Cindai Explained

Cindai
Type:Album
Artist:Siti Nurhaliza
Cover:cindai.jpg
Released:17 November 1997
Recorded:1997
Genre:Ethnic, folk, traditional
Label:Suria Records
Producer:Pak Ngah, Rahim Jantan, S. Atan
Prev Title:Siti Nurhaliza II
Prev Year:1997
Next Title:Adiwarna
Next Year:1998

Cindai is the third album by the Malaysian pop singer Siti Nurhaliza released in 1997, and her second album that year. Cindai was the first attempt by Siti to sing traditional Malay folk songs. It was the most memorable album in the 1990s for its impact on the Malaysian music industry. The eponymous first track has been nominated for the best song in the 1990s. The album was Nurhaliza's first album to have a title track.

Recording

Cindai was Nurhaliza's first collaboration with Suhaimi Mohd Zain, fondly known as Pak Ngah, as the album producer and became her first full traditional album. It was produced after the success of her two self-titled albums.[1]

Following the success of her first traditional Malay song, "Sri Mersing" in her album Siti Nurhaliza II, Nurhaliza recorded a fully traditional Malay album. Most of the songs were traditional compositions, with only two originals, namely "Cindai" and "Joget Berhibur". The other songs were produced with new arrangements.[1]

Musical style

Nurhaliza is accompanied by an acoustic band for the traditional feel[2] and adopted the zapin rhythm.[3]

Release and reception

Cindai was released on 17 November 1997, eleven months after Siti Nurhaliza II. She later emphasized traditional Malay music on her later albums, Seri Balas (a duet album with Noraniza Idris; 1999), Sahmura (2000), Sanggar Mustika (2002) and Lentera Timur (2008).

To promote the album, three songs – "Cindai", "Joget Pahang" and "Joget Berhibur" - were released and later received music videos. She also performed the title song, "Cindai", as part of her special performance during the 1998 Commonwealth Games.[4] Cindai was a commercial success and sold over 400,000 copies[5] on its release and was certified 5× platinum.[6] [7] "Cindai" has also been translated into Mandarin sung by the Chinese singer Chien Bai Hui, though some of the lyrics remained untranslated, in which Chien claimed that she could not alter them due to their perceived beautiful and poetic composition.[8]

On 1 April 2005, she sang Cindai as a part of a medley of Zapin songs along with Mahligai Permata and Ya Maulai at the end of Irama Malaysia segments of her solo concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London.[9] Siti Nurhaliza also performs "Cindai" as part of the fourth medley (traditional) in her SATU concert in Istana Budaya in June 2009[10] and her Konsert Lentera Timur in October 2013[11] respectively, the song also performed by Siti at her recent concert, Dato' Siti Nurhaliza & Friends Concert in April 2016.[12]

Critical response

Initial reception for the album was mixed. Some critics were calling the album as ""synthesizer-oriented" asli album".[13] In a 3-star review by Zainal Alam Kadir of New Straits Times, he acknowledged that although Siti is a versatile singer, Cindai "does sound like a rushed job".[14] He too criticized the presence of too much synthesized sounds.[14]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Cindai booklet liner notes.[15]

Awards

CompetitionAward
Anugerah Juara LaguWinner Best Creative Ethnic – Cindai
Juara Lagu – Cindai
Best Performance

External links

Notes and References

  1. Hits of the World – Malaysia. Raul Carlo, Allison Smith, and Menno Visser. 10 January 1998. Billboard. Google Books. 25 February 2011.
  2. Book: Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. Charles de Ledesma, Mark Lewis, Pauline Savage. 2002. Rough Guides . 9781843530947. Google Books. 3 January 2016.
  3. Book: The A to Z of Malaysia. Ooi Keat Gin. 2010. Scarecrow Press . 9781461671992. Google Books. 3 January 2016.
  4. Web site: Best Ever Commonwealth Games Comes to a Close. 22 September 1998. Utusan Online. 12 May 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131211054744/http://www.utusan.net.my/utusan/info.asp?y=1998&dt=0922&pub=utusan_express&sec=Front_Page&pg=fp_01.htm. 11 December 2013. dead.
  5. Web site: Bintang Cemerlang dari Kampung Awah. id. Kompas. 17 June 2002. 18 December 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714214123/http://simplysiti.com/bintang-cemerlang-dari-kampung-tawah/. 14 July 2014. dead.
  6. Web site: Cindai. SitiZone. 18 December 2009.
  7. Web site: Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin Official. Facebook. 18 December 2010.
  8. Web site: Top 10 influential celebrities in Malaysia: Stars with the x-factor sizzle. Shuib Taib. 7 September 2009. The New Straits Times. AsiaOne.com. 31 July 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100829080547/http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Showbiz/Story/A1Story20090907-166131.html. 29 August 2010. dead.
  9. Web site: Siti all set for London show. 14 January 2005. New Straits Times. Digital Collections DC5: Text Archive. 31 July 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20110722231910/http://www.nib.com.my/archives/text/view/26918068?pos=33&hide_header=1&resultset=nstpec%3Awww%2Fcross-search%2Fsearch.php%3A_1280846939%3Aresultset. 22 July 2011. dead.
  10. http://www.mstar.com.my/hiburan/berita-hiburan/2009/05/20/konsert-eksklusif-satu-siti-nurhaliza-di-ib/ Konsert eksklusif 'SATU' Siti Nurhaliza di IB! (Siti Nurhaliza's 'SATU' exclusive concert at IB!)
  11. Web site: Konsert tradisional Siti Nurhaliza untuk angkat seni budaya. ms. Rosli Manah. 27 August 2013. manggaonline.com.my. 5 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131006224500/http://www.manggaonline.my/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3935&catid=34&Itemid=53. 6 October 2013. dead.
  12. Web site: Konsert Dato' Siti Nurhaliza & Friends di Stadium Negara. Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza & Friends Concert at Stadium Merdeka. ms. Budiey Isma. 2 March 2016. Budiey.com. 18 March 2016.
  13. Web site: I won't give food for gossip, says Siti. Zieman. 18 January 1998. Sunday Mail. subscription. 26 November 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171222162925/http://www.nib.com.my/archives/text/view/4045976?pos=25&hide_header=1&resultset=nstpec%3Awww%2Fcross-search%2Fsearch.php%3A_1511625589%3Aresultset. 22 December 2017. dead.
  14. News: Group chalking up record sales. Zainal Alam Kadir. New Straits Times. 4 (Life & Times). 1 December 1997. 3 March 2018.
  15. Cindai . Siti Nurhaliza. 1997 . liner notes . Suria Records.

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