Evading the malaise of predictability, Malaysia’s indie music scene pays an eclectic tribute to Tan Sri P. Ramlee’s catalogue on the Di Mana Kan Ku Cari Ganti: Satu Indiepretasi compilation.

TWENTY years ago, a young jazz-pop singer named Sheila Majid, then 25, released a landmark album, Legenda, which reignited the nation’s love affair with the Tan Sri P. Ramlee songbook. It was Bunyi Gitar all over again (the album’s single, incidentally, sold a whopping 10,000 cassettes). Hers was a slick and smooth tribute to the legendary Malaysian entertainer and Legenda also became Sheila’s career-defining release. Further back in 1983, a double vinyl release Abadi Dalam Sanjungan, now out-of-print, saw pop stars Sharifah Aini, Roy dan Fran, DJ Dave, Sweet September, Aman Shah, Zaleha Hamid and other EMI artistes of the day recording P. Ramlee’s catalogue of classics for the 10th anniversary of his death.