if we coined our name The Locos on board a train, since loco is locomotive in short.
"No, it has nothing to do with trains, as we coined our name in a studio — loco means crazy in Spanish and we are pretty crazy funny guys at heart!" said Alif.
RITE OF PASSAGE
When asked about their decision to come up with an album, Alif said that it was always good to have at least one.
"Coming up with an album is a rite of passage for every band or soloist. It is something we have always wanted to strive for."
CRUISE SHIP
When asked if they had plans to entertain holidaymakers on a cruise ship, Alif said that it would be "fantastic" to spend a month on one as a resident band.
"Last month we entertained people on this very ship for a day. It was fun!"
BUY LOCAL
Alif Satar & The Locos launched their album on the cruise ship as part of the Sayang Lokal (Love Local) campaign initiated by Resorts World Cruises.
It encourages Malaysians to support local acts, buy local goods and use local services.
The band is the first Malaysian act to perform on the ship and the first to launch an album on a ship.
The launch took place in the 999-seat Zodiac Theatre of the ship and was attended by Resorts World Cruises representative Cynthia Lee, the ship's captain Jukka Silvennoinen and Warner Music Malaysia associate director of digital account and business development Carter Ng.
