Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
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
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
,
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...
,
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
,
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
and
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (, ; born Pervez Fateh Ali Khan; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997), also known by his initials NFAK, was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director. Khan was primarily a singer of qawwali, a form of Sufi devot ...
and
Ali Farka Touré
Ali Ibrahim "Ali Farka" Touré (31 October 1939 – 6 March 2006) was a Malian singer and multi-instrumentalist, and one of the African continent's most internationally renowned musicians. His music blends traditional Malian music and its deriv ...
.
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 Ramli while he continued writing songs for major Malaysian acts such as Lefthanded, Ella and Kathy Ibrahim, with many songs published by
Warner Music
Warner Music Group Corp., 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 the third-largest in the gl ...
.
Rausyanfikir
After his stint as a roadie, he formed a
folk rock
Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...
band called Rausyanfikir, Persian for "thinkers", 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
Virgiawan Listanto or better known as Iwan Fals (born 3 September 1961) is an Indonesian singer, songwriter and guitarist of Javanese descent. In 2002, ''Time'' named him a Great Asian Hero.
Early life
Iwan Fals was born Virgiawan Listanto in ...
, 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, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...
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
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...
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
Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...
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 music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...
. 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
Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...
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, England. 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 G ...
, 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 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 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, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
. 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and designer
Jimmy Choo
Jimmy Choo Yeang Keat (born 15 November 1948) is a Malaysian fashion designer based in the United Kingdom. He co-founded Jimmy Choo Ltd, which became known for its handmade women's shoes.
Early life
Choo was born in 1948 in the Crown Colony ...
.
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 Crew
Cutting Crew is an English rock band formed in London in 1985. They are best known for their debut studio album ''Broadcast'' (1986) and their UK Top 40 hit singles, "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" and " I've Been in Love Before".
History 1985� ...
Tony Moore, Tall Poppy Presents, Pronto (Frith Street, Soho), Mawar (Edgware Road), The Visible (
Portobello Road
is a street in the Notting Hill district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from South to North, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is home to Portobello ...
), The Bedford, Balham 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. It opened on April 20, 1927.
History
It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre cen ...
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 is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, 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 Erma Fatima for Malaysia's Astro
cable TV
Cable television is a system of delivering television broadcast programming, programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This ...
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 (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century ...
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
In the United States, commercial radio stations make most of their revenue by selling airtime to be used for running radio advertisements. These advertisements are the result of a business or a service providing a valuable consideration, usuall ...
And Programming
2015 - The Golden Point Award 2015 - 2nd Prize for Malay Poetry; Honourable Mention Short Story (Malay)