Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
an singer and musician. He spent his childhood in Singapore and Malaysia. He grew up listening to his uncle's record collection which included legends such as Jimi Hendrix,
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...
,
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
,
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
and Deep Purple. Later on he turned on to U2, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Ali Farka Touré.
He started writing songs at age 13. By 18, Art was writing songs for regional big names like Ramli Sarip and Ella. In the early 1990s Art began working as a roadie for Sarip while he continued writing songs for major Malaysian acts such as Left-handed, Ella andKathy Ibrahim, with many songs published by
Warner Music
Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...
.
Rausyanfikir
After his stint as a roadie, he formed a
folk rock
Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk music, folk and rock music, rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the American fo ...
band called Rausyanfikir, meaning Thinkers (origin: Persian) with school friends Esham Jamil and Mohd Khair Mohd Yasin. The band recorded two significant albums—Rausyanfikir (1992) and Rusuhan Fikiran (1994). Influenced by Iwan Fals, Usman Awang and Kembara, the band wrote songs exploring issues such as
social consciousness
Social consciousness or social awareness, is collective consciousness shared by individuals within a society.
live music
A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety ...
circuit. He played at almost every venue in London including The Rock Garden, Bungies, The 12 Bar Club, Ain't Nothin' But the Blues etc. He also played at venues around the UK—from Kent and Manchester Universities to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
His musical style evolved as his circle of friends and musicians widened. London was 'a grove of the mind'. The city's colourful
multiculturalism
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...
gave him space and energy to explore.
Some of his best live cuts were captured in his 1998 release "Acoustic Juju" which also included the Edinburgh's Tympnali Song Competition winner, "Monsoon Rain".
In January 2000, Fazil returned to Singapore to perform for the Taman Warisan Fundraiser (Malay Heritage Board), performing with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra at the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall. The prestigious event was attended by the President of the Republic of Singapore, Mr. Sellapan Ramanathan and the First Lady, Foreign Dignitaries and local members of parliament.
In late October 2000, Art released an introspective album called Nur (Light) inspired by his overseas experiences. The album received 7 nominations in Mediacorp's Anugerah Planet Music 2001 which brought together acts from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. He won 4 out of the 7 awards he was nominated for. The song 'Merindu Kepastian (Longing)' went to the Number 1 spot in the Singapore charts.
In early 2001, Art began a Postgraduate education at The
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jaz ...
. Art completed his post-graduate course there in 2003.
Later that year, he formed Jawi Empire, a World music band with strong influences from African and gamelan music at the
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...
, London, as part of the multicultural celebration, Festival of Lights.
In September 2002, Art played at the South Bank Centre in London, as part of the singer-songwriter festival called 'The Song's The Thing' organised by
Kashmir Klub
The Kashmir Klub was a non-profit making, live music club that operated in central London, England between 1997 and 2003. It was located at 6 Nottingham Place, in the basement of a restaurant and bar called "Fabrizio" at the "Baker and Oven".
...
and The Performing rights Society (UK).
In October 2002, Art recorded an English number for the Mercy Relief charity album. The song, entitled 'Song for the World' was co-written with Canadian songwriter Lee Lindsey and two British songwriters,
Mark Bryan
Mark William Bryan (born May 6, 1967) is an American musician. He is a founding member, songwriter, and the lead guitarist for the band Hootie & the Blowfish. In 1986, Bryan and his friend Darius Rucker formed a duo called The Wolf Brothers w ...
and C. Christine. It was produced byJack Guy at Sphere Studios in London.
An avid wanderer, Art travelled in Europe, Turkey and the Middle East. In 2005, inspired by Amsterdam's Pasar Malam Besar, he founded the first London Malay Festival. As part of Malay Arts & Tradition London which had participation from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Madagascar, Thailand and
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. The event held at the Royal Horticultural Centre in Victoria enjoyed a tremendous success. It was attended by Londoners and dignitaries which included Madagascar's Ambassador to
the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
.
Art continued developing his song writing by constantly performing at live music venues in London such the world-famous Kashmir Klub founded by ex- Cutting CrewTony Moore, Tall Poppy Presents, Pronto (Frith Street, Soho), Mawar (Edgware Road), The Visible ( Portobello Road),
The Bedford, Balham
The Bedford, originally named The Bedford Hotel, is a Grade II listed public house at 77 Bedford Hill, Balham, London SW12 9HD.
History
The original building (then named The Bedford Hotel) was built in the 1870s. In 1876, the pub building hou ...
and The New Inn (St John's Wood)
In February 2007, Art performed at London's West End
Arts Theatre
The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London.
History
It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre censorship by the Lord Chamber ...
in the Phil Ryan Show which featured UK acts such asBaby Sol, Peter Conway and Evi Vine.
In March 2008 he completed a course in Business Music at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance. In April 2008, he performed alongside Malaysia's superstar M. Nasir at the Ambassador Theatre in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
, Ireland. He also began to work as an actor. He performed in two telemovies, Kau Mencipta Dosa Ku and Salam Lebaran, in Malaysia under director Eirma Fatima for Malaysia's Astro
cable TV
Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...
network.
Art was also an activist with The Free Tibet Campaign UK
He released a
solo album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
called Syair Melayu (Malay Poems) on 20 June 2009 in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and the United Kingdom.
Art Fazil is signed to Moro Records Malaysia. The first single from the label is Rilek Brader -Art Fazil featuring Imuda released in January 2013.
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of his debut English album (1993–2013), Moro Records has released a Special Collector's Edition CD with all 12 tracks digitally remastered.
In April 2015, Art Fazil curated a one-month-long exhibition at The National Museum of Singapore as part of the SG50 Celebrations. The exhibition was entitled ‘Ole Ole Temasek: 50 Years of Singapore Malay Pop Music’. It showcased 50 years history of Singapore Malay Pop Music beginning with 1965 right to 2015. As part of the exhibition, Art gave a talk on the rise of the Nusantara music movement in the 1990s.
In September 2015, Art Fazil produced 'Konsert Pop Malar Segar' for NAC's Silver Arts Festival in celebration of the pioneer generation of Singapore. The show was held at The Kallang Theatre featuring legendary artistes such as Sanisah Huri, Dato’ A. Rahman Hassan, J. Mizan and Maria Bachok. The show also featured younger talents namely Aisyah Aziz and Imran Ajmain.
Awards
1995– COMPASS Best English Song for Sometimes When I Feel Blue
1995– Anugerah Persuratan (Malay Literature Award) for lyrics of the song 'Ali Malas' from Rausyanfikir II.
1997– COMPASS Best Local Malay Song for Dikir Fikir Fikir from Rausyanfikir II.
1997– Winner of Tympanli Songwriter's Competition, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Scotland, United Kingdom
2001– Mediacorp's Anugerah Planet Music Awards:
1) Best Singapore Album 2001
2) Best New (Singapore) Solo Artiste 2001
3) Best New (Regional) Artiste 2001
2001– Getaran Global Ria (World Music Programme) The New York Festivals Finalist Award, International Competition For Radio Advertising And Programming
2015 - The Golden Point Award 2015 - 2nd Prize for Malay Poetry; Honourable Mention Short Story (Malay)