COMPOSER and singer Hafiz Hamidun is known for thinking out of the box, and he did just that with his most recent musical special, Konsert Zikir Dikir.
The two-hour concert took place recently at the Convention Centre of Taman Tamadun Islam, Kuala Terengganu, and attracted 1,000 fans from all over the state as well as Kelantan and Pahang.
Sharing the stage with Hafiz was dikir barat icon Halim Yazid.
Both delivered spellbinding songs that combined the best of nasyid (spiritual music) and dikir barat, a traditional Malay music genre that involves poetry, chanting and singing, and has roots in Kelantan and Patani in southern Thailand.
Hafiz, who was also the concert's organiser and producer, said he was overjoyed by the public's response and hoped to bring the show to other states, especially in the west coast.
"It's great to have shared the stage with Halim for the first time.
"He is a dikir barat legend who is widely respected by fans of the traditional art form," Hafiz said, adding that he had conceptualised Konsert Zikir Dikir in January.
"It was a lot of hard work on my part to get this concert going. But I'm always passionate about traditional and spiritual music, and I want to thank my production team for working non-stop to make this concert a memorable one."
STANDING OVATION
Hafiz praised Halim for his work ethic and professionalism.
"It was a breeze working with Halim. He is very friendly, cooperative, understanding and down to earth.
"He gave me lots of ideas for this concert and the end result was an amazing show in which we both received a standing ovation at the end."
Hafiz also said that he had always wanted to collaborate with an icon of Malay traditional music, and he was fortunate to get in touch with Halim.
"He is the best-known name in dikir barat today, and he always gives this famous music genre a modern touch that speaks directly to the young listeners of today."
Hafiz and Halim performed 21 songs, and many of which came with special "sketches" that required them to act while singing.
"By interacting with each other and the audience, the concert became interesting and our fans enjoyed themselves engaging with us," Hafiz said.
He said although there are Malaysians who enjoy traditional music, the number is small. Consequently, he came up with the idea of merging traditional music with Islamic music to reach a wider audience.
"We both wish thank the Communications Ministry and MyCreative Ventures for helping us organise this concert. They gave us a lot of good feedback, and indirectly helped make it a success."
KLANG VALLEY BECKONS
Hafiz hopes to organise Konsert Zikir Dikir in the Klang Valley next year.
"In the years to come, I hope to bring this concert to the Klang Valley, Penang, Perak and Johor among others," he said, adding that the Klang Valley concert would be on a grander scale.
"Ultimately, I would love to have a Konsert Zikir Dikir tour of Malaysia, all its major cities."
The recent concert was divided into three segments, namely spiritual, cultural and Zikir Dikir which combined both genres of music.
"In the third segment, Halim and I performed duets backed by an outstanding team of musicians."
Hafiz previously staged Konsert Zikir Terapi in Dewan Perdana Felda, Kuala Lumpur in 2012, Johor Baru Indoor Stadium (2013), SPICE Arena in Bayan Lepas, Penang (2014), Kuala Lumpur Tower (2015) and Istana Budaya in Kuala Lumpur (2015).
The concerts followed his hugely successful album, 'Zikir Terapi', which has sold 3.5 million units to date.
