...continue from page one Carrying a reservoir of creativity toward his work - much of which he gained from being Roslan's parasitoid - he strived to produce an album that would not be compared to Gersang. Keen on building his own bandwagon of fans, he is on the road to pulling in a fair share from the likes of Awie, Search, KRU, Slam and many others with his brand of contemporary rock. Since meeting with Roslan, his musical influences have changed from the likes of Black Sabbath to Sting, Peter Gabriel and Howard Jones. "I just started listening to different forms of music in order to be knowledgeable on various sounds." And so finally, his long overdue offering takes form. He feels that a musician has got to enjoy what he is doing in order to create music with feelings that come from the depths of the heart. The album was mixed and mastered in Australia where the equipment and the technical expertise helped him achieve a very clear, full sound, instrumentally and vocally. Many of the songs have a strong acoustic guitar presence while rhythms are more subtle and complex with touches of funk and rock grooves. His production exploits a step further, taking the most palatable part of what he was known for - rock - and giving it a raw and realistic edge. With a gorgeous confection of sadness and swagger, he delivers his numbers with passion that warms the cockles of your heart. He wrote songs that didn't centre on the boy-meets-girl theme but ventured further into matters that are of importance to society nowadays. Tolol pokes fun at individuals who don't think for themselves but stupidly follow latest trends and fashions instead of preserving their own identity while Untuk Siapa borders on an antiwar theme. Relatively, other songs on the album - Menanti which is about a woman's anguish of being left in an old folks' home by her children - carry similar messages that have raised public concern. His solo effort has to date earned him six nominations at the recent AIM awards: Best New Solo Artiste (Male), which he won; Best Vocal Performance (Male), Best Pop Album, Best Song, Best Music Video and Best Album. The album has been said to be laced with western influenced - a no-no in our local music scene though some have escaped unscathed by critics. "Well, it's in Malay and furthermore, I do believe we've got to move with the times." The album didn't sell like hot cakes the instant it hit the market. Though it has reached platinum sales, the sales grew from month to month at a slower pace over a longer period of time. "I don't believe in recording an album for the sake of putting something out in the market," he says. "It's got to have quality. I want people to pick up my album ten years down the road and still appreciate it as a timeless fare." There is a lot of difference from the way he used to sound and he delivers the notes the only way he knows how, without having to enhance it with mixing technicalities. "Can you imagine hitting a high note that has been enhanced in the studio and when you sing 'live' you can't reach anywhere near the original key?" he poses a scenario. "It is awfully embarrassing and you are cheating people about your capabilities." He is very comfortable with his original pitch and adds that his vocal chords have not given him any problems. "I am not eager to continue my flirtation with the prospect of losing my voice; stretching it more than I should." The brightest blip in our music culture's radar screen threatens to become more of an emblem than an act. The audience is more affluent now and has the ability to identify with music as an art form. With the 90s bromides of melodic pop hooks and raving guitars, Man Bai's album can only further stimulate saliva glands. "Nobody wants to pay RM14 for a tape that houses more misses than hits," he says, growing reflective of his own potential. "I just strive to make at least six songs a hit." He feels that musicians should develop themselves further whether it is taking vocal or music classes, that they do all that there is to improve musically. "Anyone can sing but it is how well they can do it that matters," he adds. "Most of our local musicians shock sendiri thinking that they sound so good but in reality people think otherwise!" He acknowledges the talents of his peers - Sheila Majid and Zainal Abidin who have the ability to take Malaysia far with their creativity. "No one wants to hear some Hindustani sound revived from the 70s. In the year 2000, this type of music will not be listenable and hey, even foreigners who come into the country wanting to hear our music will have their enthusiasm shot at first listen. We've got to work hard and steer clear from our primitive ways." Having worked with Roslan for some five years with a different salary package, he still feels that there's a lot more room for learning. "I coordinate the crew for shows and Roslan has been pretty decent to let me have time off to promote my album," he explains. "Just as long as I call back the office to tell them what I am up to." Man Bai has taken on other duties. Due to be released come mid-year is Layar Lara, his first acting debut in which he plays the role of Daud. "It was an exciting experience," he divulges as his face lights up with excitement. "We practically lived the roles of our characters. The director gave us the freedom to improvise on our script deliverance as long as we didn't deviate from the actual story." His most memorable moment was having to cry for a particular scene. No, the tears weren't onion induced but inspiration came from a different source. "I thought of my late mother whom I love dearly." As he had taken a break from promoting his album to act in this movie, he has gotten back to it all with gung-ho. Apart from that, he is also putting together material for his next album which is slated for a July production. Here is a man who has pinned his hopes on making it big with dignity and credible impact. Kau Ilham Ku chronicles the ascent of a man's hope of making it big with just that. He seems to be like a man in the middle of the sea who finds character and atmosphere in the waves; fully aware that there is always something. To me, his most impressive work will always be the evolving creation and projection of his forceful personality, that of an interesting, wry, scarred but self-deprecating amusing survivor of every terrible thing that can befall a person from the crazed world pop-dom.
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