Creative Quest

12/08/2008 00:09:47 By roslan aziz productions

Creative quest By N. RAMA LOHAN Roslan Aziz has completed, much to his joy and satisfaction, a musical project of his own.He could roll out a lengthy résumé but Roslan has, through the years, remained a class act in the Malaysian music industry and prefers to let his work do the talking.His latest endeavour, aLi, is scarcely a surprise. Record producers, such as Alan Parsons and Pharrell Williams (of The Neptunes’ fame), have been known to embark on musical projects of their own, and Roslan has embarked on the same path.The forces behind aLi are Roslan and his long-time collaborator Mukhlis Nor, a songwriter who’s remained the “silent” driving force .“There are two versions of the album ... a more concise variant of about 42 minutes and the full 72-minute version. The longer version will feature quite a few extras ... the songs are also extended versions. alt The album, titled aLi, for the normal release and The Box for the expanded version, features a musical potpourri of slick rhythm and blues, as well as jazz and pop vibes.Music listening, as an experience, isn’t what it used to be anymore. In the digital age, music is now simply downloaded for a fee (or illegally, in many cases) from host sites and a large number of listeners enjoy their music via the computer. Thus, aLi is logically cashing in on this technological advancement.“. This is definitely the future for marketing music.The expanded edition will feature more literature and even a souvenir programme.As an added bonus, listeners can log onto aLi’s recording sessions on Pro Tools (recording software) and mix the songs to their own liking.”It’s Roslan’s philosophy that there’s unity in diversity, which is what gives him faith in the varying tastes of the Malaysian public. “I have a lot of Chinese and Indian friends. My brothers are Chinese and Indians. That’s why we consciously wanted to make sure this wasn’t a Malay album, by Malays for Malays. There are no racial boundaries at all, and please, no religion, either.