Celeb Stop

Thursday July 8, 2010

Songbird unleashed

By RUBIN KHOO

clove@thestar.com.my

It was approximately three years ago that I first met singer Raja Putri Atilia Haron or Atilia, as she is better known.

At the time she had just released her first album Sangkar. Then, she was often referred to as the daughter of veteran performer Salamiah Hassan; a label the petite singer was quite comfortable to carry.

Singer Atilia strikes a pose

But those who follow the local music scene will certainly know that over the last couple of years, Atilia, 36, has come into her own. Despite the odds, she has managed to establish herself as a key figure to watch in the music industry.

Atilia has ventured into several different projects, among them playing the part of Junaidah in the critically-acclaimed P.Ramlee The Musical. She also helped to promote homegrown talent with the Malam Nada Biru series that was organised by Mujik Productions, a company formed by her and a partner.

Interestingly, at our first interview, Atilia was not even sure whether she wanted music as a fulltime career.

"Then I was undecided whether I should quit my day job and now this is all I do. I sing and I love it," she says.

" I jumped in with both feet, with huge hopes that I'll come out with a couple of albums, sing at music fests, spread my wings into Indonesia and act in a musical etc.

"In a span of three years, I did all that plus I opened for Jamiroquai. I've been so blessed to have amazing people around me to support me and my music. I love where I am now but I want to do so much more," expresses Atilia.

Speaking to Atilia, one can't help but be impressed by her passion. It comes as no surprise that she has exerted more control over her second album Indah.

Atilia produced the album alongside Tok Khon and Adam Sofian Mazlan and it is therefore a reflection of where she is now – personally and publicly.

Atilia performed with Zainal Abidin and Adibah Noor at Konsert Kau Di Hatiku

" I set up Mujik Productions because I didn't want to be dictated by what I should have in the album, or be told how the cover should look like," explains Atilia.

"I wanted total control because I know exactly what I want in this album. I also manage myself now and I find that to be awesome. I am a control freak and I always want everything my way, good or bad," she laughs.

She also learnt well from Roslan Aziz who produced her debut.

"He taught me how to listen, believe in myself and don't listen to others!" she recalls.

The vibe from Indah is pretty much a reflection of who Atilia is now – uncomplicated! The tunes are light and catchy, the way the songbird wanted them to be.

"Indah is the perfect statement of my career at the moment. It's going at a pace I like, and also in the direction I want. I can totally relate to the whole album."

"I also produced this and I have always wanted to produce my own album," enthuses Atilia. "If you were to see my cita cita (ambition) column in primary school, it has always been ‘to produce my own album'. So I would consider this to be my biggest achievement ever.

"I feel so comfortable singing my songs because I know the ins and outs. I've been with each song from the first bass line recording right up to the final mix. Just looking at the final cover of the album makes me sigh of relief and listening to the album in the car makes me smile."

Atilia points out that Indah is somewhat a departure from her debut. She describes Sangkar as a musician's album. Though it was well received – and the singer loves it – some say that it was a tad experimental and a bit dark.

Indah, however, is a brighter, sunnier album. Distributed by Alibi Music, it features 10 songs, all of which are likely to make you smile and sing along while snapping your fingers. In fact, if you listen hard enough, Atilia says you can almost hear her smiling on most of the songs.

Of the ten songs, four are in English as she wishes to appeal to both the English and Malay markets. Atilia does a take of her mum's hit Gelombang as well as Leka from P.Ramlee The Musical and Angel from the movie soundtrack of Talentime.

Fans can also expect a number of collaborations including a duet with Noh from Hujan on Old Love. a slow jazzy number written by Mike Bloemendal. There is also a duet with Maliq and D'essentials on Harus Bagaimana and with the group Sore on the song Silly Little Thing.

The duets will help her tap into the Indonesian market. The video for Harus Bagaimana has already recorded. Silly Little Thing is also featured on Sore's EP, which was sold out in three days when it was released in Indonesia. This makes Atilia all the more excited about her prospects there.

"I love performing in Indonesia and I've done that a few times last year. I will be launching Indah in Jakarta soon and hope that it'll be accepted there," says Atilia.

"My songs Selalu Denganmu, Duyung and Sangkar from the first album are always on Indonesian radio and I get tweets from fans saying that they would love to see me perform there so I guess there's hope."

The rumour mill is rife with talk that the singer is getting married. She quickly quashes the rumour, though admits that she is dating someone.

Atilia describes her beau as a private person who requested her to be discreet about the subject. All she can say is that they are getting know each other and there are no plans for marriage yet.

She instead attributes a lot of her happiness to her relationship with her close friends. Her followers on Twitter – she has nearly 8,000 – know that Atilia is part of a group of female celebrities who title themselves the Celepets.

It started when the group got together at an event two years ago that involved celebrities with pets – hence, Celepet. The group comprises Daphne Iking, Serena C, Yasmin Hani, Dynas Mokhtar, Aishah Sinclair and Sazzy Falak.

"We've evolved into something more serious ever since we've become involved in charity dos. We are all ambassadors for WWF, Reach Org and some of us ran the KL Marathon," explains Atilia.

"We speak to each other everyday ... we know each other's problems and we're each other's support system. We've been Celepets for close to two years and I enjoy every minute of it because the girls are mad, especially Daphne," she laughs.

The girls are all featured in the video Indah as Atilia thought it would be a nice momento of their friendship.

It is hard to believe that Atilia is in her mid-30s. Perhaps it is because of her pixie-like frame that she retains a girlish presence.

When she's not busy singing, Atilia is an avid yoga practitioner. In terms of beauty products, she is a fan of Himalaya, particularly the brand's shampoo, conditioner and honey in a jar.

Or perhaps, Atilia's glow nowadays could be due to the fact that everything is going right for her. We trust that she'll continue to sing with a smile for a long time to come.