Trisno Ishak (18 July 1978), known professionally as Trisno, is a singer and teacher from Singapore. In 2000, he was the lead singer of Urban Xchange, which evolved to Parking Lot Pimp. He has performed alongside Stacy Orrico,

Jamie Cullum Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine stu ...

Jay Sean Kamaljit Singh Jhooti (born 26 March 1981), better known by the stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer and songwriter. He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with "Dance with You", which reached ...

Missy Higgins Melissa Morrison Higgins (born 19 August 1983), known professionally as Missy Higgins, is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. Her Australian number-one albums are ''The Sound of White'' (2004), ''On a Clear Night'' (2007) and ''The Ol ...

and Ben and Joey of

The Click Five The Click Five (often abbreviated as TC5) was an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. The original members, most of them students at Berklee College of Music, started on January 1, 2004, and played in various local venues. They then q ...

. He collaborated with

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

Brian McKnight Brian Kelly McKnight (born June 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, radio host and multi-instrumentalist. He is most recognized for his strong head voice, high belting range and melisma. McKnight is known for h ...

Mr. Cheeks Terrance Kelly (born March 28, 1971), known professionally as Mr. Cheeks, is an American rapper best known for his work with the musical group Lost Boyz, and as a solo artist with the single "Lights, Camera, Action!". Biography 1991–2019: L ...

from

The Lost Boyz Lost Boyz are an American hip hop group from Queens, New York, consisting of MC Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah, and K Chrys. Originally in the early 90's LB consisted of Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah, Spigg Nice, and Pretty Lou. Member K Chrys or “Ka ...

, Malaysian hip-hop duo

Too Phat Too Phat was a Malaysian hip-hop duo, composed of rappers Joe Flizzow (born Johan Ishak in Kuala Lumpur; 16 October 1979) and Malique (born Malique Ibrahim in Johor Bahru; 21 August 1977). Career In the late 1990s Joe Flizzow, Malique and K ...

, Malaysian singer

Camelia Camelia may refer to: * Camelia (singer) (born 1974), Malaysian singer and model * Camelia (actress) (19191950), Egyptian actress * Camelia (name), a list of people with the name * Camelia, a character in the telenovala ''Camelia la Texana'' * Cam ...

, Singaporean rapper

Sheikh Haikel Sheikh Haikel Sheikh Salim Bajrai ( ar, شيخ هيكل شيخ سليم ', born 10 October 1975) is a Singaporean rapper, actor and radio personality. He won the talent competition Asia Bagus in 1991. As a multi media personality with numerous ...

, and Taiwanese pop singer Evonne. With his sizzling buttery voice, Trisno has captivated local and international audience. Coupled along with his versatility in music and adept talent at working the crowd, he is described as "the guy who was born to be a performer".Candice Chia, 2001. So who's not cool? ''The New Paper'', 29 May p24.

Early years

Trisno was born into a musically inclined background. His mother, Dahlia Ahmad, was a recording artist at

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

. Dahlia's sister and brother, Hamidah Ahmad and Eddie Ahmad, were also recording artists and recorded a duet titled ''Mawarku'' (translated in English as ''My Rose''), which was a major hit in the 1970s.Hasleen Bachik, 2002. Urban Xchange sudah langkah jauh. ''Berita Harian'', 7 November p12. This song has been popularised by

Siti Nurhaliza Dato' Sri Hajah Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin ( Jawi: سيتي نورهاليزا بنت تارودين ; IPA: ; born 11 January 1979) is a Malaysian singer, songwriter, actress and businesswoman with more than 300 local and international awards. ...

and group 2 by 2 from Malaysia. Early on in his life, Trisno was exposed to the musical world. His mother brought him to her jazz performances across the region when his father, Ishak Ahmad, was often overseas. Backstage, Trisno would never fail to catch a glimpse of his mother singing and performing in front of the masses. From then on, his musical journey began. Growing up, Trisno listened to music from genres ranging from jazz to Motown to Latin. His early influences include

Spyro Gyra Spyro Gyra is an American jazz fusion band that was formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1974. The band's music combines jazz, R&B, funk, and pop music. The band's name comes from ''Spirogyra'', a genus of green algae which founder Jay Beckenstein ...

(jazz),

Shakatak Shakatak is an English jazz-funk band founded in 1980 by Nigel Wright and former Wigan Casino DJ Kev Roberts. Following an initial white label release 'Steppin', the band's name was derived from a record store in Soho, London Record Shack. I ...

(jazz-funk),

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

(vocal jazz) and

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top record ...

(Latin). Mostly disguised as a toilet singer, his talent was only first spotted at the age of 14. His stepfather, Redwan Ali, exposed him to musicians such as

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 1 ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

and

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

. Trisno learnt the importance of music from educational perspective such as music notation, song composition and studio works. Trisno continued learning music and has become adept at piano, acoustic guitar, bass guitar and electric guitar. He obtained 8th grade in bass guitar at Yamaha Music School.

Music career

Urban Xchange

As Trisno served his

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

, he met music producer Terry Lee. Under the direction of Lee, Trisno appeared on "Serenade Volume 3" in the song "My Lady, My Bonnie, My Wifey" in an album compilation of Asian-American musicians that was released in the United States. With Lee and five others, including

Vanessa Fernandez Vanessa Mary Fernandez (born 17 October 1982) is a singer and radio presenter from Singapore. She released several albums with the now defunct hip hop groups, Urban Xchange and Parking Lot Pimp and is now more popularly known by her moniker, Va ...

and Munir Alsagoff, they formed Urban Xchange in 2000. The group was signed to

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

after a

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

endorsement deal for the "Life Tastes Good" campaign set for Asia. The debut album was released in 2001 titled ''How Did We Get Here?'',''How Did We Get Here?''
Accessed on 1 July 2008 which includes songs such as "Stupid","Stupid" music video. Accessed on 1 July 2008 which was on high rotation on local radio and MTV. The second album,
Accessed on 1 July 2008 self-titled, was released in 2002 with the single "Buzzin". In 2001,

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

named Urban Xchange artist of the month, and they appeared on the ''

Rush Hour 2 ''Rush Hour 2'' is a 2001 American buddy action comedy film directed by Brett Ratner and written by Jeff Nathanson, based on the characters created by Ross LaManna. A sequel to '' Rush Hour'', it is the second installment in the ''Rush Hour'' f ...

'' soundtrack with the song "I wanna be like Jackie Chan".''I wanna be like Jackie Chan''
Accessed on 29 June 2008 Two years later, in 2003, Urban Xchange won tBest Regional English Album at the AIM awards in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

,Hasleen Bachik, 2003. Anak Seni S'pura bersinar di AIM. ''Berita Harian'', 28 April. p12. and were nominated for Best/Favourite Singapore Artiste in

MTV Asia Awards The MTV Asia Awards was the Asian equivalent of the European MTV EMA. Held from 2002 to 2008, the show gave recognition and awards to Asian and international artists in achievement, cinema, fashion, humanitarian, and music. Just like the EMAs, most ...

2003. The group performed alongside Europe's classical pop quintet

Wild Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wild animal * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild'' (2014 film), a 2014 A ...

, British R&B popstar

, Australian folk singer

, and American singer

Richard Marx Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963) is an American adult contemporary music, adult contemporary and pop rock singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Marx's Richard Marx (album), self-titled debut album went tri ...

in EMI Rainbow of Sound Showcase 2004 in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

. Urban Xchange also appeared in ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'' Singapore January 2002 edition as 'Hot Musicians' to look out for in 2002.Elle Singapore, 2002. People: Hot List. ''

Singapore magazine'', January. p58 Urban Xchange's achievement and fame in local and regional scene was rooted in "its fusion of sounds" Pivotal to their success was Hans Ebert, who was vice-president of Universal Music Asia Pacific and then joining EMI. Recorded Music Southeast Asia as advisor to chairman in September 2002. When Urban Xchange was reborn as Parking Lot Pimp, Ebert maintained close affiliation and support for the new band.

Parking Lot Pimp

In 2005, Urban Xchange evolved into Parking Lot Pimp,Parking Lot Pimp – AOL Music
Accessed on 1 July 2008 boasting psychedelic and space rock. It was composed of four members of Urban Xchange – Trisno, Vanessa, Terry, and Munir, as well as Jeremy Green, an American rapper. The shift in music genre and band image was primarily because of boredom of Urban Xchange and hip-hop.Germaine Lim, 2004. Parking Fine. LIME magazine, November. p70,71. Their album ''Welcome to our frequency''''Welcome to our frequency''
Accessed on 1 July 2008 was released in 2005. They were named MTV Advance Warning Artiste.Skye Tan, 2005. New name, new frequency.'' The New Paper'', 26 May p26. In 2005 and 2006, Parking Lot Pimp featured on America Online Music. This album included the song "Blow"

Solo

Trisno has sung at various bars including J bar, Blue Bar Bistro and Indochine, and performs at the annual MOSAIC music festival. In the first Singapore edition of ''

Don't Forget the Lyrics! ''Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' is an international game show in the United States. The American show originally aired on Fox from July 11, 2007, to June 19, 2009, and after a year off the air, a third overall season, and first as a syndicated show ...

'' held by

MediaCorp Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media prope ...

in 2008, Trisno was the guide vocalist. In 2009, he performed alongside fusion band Novo Bloco.''Novo Bloco''
Accessed on 24 August 2009 for the

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brown ...

's Worldwide Festival held in Zirca (Singapore).

The Trisno Trio

In 2011, Trisno led the formation of The Trisno Trio,''The Trisno Trio''
Accessed on 21 February 2014 an eclectic acoustic group, with Clifford Gomez (a.k.a. "Cliffy") and Abdul Rahman (a.k.a. "Joey").

''Sennheiser Asia's Sound Heroes''

In August 2012, Sennheiser Electronic Asia ("Sennheiser Asia") launched its regional marketing campaign entitled "The Pursuit of Perfect Sound", to mark its twentieth anniversary of direct presence in the region.''Sennheiser Asia's Sound Heroes''
Accessed on 21 February 2014 Shortly after, in September 2012, The Trisno Trio were named as one of Sennheiser Asia's Sound Heroes.''Sennheiser Sound Heroes – Episode 2''
Accessed on 21 February 2014''Sennheiser Asia Sound Hero – Trisno Trio''
Accessed on 21 February 2014 On 16 November 2012, The Trisno Trio were showcased as one of eleven Sennheiser Asia Sound Heroes in Sennheiser Asia's twentieth anniversary celebrations held at Zouk Singapore.''Sennheiser announces Sound Heroes in Asia''
Accessed on 21 February 2014

''Egypt''

In March 2013, Trisno Trio launched their debut album entitled "Egypt". Songs from Egypt have made various headlines locally and overseas. For example, Trisno was invited on Mediacorp Suria's beauty-cum-talent competition, Ratu, as a guest artiste to showcase Trisno Trio's song, Ratu. Since launch of Egypt, Trisno Trio have performed at various events such as Singapore's Mosaic Music Festival,The Trisno Trio performing at Mosaic Music Festival 2013
Accessed on 1 March 2014 Sonic Spree Music Festival and ONE (Singapore)'s second annual gala "ONE BALL 2013"."The ONE Ball... A Legendary Night!"
Accessed on 1 March 2014 In October 2013, Trisno Trio performed and was nominated for two awards – "Best Collaboration" & "Best Duo / Group" – at 2013 ''Anugerak Planet Muzik'' 2013.''Aungerah Planet Muzik 2013 Media Conference''
Accessed on 1 March 2014

Teaching career

Trisno continues to share his passion for music with youths in schools and institutions through teaching. His students are taught from a variety of music specialisation subjects such as music production, strum & sing guitar classes, rap mission, vocal classes and world-music/hip hop acid production. Some of the schools that he has taught in are Saint Gabriel's Secondary School, Pierce Secondary School and Canberra Secondary School.

Collaborations (group and solo)

*2001 **(US) With rapper from US,

, on Urban Xchange's first album, track titled ''Cheeky'' *2002 **(MALAYSIA) With award-winning hip hop duo, Too Phat, on Urban Xchange's self-titled album, track titled ''That Booty Song'' **(MALAYSIA) With Ruffedge & V.E. on Urban Xchange's self-titled album, track titled ''Sabarlah'' **(SINGAPORE) With Sheik Haikel on his album ''For Sure'', song titled ''Jangan tinggal daku'' **(TAIWAN) n keyboardWith Taiwanese popstar Evonne Hsu, on her album ''EVONNE'', song titled ''Buzzin'' **(US) With Grammy award nominee

, on his bonus album ''Superhero'', song titled ''When you wanna come''Tommy Wee, 2002. Cultural Xchange.'' Life! The Straits times'', 7 December. p6. *2003 **(MALAYSIA) With Malaysia's Camelia on her album, song titled "Not That Type of Lady"''Not That Type of Lady'' music video Accessed on 1 July 2008 **(TAIWAN) With Taiwanese pop band Energy, track titled ''Ramen Song'' *2005 **(UK/US) With

and various artistes for his album ''Lennon & Yoko presents Peace, Love & Truth'' song titled ''Give Peace a Chance''Jill Alphonso, 2005. The right Frequency. ''Life! The Straits Times'', 27 May p12.

Performances (group and solo)

*2001 ** National Day Parade *2002 **Day Out at Esplanade, Grand Opening of

Esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

**MerdekaTONE at Bintang Walk, Malaysia's National Day **Opening act of the showcase for American R&B artist,

Christina Milian Christine Marie Flores (born September 26, 1981), better known as Christina Milian (), is an American actress and singer. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, but raised in Maryland, she signed a contract with Murder Inc. Records at the age of 19. ...

at LOX,

Clarke Quay Clarke Quay is a historical riverside quay in Singapore, located within the Singapore River Planning Area. The quay is situated upstream from the mouth of the Singapore River and Boat Quay. Etymology ''Clarke Quay'' was named after Sir Andre ...

*2003 **ASIAN X GAMES V held at

Petronas Twin Towers The Petronas Towers, also known as the Petronas Twin Towers or KLCC Twin Towers, (Malay: ''Menara Berkembar Petronas'') are 88-storey supertall skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, standing at . From 1998 to 2003, they were officially design ...

**AXN Asian Challenge at

**Grand Opening of ADIDAS ORIGINALS store at Pacific Plaza **Grand Opening of Tower Records KL, 1 UTAMA ** National Day Parade **Urban Xchange SOUL'D OUT concert, Late Nite at Esplanade Recital Studios *2004 **A Jam Session Duet with

at Indochine Aquadisiac Wisma **

Rainbow of Sound Showcase in Bangkok, performed alongside Europe's classical pop quintet

, UK r&b popstar

, Australian folk singer

and America's celebrated legend

, performed with Stacy Orrico *2005 **MOSAIC music festival 2005 at Esplanade, Parking Lot Pimp *2006 **A Jam Session with Ben and Joey of

at J Bar, M Hotel Singapore **MOSAIC music festival 2006 at the Esplanade, opening act with Soulcadelics, for UK's acid jazz pioneer, INCOGNITO! 2006 **SoundwaveS by People's Association @ the Esplanade Concert Theatre guest appearing alongside Dick Lee and Joi Cai Chun JiaChannel NewsAsia, 2006
''"SoundwaveS" opens at Esplanade with mix of pop and ethnic music''
Accessed on 1 July 2008 **Trisno Ishak and friends Concert @ the Esplanade outdoors *2007 **A Jam Session with Ben and Joey of

at J Bar, M Hotel Singapore **''Lunchbox at the Esplanade. Relax... It's Trisno''''Lunchbox at the Esplanade. Relax... It's Trisno''
Accessed on 1 July 2008 *2008 **MOSAIC Festival 2008 at The Esplanade. ''Tribute to country legends''''Tribute to country legends''
Accessed on 1 July 2008 *2009 **

's Worldwide Festival in Zirca (Singapore), alongside Novo Bloco

Features (group and solo)

*2000 **Coca-Cola advertisement, Life Tastes Good Campaign ambassadorRonald Rajan 2001. Local band for Coke's ad. ''Project Eyeball'', 1 May p6. *2001 **Recorded featured song on Hollywood's blockbuster movie, Rush Hour 2 OST titled ''I wanna be like Jackie Chan''Yeoh Wee Teck, 2001. Rushing into the big time?. ''The New Paper'', 19 July p20.Tommy Wee, 2001. Fair Xchange. ''Life! The Straits Times'', 3 October. p3. **MTV's Artist of the month, Urban Xchange **Sang on an Asian American Compilation album called SERENADE vol.3, a song titled ''My lady, My Bonnie, My wifey'' *2003 **AIM Awards nominee for 4 categories and winner of Best Regional English Album **MTV Asia Awards Nominee for Best/Favourite Singapore Artiste *2004 **Featured on

Maksim Mrvica Maksim Mrvica (; born 3 May 1975) is a Croatian pianist. He plays classical crossover Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience. This can be seen, for example, (especially in the ...

's single ''Flight''Jill Alphonso, 2004. Maksim's moxie. Life! The Straits Times, 17 April. p2. *2005 **Featured on American Online Music, Parking Lot Pimp **MTV's Advance Warning Artiste, Parking Lot Pimp **Appearance as guest host on celebrity special segment on MTV Jus

Awards and nominations

, - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="4",

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, rowspan="4", Urban Xchange , Best Group Vocal Performance in Album , , - , Best Recorded Album , , - , Best New Regional English Artiste , , - , Best Regional English Album , , - , style="text-align:center;", 2003 , Urban Xchange , MTV Asia Awards' Best/Favourite Singapore Artiste , , - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2", 2013 , rowspan="2", Trisno Trio feat Altimet , Anugerah Planet Muzik's Best Collaboration , , - , Anugerah Planet Muzik's Best Duo/Group ,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trisno 1978 births Living people Rhythm and blues singers 21st-century Singaporean male singers Singaporean singer-songwriters