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Abdul-Rehman Malik (VO): Welcome to This Being Human. I’m your host Abdul-Rehman Malik. On this podcast, I talk to extraordinary people from all over the world, whose life, ideas, and art are shaped by Muslim culture. 

 

Art Fazil: Music has a role. It’s a kind of tool. Sometimes it’s a weapon to communicate, to put your ideas across.

 

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Abdul-Rehman Malik (VO): Today, I’m thrilled to welcome my long-time friend and celebrated musician, Art Fazil. Art and I go way back, with a friendship spanning over 15 years. His music has been a vital part of my cultural education. It’s also been a bridge to understanding the rich traditions of Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, a region collectively referred to as Nusantara. In this special episode, we celebrate over 30 years of Art’s career and delve into his journey through, literally, worlds of music. Art’s work is a beautiful blend of traditional Malay folk songs, global sounds, and a deep spirituality. From his early days in Singapore, inspired by the vibrant local music scene, to his transformative years in London, Art has continuously evolved while staying true to his roots. We’ll discuss his experiences with Nusantaran culture, his innovative bilingual projects, and the timeless appeal of his music. From his home in Singapore, Art reminisces about the past, explores the complicated present, and looks forward to the future of his ever evolving art. For me, this conversation is a heartfelt celebration of friendship, culture, and the enduring power of music. 

 

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Abdul-Rehman Malik: Your music has been such an important part of my cultural education over the last 22 years. Because I married someone who grew up in Singapore. And I thought of myself as someone who was well informed and well-traveled. But in many ways, I think approaching, approaching the culture of Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore really humbled me. But also really excited me. And Art, you were such an important part of my education. My better half introduced me to some of the songs from the Malay Muslim tradition that she grew up singing and learning and performing. And one of those songs was this sweet song called “Rasa Sayang.” There was a lightness and a sweetness and a loveliness to it. And my wife sang it. I would be super honored, Art, if we could start our conversation with you singing a little bit of “Rasa Sayang” for us and talking about it. 

 

Art Fazil: Well, yeah, sure. I’ve got my. Just happened, there’s a guitar here. Yeah. Well, this song is. Yeah, it’s a traditional folk song. We don’t really know, as old folk songs are. We don’t know who the songwriters was. We suspect it’s something Ambon, something like East Java, or East Indonesia, but again, because it’s an archipelago and people used to travel around and because culturally it’s the same. And because it’s all based on oral tradition, most of it. So all the songs ended up, like, circulating around. And, so you’ve got, you sing this in Malaysia and Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, everyone will sing along. So here we go. It’s “Rasa Sayang,” which kind of means feeling the feelings of love. [begins playing guitar, singing] 

 

“Rasa sayang eh

Rasa sayang sayang eh

Eh lihat nona jauh

Rasa sayang sayang eh

 

Rasa sayang eh

Rasa sayang sayang eh

Eh lihat nona jauh

Rasa sayang sayang eh

 

Dua tiga kucing berlari

Mana nak sama sikucing belang

Dua tiga boleh kucari

Mana nak sama cik adik seorang

 

Sorong papan tarik papan

Buah keranji diatas perahu

Suruh makan dia makan

Suruh mengaji dia tak tahu

 

Rasa sayang eh

Rasa sayang sayang eh

Eh lihat nona jauh

Rasa sayang sayang eh

 

Rasa sayang eh

Rasa sayang sayang eh

Eh lihat nona jauh

Rasa sayang sayang eh!”

 

[laughter]

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: It’s so. It’s so beautiful! Tell us a little bit about what the song means. Because it’s a love song, isn’t it? 

 

Art Fazil: Yeah, it uses the pantun quatrain. And usually the first two line doesn’t have any real meaning to the actual message, as long as it rhymes. 

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: Okay. 

 

Art Fazil: So “rasa sayang” is feelings of love. And look “lihat nona jauh” means, looking at the lovely lady from afar and I got this feeling of love. And it’s kind of detached from the actual story because then the, the next quatrain is, “Dua tiga kucing berlari, mana nak sama sikucing belang”. So it’s like two, three cats running. Neither are the same as the striped one. And then, I can find 2 in 3, but nothing like you. You’re the number one. Or something like that, you know? [laughter] Yeah, yeah. It’s all sweet and very innocent in a way. 

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: I love that, I love it. You know, there’s something about the song which I think is like an opening for me into this kind of wider world and culture, particularly this Kampung culture. Right? The local villages, this incredibly, you know, this incredibly layered culture that you see all across Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, these local traditions and also, a tradition that is deeply wedded to spirituality, that is deeply wedded to family, that is deeply wedded to community. In many ways, Art, your music is all about that, isn’t it? I want to ask you about something, before we dive into your work as an artist and as teacher. And that is, can you talk to us a little bit about the idea of Nusantara? This incredible archipelago of islands, cultures, languages, trade routes that stretch through the 10,000 plus islands of modern day Indonesia into the Singapore and Malacca straits and into what we now call Malaysia today and up into Borneo and even encompassing, you know, elements of the southern Philippines and southern Thailand, that there’s this kind of incredible cultural ecosystem which, these days, is often called Nusantara. And it’s an idea that some of us are familiar with. But as someone who’s a practitioner and who’s immersed in this Nusantaran culture, how would you talk about Nusantara? How do you see it? 

 

Art Fazil: All right. Okay. First of all, Nusantara is the word that was used, was introduced probably during the Majapahit empire, which is, I don’t know, maybe in the ten hundreds or so. It was a Javanese kingdom, they were conquering lands, islands around, around the region and that has been used as a collective, as a name for the collective of nations in this region. The word Nusantara comes, is from two words, “nusa” and “tara.” So “nusa” means “land” and “tara” means “in between.” So Nusantara is between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. And people used to travel around a lot. The Bugis people in Makassar, where the word boogeyman came from, Bugis men who were seafarers. But, you know, they were accused of being pirates. So the word Bugis men became boogeyman. So they travel around a lot as well. But also there’s Javanese influence. Like there’s a place called Bukit Batok. So for a long time, people thought Bukit Batok means, “batok” means “coughing” in one meaning. But actually it’s Bukit Batok. “Bukit” is “hill,” “Batok” is actually the coconut shell. So it looks like an overturned coconut shell. So in the old days, in the Kampung days, people used to use, with a handle and they fixed a handle right on the coconut shell and used that to scoop water. So when you, as you’re going up the house you use that to kind of wash your feet and then you got the house to clean your feet, you know? So there’s a lot of influences, especially during the Wali Songo period, you know, the nine saints of Java, that Islamize the whole of Java, and later on the whole of Nusantara and before that, there were many Mubaligh that came and tried to introduce Islam. They were marginally successful, but not as successful as as the Wali Songo.

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: Oh, so explain to us, Art. Who the Wali Songo were? Because there. It’s kind of like an incredible story, isn’t it? 

 

Art Fazil: Right. Wali Songo is like a council of Awliya that were presiding over the Islamization of Java and the whole of Nusantara. 

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: Saintly personalities. 

 

Art Fazil: Yeah. Saintly personalities, you know, the one one that’s interesting is, Sunan Kudus. And, and he was when he was introducing Islam to that part of Java because the people there were mainly still Hindu, adhering to the Hindu religion. He forbid the Muslims to slaughter any cows out of respect for the existing people. And then, there’s also the famous one, Sunan Kalijaga, also in Central Java, where he introduce music and Wayang, the puppet show, to the people in Java at that time to teach them what Islam is about, what living as a Muslim is about through puppet shows. And, and I think 1 or 2 of his songs are still being performed til today. So there’s a lot of these kind of interislands, kind of, connection. Nusantara for me is a sharing of a culture that is, it’s varied, but is still one. And as an artist, I use it as a palette to sort of take my colors. 

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: Tell us, Art, about your early inspiration. You know, your early life in Singapore. What was it that brought you to music? Was music something that was alive in your, in your home with your parents and your in your family? What was it that that kind of inspired you on this path? 

 

Art Fazil: One of the early memories I had was my mum turning on the radio, and she was cooking and it was just local pop songs, you know. And I grew up in my grandmother’s house in a Kampung in Upper Thornton Road, and my uncle, who was probably a hippie back then, had a huge record collection. You know, Deep Purple and all those stuff. And I was listening to that when I was about 10, 11 years old. I was exposed to all that as learning. And I had a guitar as well, and I was messing about with the guitar. Yeah, then I went to school and then school talent time. And I wanted to attract the girls, and I thought, yeah, what’s the best way to get attention of the girls? Just being on stage and pretending to sing. I don’t think I could sing very well back then, you know, you fake it til you make it, isn’t it? Yeah, so then…[laughter]…and because I was very bad at copying music, like playing covers, you know. So I ended up, when I was learning the guitar. I was like, I’ll try to learn new chords by making up a song, and so that ended up being a song by itself. And I ended up, reading a lot of Malay poetry and then being exposed to also some music and then somehow, by the age of 15, I was writing my own songs, and by the age of 18, one of the songs that I wrote was recorded by a guy called Ramli Sarip, who’s this huge legend in Nusantara, who’s like the Bruce Springsteen of Nusantara. 

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: Oh wow.

 

Art Fazil: And I was 18, I was, I was sort of peddling my demos, you know, homemade demos in. And then I, it got rejected. But as I was walking out of the record label, the, the office and this guy came in and I said, what should I say to him? And I said, since he’s a rockstar. I said, would you like to listen to a rock song that I’ve written? He was nice enough to say, yeah, just send in your demo. So I came back home and recorded a few more stuff, send it back in. Two weeks later, he called me up. He said, I’m going to use one of your songs. And that was my introduction to the music business. Yeah Yeah.

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: Wow. This is a, this is a great story, Art! [laughter]

 

Art Fazil: Everybody knows that song. It’s called “Orang Kota” and it’s like, an 18-year-old writing about…[singing]

 

“Wahai orang kota,

apakah dikau sedar,

Cara hidup kita,

kini makin berubah…”

 

I’m going to translate that…[singing] 

 

“Hey, city folks, 

don’t you realize, 

that your life today has changed so much?” 

And I’m like 18 year old. Like, you know. But…[laughter]

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: I love, I love that, I love that. Now I’m curious, where is the song going? City folk, you don’t realize your life has changed so much. What are you trying to tell them? 

 

Art Fazil: Yeah. It was, it was like looking at, you know, like Singapore was going through urbanization. Things were changing. I grew up in a kampung, in a village, and, you know, and things were kind of shifting, and I’m observing that. And I’m thinking…unconsciously, though. I mean, I was just writing what I thought was a nice melody. I think it fits into this idea, but I, looking back, I think it was my response to what was going on in Singapore. And, you know, people are becoming more, more hurried and less courteous, you know, things like that. You know, that that we kind of, we are losing out when, when things become so fast, you know? 

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: Yeah. You’ve talked about growing up in the Kampung, in like a more traditional Malay, Muslim village setting. And in a way, in places like Singapore and fast urbanizing places like Jakarta or KL, that village life is disappearing, isn’t it? 

 

Art Fazil: Yeah, very much so. Yeah, very much so. I mean, like. In fact, in KL, there’s no village, this one place called Kampung Bahru, but right smack in the middle of Kuala Lumpur and it’s, it’s an urban area, you know. But apart from the physical disappearance of the kampung, it’s more the lifestyle, the mannerisms, the cultural aspect of things. People are snappy. When we were kids, when we walk in front of old people, or the older people, we have to bow down, like, you know, literally like kind of kneel, not kneel down, but kind of stoop down when you walk with your hand kind of pointing up as a show of respect. These days, I even notice people just in the masjid, young guy just cross over, instead of saying, excuse me, or, you know, like, respectfully say anything. And that I feel is a huge change from how I was growing up. And I don’t blame the kids, but I think maybe it’s the parents who probably don’t have time. And also during Eid, Hari Raya visit, you see children instead of sitting around quiet, they are all with their mobile phones and they’re not communicating with the elders, with their cousins, and all that, you know? And I notice that a lot these days, and to the point that I get annoyed and I thought maybe I could buy a like an internet jammer of some sort where I can jam all the lines when they come to my house during Eid. And no one get to communicate outside the house. You know, and just have to talk to each other, you know? [laughter]

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: As you’re speaking I note a kind of, there’s a kind of a sadness in the loss of that particular lifestyle and culture. And I wonder if your kind of search for the folk music of Nusantara and your deep immersion in these folk traditions has something to do with trying to keep that kampung spirit and that kampung culture and that kampung memory alive. 

 

Art Fazil: Yeah, yeah. I mean, you’re right. Absolutely. I mean, I, you know, the song “Rasa Sayang” that I sang, is from the album Syair Maleyu. “Syair” is obviously Arabic-Persian for poems. So it’s Malay poems, you know? I was living in London back then, and I went to an event, where there were a lot of children, and I sang this song called “Bangau O Bangau” about the skinny crane. And then when I sang that, the kids were there, like, what song is this? And I’m shocked. I was shocked because if you’re a 9, 10-year-old, you should know these songs. And these kids do not know this song. And I was alarmed, and I made it a mental note to say, I should do something about it. And then, I was doing all the pre-production in London, and then I decided to come back to Singapore to finish up the album. And then I released that in probably 2009 or something like that. And the way I approach it is very world music, very, very much adult-oriented, rather than very kid-ish. Because the ones that were existing online at that time were very, I would say, they were kind of kid-ish because they were children’s songs. So people thought you should have a very kid-ish style. And I thought, no, let’s introduce something a bit more adult, you know, using proper drums, hand drum, traditional percussions, but still make it a bit more pop in the sense that it’s approachable, you know? I recorded it in Singapore with Singapore musicians and, Alhamdulillah, it was well-received, and til today I’m still performing those songs to the children and I’m glad that I get to do it. The privilege of doing it. Because, like, you know, the last year or so, I’ve been going to schools around Singapore and performing and teaching the songs to like every class was about 50 to 70 kids, children. And they all, at the end of the session for about one hour, they get to learn the song, they know the story, the moral behind the songs, and they get to act out the parts of, you know, some of the characters in the song and that’s it. Go home and teach this to your little brothers and sisters and hope that will continue the legacy of these songs. 

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: Art, we love the “Syair Melayu” album. It was played in our car on a CD, you know, continuously, because it was, it was just so beautiful and so sweet and like you said, a real education. And you bring a sophistication to your work, you know, as a young person who had this kind of, rock star encounter, and now you’re writing for this kind of, you know, this kind of supernova rock star in the region. You take an interesting turn after that, don’t you? Because you form your own group. Tell me a little bit about Rausyanfikir. How did this, how did this band come together? And what were you trying to do with it? 

 

Art Fazil: So here, by the age of 18, I was writing songs, I was contributing lyrics and all that, and then the National Service happened, you know, like in Singapore, you have to serve National Service. I did two years and a half. I couldn’t go into music professionally because I was in the army. So I took the time to kind of write songs, you know, and, and develop my craft. So when I finally finished the service, I was sort of floating about like, oh, what do I do? You know, and like, very unlike a Singaporean. I have no desire to get a day job. And then a friend of mine, the other two friends of mine who became part of Rausyanfikir, one was, Mohammad Khair, and the other one is Esham. Esham Jamil. Esham has passed on. So Esham came up with this idea, why don’t we pool our money together and just record all our songs and release them as a compilation album? But I thought, yeah, maybe. Yeah, why not, you know? So we got a producer to help us. So we finally got it done. And then when I heard the whole entire album and I said, this sounds like a group, rather than three individual songwriters performing their songs. So I sat down with the guys, at Tekka Market, in Little India, in Little India. This is, you know, this this sort of market, you know, and so a lot of Indian food and all that. So I said, look, guys, I think this sounds like a band. I think we should call it Rausyanfikir. And then we realized, like, wait a minute, we don’t know what to do with it because we have no experience in the music business. I mean, we can write songs, but you know how to market it, how to bring CDs and all that back then, you know? So and like. All right, I think we need someone to help distribute the album. And then you kind of learn it along the way. And it so happened there was a Japanese company called Pony Canon Records that just set up their office in Singapore. So we approached them and then they needed new materials anyway, and then they decided to sort of sign the brand and then they signed the band. And then they signed me as a solo artist to record English stuff. So Rausyanfikir was my Malay stuff, and I got a solo deal, recording English stuff. 

 

MUSIC

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: I have a small favor to ask you. If you enjoy this show, there’s a really quick thing you can do to help us make it even better. Just take five minutes to fill out a short survey. This is the Aga Khan Museum’s first-ever podcast and a little bit of feedback will help us measure our impact and reach more people with extraordinary stories from some of the most interesting artists, thinkers, and leaders on the kaleidoscope of the Muslim experience. To participate, go to agakhanmuseum.org/tbhsurvey. That’s agakhanmusic.org/tbhsurvey. The link is also in the show notes. Thanks for listening to This Being Human. Now, back to the interview.

 

MUSIC OUT

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: How did London sort of influence your music? Because you said you were still developing your art then and doing open mics, when you returned home from there, what kind of artist are you? How did that change you? 

 

Art Fazil: Oh, well. London changed me. Made me what I am today. As a person. As a muslim. As a global citizen, I think. For me, London was the real deal. I was kind of being restless in Singapore thinking, what’s the big wide world out there, you know? So I went to London with this kind of silly, kind of bravado thinking, it’s something that I could just go in and, you know, make my mark, and I just went around, you know, there was some nights I was doing three open mics at one go, just building connections, friends, you know, and then ended up at the Kashmir Club, which is run by my friend Tony Moore, who was part of the the Bangkok Cutting Crew. And he was very welcoming. In fact, there are days, nights when I perform in these clubs, when I go and I look around like I’m the only non-white person in the room. And the beautiful thing is that I felt welcomed, and I think it’s the music. It’s like, I think they appreciated what I was doing and they welcomed me and, you know, and I made a lot of friends, through the music, the scene. But on the other hand as well, before I left Singapore, I…that was 1995. I was already interested in Sufism. I was going to dhikr in Masjid Khadijah, which is the Kadri Naqshbandi Tarika, which is big in Indonesia. So. But I didn’t know what Sufi was. I don’t know what the tasawwuf was. I was just joining in, feeling the vibe about dhikr and all that, you know? And then I started reading a lot of books. And London is the best place for books, you know, on Charing Cross Road, that amazing bookshop. And then on, Westbourne Grove and always, amazing Al-Ghazali. A lot of stuff, you know, and that was my education there. But what was amazing was that I met Sheikh Nazim. 

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: The great Naqshbandi sheikh from Cyprus who would often visit the UK. 

 

Art Fazil: Mhm, mhm. So I met him in ‘97, I think. Yeah. Again through friends. And then I went to Seven Sisters where the dargah is, and started joining in, you know, and then before you know it, I became a Naqshbandi. You know, I would explore music, and then you listen to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. You listen to…Yeah, and a lot of the stuff that was going on, you know, and I. I’m just exposed to all that. And then. So I have this kind of, like, very weird existence where on some nights I’m in the club playing and, you know, hanging out with different sort of people. And then on some nights, especially with Ramadan, I’m like out there in the morning or evening, you know, with dhikr, the early morning prayers. And yeah, I mean, that kind of, it’s it’s weird in a way that because it’s, I somehow managed to juggle that, you know, and still keep myself sane and keep my integrity being me, you know, without being being to way out, Sufi whirling and all that in my gigs, you know. 

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: Did you feel you became a bit of an ambassador for the music of Nusantara while you were there? Because I’m sure folks who were meeting you were actually experiencing that music for the first time through you. 

 

Art Fazil: Some of the songs that I wrote incorporated some of the melody lines from, scales from Javanese music and all that. Yeah. In some way, I think just by me being there and people used to ask me, where am I from? You know, unfortunately, sometimes I just kind of joke around. I’m from Bolivia. Some people might believe that, you know, especially when I’ve got my bandana on with a long hair and, you know, I could pass as somebody from Bolivia or Peru. But obviously, eventually, we all, you know, I say I’m from Singapore and, you know, and then and then you again, you have to explain that Singapore is not in China and Singapore is part of Malaysia, used to be part of Malaysia, part of the Malay Archipelago. And then obviously people understood that eventually. Yeah. I think, in some ways I well, I didn’t really feel like an ambassador, but I think just by me being there and it gave them an idea. There were people who didn’t know where Singapore was, knew where Singapore was, is, when I told them where I’m from, this is where I’m from. 

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: I love that, Art, and the journey has taken you so far. I know you travel a lot now. Teaching, performing, but also, you know, creating community with other musicians. And I feel, Art, that you’re always discovering new things, new musics, new songs, new sounds, new chords, new scales. Tell me about something you’ve discovered recently that’s really excited you in your travels, something that’s kind of emerging. And, for you, that adds to that kind of incredible repository of, of music that’s inside you. 

 

Art Fazil: I think the most recent thing that I can consider that is fresh to me is, I think, I am into more collaborating. I think being songwriter, solo, solo musicians, especially singer songwriters, you’re very in your own world, and you tend to be also quite protective of your work, and you don’t want anyone to kind of mess about with it. I’ve got a song that I’m working on with two musicians in from Kuala Lumpur. So, I’m working on that. And also very exciting news. I’m putting out a bilingual album for preschoolers. It’s English and Malay. 

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: I love it.

 

Art Fazil: This is a project with the Ministry of Education. They have these funds for bilingual works. So I came up with ten songs. In one song you have to have English and Malay words to teach the preschoolers, the kindergarten kids. So it’s like. [singing] “Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles, bubbles, bubbles in the bath. Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles, bubbles. Bubbles in the bath!” you know? And then I have to do the Malay version, [singing] “Buih sabun, buih sabun, dalam tab mandi! Buih sabun, buih sabun, dalam tab mandi!” And then, [singing] “I want to be an aeroplane, [repeats in Malay]…” So I have to work that all out. I mean, Alhamdulillah, I got it done, it’s recorded. I’m just, now I have to print the books. As part of the deal, I have to print a book and record the music. So it all comes one as a teaching tool. 

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: That is beautiful.  

 

MUSIC

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: Art Fazil. Tell me about a joy or a meanness that came to you recently as an unexpected visitor. 

 

Art Fazil: You know, I think we go through life, again as a guesthouse. Things come and go and they pass through and you experience that, right? And I think. You know, I’ve always had this…question about when, you know, you read Sufi books about duality and oneness. I’m trying to understand. What do the Sufi philosophers, writers, the poets, when they talk about oneness, the oneness of God. And then no more duality. You know, you see the the negative and the positive, and then we are taught about that everything comes from God. So trying to understand that God is beyond that, you know, and God that is looking at Palestine is also the God that is dealing with what’s going on in Venus and the moon and the sun. You know, I’m having these kind of sometimes a moment of awe going like, I don’t understand you still. I thought you needed to answer my prayers. But there are other things, you know, like as we speak, the oxygen level is at the perfect level so that we can breathe. And this is all you know. When Allah says not even a leaf that falls is not within his knowledge. So, this is the thing that’s going on through me at the moment, like in recent times, understanding this whole big picture and putting yourself in that picture and in your relationship to the Almighty, the creator. 

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik: Art Fazil. This has been a joy. Thank you so much for being with us on This Being Human. 

 

Art Fazil:  Abdul-Rehman, thank you so much. 

 

Abdul-Rehman Malik (VO): You can learn more about Art Fazil’s work at @Art_Fazil on Instagram. This Being Human is presented by the Aga Khan Museum. Through the arts, the Aga Khan Museum sparks wonder, curiosity, and understanding of Muslim cultures and their connection with other cultures. This Being Human is produced by Antica Productions in partnership with TVO. Our senior producer is Imran Ali Malik. Our associate producer is Emily Morantz. Our executive producers are Laura Regehr and Stuart Coxe. Mixing and sound design by Phil Wilson. Original music by Boombox Sound. Katie O’Connor is TVO’s Managing Editor of Digital Video and Podcasts. Laurie Few is the executive for digital at TVO.