I wasn't sure if it was the audio in our Zoom interview that gave way momentarily or if I was simply astonished by the lengths singer-songwriter Firdhaus took to realise his music dreams but I had to get him to repeat what he had just told me.
“I’m sorry, did you say you sold 300 copies of your album at recess time in school?” I asked for clarification.
“Yes, I recorded an album with the help of a friend. There were eight songs. Every day I would bring a stack of my CDs and during recess time, I would be running around the school selling them.”
Making an album from scratch and subsequently reaching some 300 listeners all on his own is no small feat, especially since he was just in his teens then.
Little did he know the success he would go on to achieve. Try 300 million.
Last year, the 22-year-old released his original composition, Gulf Of Alaska, and within a few months, saw the number of views on Douyin (China’s TikTok) swell to 300 million.
In an exclusive interview with StarLifestyle, the up-and-coming artiste recounts his unconventional musical route including, at one point, selling vegetables at the market.
Unconventional path
Born in Kulai, Johor, Firdhaus Farmizi grew up in a Malay household but was sent to a Chinese school since his formative years.
“I even went to a Chinese-language kindergarten. So I was always surrounded by a lot of Chinese friends. I don’t have many Malay friends, ” he says.
At 12, he was introduced to Taiwanese singer-songwriter Jay Chou by a friend and was immediately besotted with the idea of songwriting.
“Up until then, I didn’t know that a singer can write their own songs. So that’s how I started writing my own songs. I also joined the guitar club in my school in order to write and play my own songs, ” he continues.
At 16, Firdhaus wrote a song and submitted it to local reality song competition The Ultimate Song on 8TV. He didn’t win but was placed among the top 24 contestants.
“It was then that I realised that maybe I can write songs and people will like it.”
A year later, he decided to make an album with the help of a Johor-based producer he met at the competition.
Asked why he didn’t seek the help of a record label or an artiste management company at the time, Firdhaus replies: “I wanted to do it on my own, I wanted to earn every cent on my own.”
That seems to be the mantra of Firdhaus’s life in the next few years.
After completing his pre-university programme, United Examination Certificate (UEC), Firdhaus went against the grain, forgoing a university education.
“I always knew what I wanted. And I knew what I wanted to learn. It’s not math or science because I’m just not interested in them. I’ve always loved to talk to people, to do business and to make music.
“And I knew that I didn’t need to go to university to learn all of these things, ” he shares.
Instead, Firdhaus felt the best education path for him was to enrol in the school of hard knocks.
“I went to the market to sell vegetables because I wanted to experience life, I wanted to experience how hard it is to earn money.
“After that, I went to work at an Apple Store because I wanted to learn deeply about a product and how best to sell it to people.”
At the same time, the singer- songwriter also worked on growing his musical side.
“I performed at cafes, restaurants and weddings. I also performed covers and some original songs on my Facebook and Instagram.”
Turning the tide
One original composition, Gulf Of Alaska, stood out.
“I posted it in March 2020 and it wasn’t like an instant hit. For the first few days, nobody really cared about it. I was quite sad. But after a while, it kind of grew on people I guess.”
The song may not be heard by many at the time but it found its way to Yise Loo, a fellow Malaysian singer who established the local label, Loolala Music, two years ago.
Impressed by the melancholic Mandarin ballad, she reached out to Firdhaus with the idea of signing him.
“We were talking to each other mostly on the phone, ” Loo remembers. “Then during the recovery MCO, he bought a bus ticket and travelled from Johor to KL just to meet my team.”
The gesture left an indelible mark on Loo. “It made me feel like he was really serious about this. He knows what he wants and will do anything to pursue his music dreams.”
Firdhaus, who wanted to be an independent artiste from the get-go, had a change of heart: “Initially, I wanted to make music on my own terms. But my sixth sense told me that this was the right move.”
His gut feeling was right.
After accepting the offer in mid 2020, Loolala Music teamed up with a company based in China, Starsing Music Studio, for his debut project.
The collaboration resulted in the production of a three-track EP, A Letter, containing Gulf Of Alaska, and its subsequent release in China.
He talks about the inspiration behind the hit song: “The Gulf Of Alaska is a place in America where, for some reason, the sea waters have two different colours.
“Water from two different sources come together but they do not mix, resulting in two different shades of blue. There’s no land standing between them yet they can’t mix with each other.
“So the first time I saw a picture of the Gulf Of Alaska, it evoked the feeling of two people meeting each other but they cannot be together.”
Backed by the music companies, the emotional ballad is now a huge hit in China.
“I’m very, very lucky, ” Firdhaus reacts to the overwhelming success the song has received.
Firdhaus will be releasing a music video to accompany the song soon.
“We plan to make people cry even more, ” he says with a smile.
And striking while the iron is hot, he recently released a new single, You & Me.
Asked if he has plans to take his career to China, Firdhaus shares it is still too soon to tell, as he’s just moved from Johor to Kuala Lumpur last December to devote himself to his music career.
While he hopes to perform in China some day, the singer- songwriter ultimately believes good music can come from anywhere.
“It doesn’t really matter whether I’m in KL or China. I just want to write good songs and prove to people that Malaysian singers can be successful.”
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