Malaysia’s most hardworking singer, actor and TV host, the dashing Alif Satar and his band members The Locos are back with legendary nasyid group, Raihan, to welcome the holy month of Ramadan with a special EP project entitled ‘The Sunnah The Better’, published exclusively by Warner Music Malaysia.
“It is truly a huge honour for us, the next generation musicians, to be able to collaborate with legends of the Malaysian music industry such as Raihan. We all grew up listening to Raihan and their positive messages through the songs they sang, and with this collaboration, we want to bring back that spirit and introduce Raihan to newer generations,” said Alif.
Highly received by local music enthusiasts, now, Alif Satar & The Locos are back with a special EP consisting 5 of Raihan’s best works such as ‘Bismillah’, ‘25 Rasul’, ‘Puji-Pujian x Syukur (Medley)’, ‘Assolatuwassalam’ dan ‘Rayuan Rindu’, all in audio form, released on the 1st of April, while each much video (MV) will be released gradually throughout the month of Ramadan.
When asked, why Raihan? Alif said, “We are all fans of Raihan ever since we were little kids, and most of their songs we remember by heart. Since we have worked with them before, the chemistry that we have made it easier this time around.
“After months of discussion, we decided to go ahead and record the songs which only took 2 days to be completed, and what’s great about it, we only did it in ‘one take’ without any editing or re-recording, much like a live recording session.”
Alif shared that he even shed some tears during recording because he would have never imagined being given this opportunity, to be in the same recording studio as Raihan. “Most of the songs by Raihan really hit you deep, not only me but some of the band members got emotional too during the process, and we could really feel that spirit of togetherness or ukhuwah with everyone,” explained Alif.
Raihan has been one of the key players in the Malaysian music industry with fans from Malaysia and spanning all over the world, their songs have touched the hearts of music lovers globally while bringing positive and spiritual messages.
“We learned so much from them, although I was a bit nervous at first because of their achievements, but they were really humble and shared plenty of knowledge.”
“For this EP, we’ve made a few adjustments, while the songs sung by them were all done in acapella, we decided to add some musical instruments to give it a fresher feel to it, and Che Am and I act as lead vocalists.”
“We didn’t want to alter much because their compositions were already perfect and we did not want to deter much from its originality. The Locos too lent their voice in some of the tracks.”
Apart from the EP, all of the MVs, directed by Zaidan Zainuddin of Shutterspeak Studio will feature a simple concept and storyline while being inclusive, that will cater to not just adults but also children because of the message it brings.
“Our main focus for producing the EP is to entertain and enlighten at the same time while bringing positivity in the most sincere way possible. We hope everyone will enjoy listening to ‘The Sunnah The Better’ EP while taking into consideration the underlying message of it, to spread knowledge and bring us closer to God. Let’s take this opportunity to fully utilise the month of Ramadan with family, and teach our children through this edutainment concept with our MVs. Not only Muslims, but non-Muslims are also welcome to listen to it,” says Alif in a hopeful tone.
All of the MVs are available for viewing gradually throughout the month of Ramadan exclusively on the Alif Satar YouTube channel as per below;
- 3 April 2022: Bismillah
- 7 April 2022: 25 Rasul
- 13 April 2022: Pujian-pujian + Syukur (Medley)
- 19 April 2022: Assolatuwassalam
- 24 April 2022: Rayuan Rindu
‘The Sunnah The Better’ EP is available for download on iTunes and as a caller ringtone from all major telecommunication service providers, and could easily be streamed and enjoyed 24/7 through various music-streaming portals such as Apple Music, Spotify, Joox, KKBox, Deezer dan juga YouTube from 1st April 2022.
Links to Alif Satar & The Locos X Raihan – The Sunnah The Better
