GENRE: POP

Malaysian popular music comes from local music traditions and popular European music

styles. Some early musical styles, performances, and songs from Kroncong and folk songs are

familiar to Malaysian and Indonesian music culture. Beginning in the 1920s, dance music and

social entertainment such as Asli, Inang, Joget, dondang sayang, Zapin and masri adapted by

the Duke group to set the dance group Anglo American but retains the character locals, and

evolved into the popular music of modern Malay. The delegation of Lords originated in the

19th century as a form of opera called Wayang Parsi theater adaptation that evolved as Tanah

Melayu by actors from Bombay. They depict the stories of various groups such as Indian,

Western, Islamic, Chinese, Indonesian and Malay with music, dancing and acting costumes.

The musicians are mostly local Malays, Filipinos and Goans. Early singers such as Temah,

Tijah and Dean often incorporated Chinese, Middle Eastern and Indian elements in their

songs.

Western popular music has continuously influenced Malaysian popular music since the

beginning. In the era before World War II, the songs based on the Anglo-American dance

music and Latin-America sung in Malay are very popular. These songs are accompanied by

dance group known as the band Melayu (Malay orchestra). Malay orchestra, which affects

dangdut, played in dance halls at the amusement park, performances and other festivities

nobility. Beginning a Filipino singer initially brought to Tanah Melayu by the British to

establish a state (a group of soldiers), for example Soliano, D'Cruz and Martinez. In the

1960s and 1970s, influenced by Western rock groups, modified rock combos called bands (or

‘Kumpulan Gitar Rancak’) were often accompanied by singers.

First recording music in Tanah Melaayu made in 1903 by Fred Gaisberg of Gramophone

Company sent to record local music in Europe. During the colonial period, Singapore is the

center of the Malay music industry and recording was done in the EMI studio, but its starting

to shift to Kuala Lumpur after the independence of Malaya in 1957, especially after the

separation of Singapore in 1965. Until the 1960s, a number of recordings produced locally,

and recording artist and star of the film made in Malaya suppressed in India and the recording

is sent back to Malaya for sale.

One of the modern Malay pop songs of the earliest was the "Tudung Periok", sung by Momo

Latiff, who recorded in the 1930s. Many artists singing became popular through movies

wither in the early era. In the 1940s and 1950s, singers who gained popularity through their

films and recordings were P.Ramlee, R. Azmi, Jasni, Ahmad C. B., S. M. Salim, Saloma,

Momo Latif, and Nona Aisha. Songs in this era were influenced by foreign musical styles

such as Latin American dance, Hawaiian music and Indian films. For decades Malay pop

music was dominated by songs with words like affection (love), love (love and girl (girl) in

the title.

The early singer was P. Ramlee whose career spanned the period from the late 1940s to the

early 1970s. He became a singer and composer songs like "Azizah", "Gelora", "Dendang

Perantau"dan malar hijau"Di Mana Kan Ku Cari Ganti. It is estimated that he wrote more

than a thousand songs and record about five hundred songs, some of which are still popular to

this day.
In the 1960s, Western pop music was very influential on the local music scene in Malaysia,

Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam. One particular genre influenced by Western guitar group

called 'Pop Yeh-yeh' appears on the front lines and to rule the Malay music scene from 1965

to 1971. This genre of music and fashion influenced by The Beatles and other British Rock

and Roll band in 1960 which also generally affects the Malay music industry at that time. The

term "yeh-yeh pop" is taken from a line from a popular Beatles song. The term “pop yeh yeh”

however was never used in the 1960s but was later used when such music was revived in the

1980s by M. Shariff & The Zurah.

During the peak of the Pop yeh-yeh craze, many of the bands formed tried their best to

imitate The Beatles in their appearance, songwriting and performance style, but the style of

music was still taken from The Shadows and The Ventures. The group, known as the kirtans,

usually consists of four members who sing on top of handling four basic musical instruments

(two electric guitars, an electric bass, and drums).

The acronym “Kugiran” was first known to the public through Radio Singapore’s weekly top

chart program “Lagu Pujaan Minggu Ini” hosted by disc jockey Mohd Ismail Abdullah, also

known as DJ M.I.A. The origin of the acronym derived ( "kumpulan muzik gitar cepat")

some say that this is the idea of subtitling officer, Daud Abdul Rahman, others say that P.

Ramlee who coined the term to distinguish it from the Malay ensembles combined in the

past. some say that this is the idea of subtitling officer, Daud Abdul Rahman, others say that

P. Ramlee who coined the term to distinguish it from the Malay ensembles combined in the

past.
The heyday of yeh-yeh pop began to decline in 1971. Since the decline in popularity of yeh-

yeh pop, the center of the Malaysian music industry has shifted north from Singapore to the

Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. Many composers, songwriters, lyricists, singers, and

producers began to find a place not only in Kuala Lumpur but also in other cities including

Johor Bahru and Ipoh to seize the opportunities of the emerging and rapidly changing

Malaysian music industry.

Here are some Pop yeh-yeh features:

 Sighing vocals

 Simple or uncomplicated drums

 The guitar riff is repetitive and simple but lively

 Flowering base