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.[according to whom?] The eponymous first track has been nominated for the best song in the 1990s.[citation needed] The album was Nurhaliza's first album to have a title track.

Cindai
Studio album by
Released17 November 1997
Recorded1997
GenreEthnic, folk, traditional
Length45:02
LabelSuria Records
ProducerPak Ngah, Rahim Jantan, S. Atan
Siti Nurhaliza chronology
Siti Nurhaliza II
(1997)
Cindai
(1997)
Adiwarna
(1998)
Singles from Cindai
  1. "Cindai"
    Released: 1997
  2. "Joget Pahang"
    Released: 1997
  3. "Joget Berhibur"
    Released: 1997

Recording edit

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 edit

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

Release and reception edit

Cindai was released on 17 November 1997, eleven months after Siti Nurhaliza II.[4] 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).[4]

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.[5] Cindai was a commercial success and sold over 400,000 copies[6] on its release and was certified 5× platinum.[4][7][non-primary source needed] "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 edit

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]

Track listing edit

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Cindai"Hairul Anuar HarunPak Ngah4:52
2."Laksamana Mati Dibunuh"Copyright ControlCopyright Control5:20
3."Janji"Copyright ControlCopyright Control3:17
4."Lela Manja"Copyright ControlCopyright Control4:12
5."Kaparinyo"Copyright ControlCopyright Control4:20
6."Es Lilin"Copyright ControlCopyright Control3:56
7."Damak"Copyright ControlCopyright Control4:28
8."Joget Pahang"Copyright ControlCopyright Control3:51
9."Patah Hati"Copyright ControlCopyright Control5:11
10."Joget Berhibur"Syed Indera Syed Omar (Siso)Rahim Jantan4:35
Total length:45:02

Credits and personnel edit

Credits adapted from Cindai booklet liner notes.[15]

Awards edit

Competition Award
Anugerah Juara Lagu Winner Best Creative Ethnic – Cindai
Juara Lagu – Cindai
Best Performance
  • 5 Platinum Album "Cindai"

References edit

  1. ^ a b Raul Carlo, Allison Smith, and Menno Visser (10 January 1998). "Hits of the World – Malaysia". Billboard. Retrieved 25 February 2011 – via Google Books.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Charles de Ledesma, Mark Lewis, Pauline Savage (2002). Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. ISBN 9781843530947. Retrieved 3 January 2016 – via Google Books. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Ooi Keat Gin (2010). The A to Z of Malaysia. ISBN 9781461671992. Retrieved 3 January 2016 – via Google Books. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  4. ^ a b c "Cindai". SitiZone. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  5. ^ "Best Ever Commonwealth Games Comes to a Close". Utusan Online. 22 September 1998. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  6. ^ "Bintang Cemerlang dari Kampung Awah". Kompas (in Indonesian). 17 June 2002. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  7. ^ "Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin Official". Facebook. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
  8. ^ Shuib Taib (7 September 2009). "Top 10 influential celebrities in Malaysia: Stars with the x-factor sizzle". The New Straits Times. AsiaOne.com. Archived from the original on 29 August 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
  9. ^ "Siti all set for London show". New Straits Times. Digital Collections DC5: Text Archive. 14 January 2005. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
  10. ^ Konsert eksklusif 'SATU' Siti Nurhaliza di IB! (Siti Nurhaliza's 'SATU' exclusive concert at IB!) Siti Azira Abdul Aziz. mStar (20 May 2009).
  11. ^ Rosli Manah (27 August 2013). "Konsert tradisional Siti Nurhaliza untuk angkat seni budaya". manggaonline.com.my (in Malay). Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  12. ^ Budiey Isma (2 March 2016). "Konsert Dato' Siti Nurhaliza & Friends di Stadium Negara" [Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza & Friends Concert at Stadium Merdeka]. Budiey.com (in Malay). Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  13. ^ Zieman (18 January 1998). "I won't give food for gossip, says Siti". Sunday Mail. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  14. ^ a b Zainal Alam Kadir (1 December 1997). "Group chalking up record sales". New Straits Times. p. 4 (Life & Times). Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  15. ^ Cindai (liner notes). Siti Nurhaliza. Suria Records. 1997.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

External links edit