PETALING JAYA, Dec 3 — How do you reinvent beloved retro Malay songs with a big band treatment?
Singer-actor Sean Ghazi took the challenge upon himself a couple of years ago and gave birth to Tarakucha!, the music ensemble that pays tribute to the great ‘Malaysian Songbook’.
It all began as a small workshop series at Bobo Kuala Lumpur in 2016 but has now morphed into full-fledged concerts since its public debut last year at the DiverseCity International Arts Festival.
From this Thursday to Saturday, Tarakucha! is back on stage and set to delight music fans with a 17-strong ensemble comprising lead singer Sean, his singing partner Ida Mariana and three backing-vocalists — Maya Tan, Izlyn Ramli and Ruzana Ibrahim — known as the Kuchettes along with a 12-piece big band.
The band’s name is derived from a P. Ramlee song Bila Larut Malam when the word tarakucha is sung as a backing riff.
“We were looking for a name that would rep the genre and the vibe without it being too literate,” the P. Ramlee The Musical star said.
Speaking to Malay Mail, Sean said this year’s show, entitled Marilah Menari, will focus on the musical aspect of the performance.
This year’s show is described as ‘P. Ramlee meets Vegas’ to give the unacquainted a rough idea.
“When we were performing it during DiverseCity, I realised that Tarakucha! was much more about the music, the pureness of the music experience with the audience and musicians on stage.
“I really want the experience to go back to the purity of the music. It’s about some of the old songs that we love and how we’ve Tarakucha-fied it in terms of today’s audience,” he said.
Noting that it was a challenge to toy with something so nostalgic, the musical theatre performer who has been in West End productions such as Miss Saigon and Rent said the goal was to make music from yesteryear relevant to today’s audience.
“I look at some of the stuff as national property. It’s so ingrained in local psyche and we’ve grown up with it so it’s a question of how you treat these songs with respect but still make them resonate with today’s audience and a younger crowd,” said Sean.
Tarakucha! plays around with culture and languages and ultimately celebrates Malaysia’s colourful diversity.
“We will be performing our crowd favourites and hits, and a few new songs to help our audience celebrate a momentous year because I feel we never had a chance to celebrate the major change we had,” said Sean, referring to this year’s election results.
Tarakucha! Marilah Menari runs from December 6 (Thursday) to December 8 (Saturday) at The Platform, KEN Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur at 8.30pm.
Tickets are priced at RM125, RM175, RM225 and RM300, and are available for purchase here.
