Roslan Aziz

Today, 23rd October 2024, is Roslan Aziz’s 63rd revolution around the sun…his Birthday 23rd October 1961

Long Long read : 10 minutes …

Flashback : The year was 1995/1996…

“Your Mind is like Quincy Jones…”

The words that came out of American Bass player Nathan East’s mouth who followed up & hugged Roslan with a bear hug upon first meeting him at the BabyBoss studio, owned by Jenny Chin & Mac Chew. Nathan East, was in the studio in Petaling Jaya, one day after arriving in KL for recording of about 25 songs… for Sheila Majid’s Ratu album & some songs for Zubir Ali’s first solo album under RAP ( Roslan Aziz Productions) .

Apparently, Production Coordinator Ayob G, who had gone to pick Nathan up from Subang Airport, the day before…(at that time our main aviation gateway into Malaysia, pre 1998 KLIA ) upon his arrival from Los Angeles, Ayob had left the Gamal Album ( Zainal’s sophomore album, produced by Roslan Aziz, released in 1994 ), playing in his car’s stereo system & Nathan asked Ayob, “whose album is this” ?

Ayob G, just passed Nathan the CD cover with its inlay & this is what happened next…

Firstly, To know who Nathan East is, go here : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_East

Now, if you have been in this music industry here in Malaysia as I have been, since the late 1970’s and you have generally studied the history of recorded music from 1877, since Thomas Edison created the phonograph, and you have been following the music industry globally looking for good well arranged, produced, recorded music & artists, of all genres, there is One Name you cannot possibly miss out on…the name Quincy Jones…

Quincy Jones, 91 in 2024, is arguably the most awarded & heralded Music producer alive whose work has spanned 8 decades ( 80 years…!!!) & ( Yes, Quincy was born in 1933, & started at age 14, around 1947 when he started playing trumpet, performing, composing, arranging, producing with almost ALL the music artists that mattered in almost every genre of music all through these 8 decades …!!!)

Quincy Jones’s was 14 when he had just met Ray Charles who was 16 at that time ( circa 1947)…who is one of Quincy’s earliest influencers…

To read more about Quincy Jones go here : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincy_Jones

I have spent a considerable part of my life dedicated to studying both Quincy Jones & Roslan Aziz, both who I know personally but with Roslan, I have the pleasure of calling him one of the closest friends whom, I have not only worked with but had been given numerous chances to witness his being as a human & hence I believe I can write about him with a certain degree of confidence & sincerity.

Presentation is just as important as the product itself. A succulent steak dinner isn’t as appetizing if it’s served on the back of a garbage can lid. In music this is a principle that is largely taken for granted but overwhelmingly essential to understand.

A great song cannot be a great song without great ex*****on. Aside from the artist, it needs a producer to choose the proper personnel and mold the music as it best serves the material. In addition, it is the engineer’s responsibility to capture the performance in its proper sonic context.

Many, especially in the music industry will agree, that Roslan is arguably one of the most gifted creators to ever come out of Malaysia… ( this is entirely my own personal entitled opinion, I would mention Roslan Aziz in the same breath as P.Ramlee, Sudirman , Yasmin Ahmad…period… Full Stop !!!

Sui Generis, one of a kind…

…of not just this music art form but his overall creativity is quite unparalleled in all creative art forms from music producing/ engineering/ iconic album cover designs / concert productions/ artist development / artist management/ compositions/ arrangement/ strategy…etc

Roslan is an actuarial science student who has also studied Demography & Statistics / Theory of Interest / Business/ Finance / Life insurance / Civil Engineering / Building Construction / Architectural Drawing… and related subjects in the arts & sciences …he is one of the very gifted sentient beings who is blessed with BOTH right & left brain working dominantly together.

And so naturally, for Nathan East to acknowledge Roslan’s mind being similar like Quincy Jones in thinking is not just a fleeting complimentary comparative remark but one that requires a study in itself …

First, Nathan East is a world class American Bassist who is one of the most recorded bassists’ on the planet & Nathan has played for & knows Quincy Jones personally…

He is a founding member of contemporary jazz quartet Fourplay and has recorded, performed, and co-written songs with performers such as Bobby Womack, Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, Joe Satriani, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Phil Collins, Stevie Wonder, Toto, Kenny Loggins, Daft Punk, Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock & Quincy Jones & now our very own Sheila Majid.

So Nathan East is not only an authority but a very credible, reliable & trustworthy source…

So, here we have, a world class musician who has associated & played with the greats in the Global Music world, collaborating with a Malaysian engineer/ producer, something that has never happened in a studio before here in Malaysia ( of that level & stature) …& for that, go check out Sheila Majid’s Ratu album, Produced by Roslan Aziz, to hear a sonic experience both in terms of engineering & musicality, technically & sonically a pleasure to press play the first track, from Di Sisi Daku, to the 12th track,Ratu,

each song carefully arranged to highlight Sheila’s Vocals, ( The Voice that you Cannot Not fall in love with 😍…) immaculately recorded & mixed by-passing all filters & ( like as if Sheila is singing “in your face”) with so little compression that you won’t even know it’s there… this whole album is a reference sonic masterpiece…
co-produced by Jenny Chin & Mac Chew, Berklee graduates whose arrangements were so good that Nathan East wanted to take Jenny back to the US & work with him …!!!

Special mention must also be given to ex Air Supply guitarist, Malaysian Rex Goh who shines in his very carefully calculated minimal but standout melodic lines & playing in spaces that countered the melody lead line & counterpoints

Also Gordon Rytmeister’s gentle but solid & tight in the pocket grooves & excellent complimenting but not over bearing drum sounds…

And mixed to sonic perfection by Guy Gray, all at the world renowned 301 Studios in Sydney, Australia…

Yes, the similarities are all there & evidenced in their respective works, as Producers, both Quincy & Roslan instinctively know how to firstly & most importantly pick great songs, then they both know how to arrange & build the embellishments around the melody sung by the singer so artistically & non-intrusively without disturbing where the vocal sits in the mix, & that, that in itself is an art & science, choosing the right sounds of instruments to compliment & let the Lead Vocals to be King in the overall mix… & MOST IMPORTANTLY, knowing when to say enough & NOT to Overproduce…

They both are so artistically inclined & organised, in fact, extremely disciplined & organised in their thoughts that it shows in their productions… every detail is there, clear for its purpose & every reverb & effect adding musicality that’s a sonic pleasure to the ear… they are both Great Organisers…

Quincy Jones always had the best engineers collaborating with him, Bruce Swedien, Humberto Gatica,
Al Schmitt, Francis Buckley, Ed Cherney & and few others.

Roslan started out on his own, doing both simultaneously, engineering & producing at the same time

It’s a very very rare breed of Producer/ Engineer combination, while rare but there are still many..,( an oxymoron actually…!!!🤣🤣🤣) but not many who are critically acclaimed & respected, by their peers in the industry & to the masses of which Roslan clearly is… in the same vein of George Massenburg, Hugh Padgham, Trent Reznor, Brian Eno, Dr. Dre, Trevor Horn, Chris Lord-Alge, Teddy Riley, Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins, Pharrell Williams & Daniel Lanois, just to name a few…

And Both, Roslan & Quincy have a condition known as Synesthesia.

Synesthesia is a phenomenon that causes sensory crossovers, such as tasting or hearing colors & feeling or seeing sounds.

Some people describe it as having “wires crossed” in their brain because it activates two or more senses when there's only a reason for one sense to activate.

In a musical context, they can “see” an instrument or sound placed in a mix & that is one reason why their mixes in the music they produce is so pristine, clean, and every sound & instrument sits perfectly with its own reverberations in the sonic perspective, left to right & front to back & top to bottom …

This is not a comparison in any way if you think my writing is leading that way…but a moment to cherish & always be in gratitude & appreciation that we have absolutely great world class talents here in Malaysia whose works can go global & should not be wasted & regretted in hindsight…

Ok, so most of us know Roslan is a world class talent right here in Malaysia, with fans from literally all over the world ( go to his page & you will see his fan base is from the world over …)

a truly unique individual who comes very rarely, once in a lifetime, survived lymphoma in 2022, after being given just 6 months to live… and now he is defying those predictions… each day being strengthened by his super efficient & loving wife Sopphilea, and all his children & family, especially his father Encik Abdul Aziz, whom he lives with in their family home in Kampung Datuk Keramat.

( Former CEO of the Malaysia’s National Sports Institute, Dato’ Dr. Ramlan Abdul Aziz is Roslan’s older brother )

I have personally “seen” a future where Roslan will go on to produce an English singing artist who will be released globally in America ( media capital of the entertainment world) & that will be subsequently released around the globe… but we must wait for the right artist… an artist with the talent to hold the stage & perform with the right song, arrangement, production & Pesona, to compete & match in the international arena & level, with the Coldplays’, Taylor Swifts’, Ariana Grandes,’ & others who, when they tour, they tour across the continents, from the Americas, Europe, Asia, Oceania, who will sell out arenas & eventually stadiums…

Roslan’s music & work can already do that… it’s a proven track record…that we all know…his reach across the globe… now we need to find the right artist…if not from Malaysia, then maybe from Singapore, Jakarta, Manila , Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh or even Mumbai …( let’s not even talk about K-Pop & Korea/ Japan / China or yet)

A talent such as his, comes only once in a lifetime, & it certainly unequivocally deserves wider recognition & appreciation from a wider audience …

And even though Roslan doesn’t let all the numerous past awards, honours & accolades get in the way of his future endeavours, again, in my personal opinion, he can stand toe to toe with any Grammy Award winning Producer …anyday…that’s his quality …not that he even covets it…

Legendary Malaysian Musician & Producer/ Engineer/ Fauzi Marzuki opined that “Gamal is the BEST ever produced & recorded album ever in Malaysia’s entire music history” unsurpassed till now…

( Tan Sri ) Tony Fernandes had been heard saying that Roslan is “one of the most illustrious, brilliant & intelligent persons that he has ever met…”

Ken Freeman, internationally renowned Engineer for legendary Band TOTO, has said that “he has learnt so much from Roslan” when he was invited by Roslan to come to KL to mix the Terima Kasih Cinta Musical which was staged at Istana Budaya, February 2011.

There are many in the industry both locally & internationally who have believed & opined that if Sheila Majid & Zainal were artistes whose repertoire was in English, their albums would have been released in many other territories, though Sheila’s Legenda & Ratu albums did do very well in Singapore, Indonesia, Japan & and few other territories & Zainal’s Gamal had many international showcases like Midem & other festivals across Japan & Europe.

When a record label looks for an Artist, there are a few things more important than others, namely & firstly the music, then the marketability of the artist & the potential longevity to give them enough time to recoup on their investments…

So it’s a 2 pronged goal, great music & great artist… both promoted & marketed separately …

It used to be about the recording & then the show, but now the world has flipped, it’s about the show more than the recording…

( …to be continued …)

Next chapter: About how Recorded music in malaysia is separated into 2 distinct timelines …

…Before Roslan Aziz ( BRAP ) Productions & After Roslan Aziz Productions ( ARAP) & how RAP created & fulfilled the ever growing demands of a new market of Urban Malaysians while exposed to good foreign artists, and they wanted the same for local artists who were getting more appreciative of quality over quantity …

( to be continued…)

So we wish you A Most Blessed Birthday our National Treasure & Musical Heritage Roslan Aziz…

May our Creator continue to Bless & keep you, May He make His face shine upon you & be gracious to you, & may He turn His face upon you & give you peace…

From all of us… who absolutely appreciate you & thank you for sharing your genius…

( Excerpted by Dani’el Dharanee Kannan from a work in progress titled “ Recorded & Live Music Malaysia in the Global Music Marketplace…”1966-2026” 60 Years

Before Roslan Aziz Productions & After Roslan Aziz Productions

-Fact paper in preparation pending for submission to Paul Augustine National Music Archives )

Quincy Jones - Wikipedia Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer.[1] His career spans over 70 years, with 28 Grammy Awards won out of 80 nominations,[2] and a Grammy Legend Award in 1992.