Ana Raffali Ketika Aku Kecil Album Launch

I'm at the computer trying to do some work while my babies are still fast asleep but my arms are so tense from carrying little jj for about an hour at Ana Raffali's Ketika Aku Kecil album launch yesterday... and I thought I ought to write about the event before I forgot all about it.


Well, you know how it is with my little jj... she totally hates a new environment especially since the launch was held at a small hall filled with a packed crowd. It didn't help that it was also her nap time and all she wanted to do was cling on to me for comfort, and cling on she did. I mean, what else can I do, right, unless I wanted the entire room to focus on me with a screaming baby ;D

The event started a little late because some members of the press were a little bit late. I was glad I took my own sweet time before coming over because I had already expected the delay. When I arrived I thought I was already late but they didn't start until another 20 minutes or so. Thus, you can imagine a nervous baby in my arms, not knowing why she wasn't able to move about and didn't know what she was waiting for.

As soon as Ana appeared, little jj became totally silent and she listened intently to Ketika Aku Kecil, which has been sorta like a lullaby to her already. And because of that, she fell asleep half way through... since I wanted to make sure she was totally asleep before I put her back into the stroller, I had to keep carrying her.

i was sweating at the back of the room because it was hot! and lugging a toddler on me made it even warmer.

This must be my first experience in an album launch. It was modest but tasteful and I was happy to see how much support Ana Raffali was getting from the media. Since this would really be the start of a totally different phase of her life, I do hope they are all good press rather than bad. I mean, I saw some really stupid points one media was trying to put through just so they have some 'juice' in their weekly weekend programme *sigh* orang baru nak start in the industry pun kena jatuhkan, is it? Menyampah pun ada tengok.

As a support to her journey in this industry, the one had already bought her Ketika Aku Kecil album although we could all get a free copy.... and since we have heard all the songs before, I felt that 6 songs in a CD were just too little to be satisfied about...

I think recently, there have been a lot of new local talents in the market and I think they are all very very talented. Ana Raffali is definitely one of them, with a distinctive positive pull of her own. You may think I am biased in my opinion since she's my SIL, but you know how honest I've been in my opinions when I write, I'd mince my words but not my honesty.

To be frank, I love her when she sings with just her guitar... nothing else but the guitar. She has such a sweet melodic voice and she makes you want to hear her soul when she sings and strums her guitar. So, when I first heard her Hujan Bunga Di Kuala Lumpur single, I felt that the accompaniment of other musical instruments did not do justice to her already beautiful voice. But, since you all have not heard her with just the guitar, I guess her songs will somehow hit you because they are all very beautifully written and I especially like her lyrics because she writes from the heart, just as how I would (of course, her writing sounds more poetic la...).

Renowned composer, Aidit Alfian, even said in his speech and during Q&A of the raw talent that she has compared to the rest and the rare gift she has of writing from the heart, not for a market. And since she didn't take any formal music training, her pieces are not limited to any specific rules nor references. One who only learnt to play the guitar all on her own from a 'How To Play The Guitar' guide before she started writing her own songs, definitely deserves a huge credit, don't you think?


It wasn't an easy ride for her as it took her years to get this album out. 2 years, I think. I almost thought it wouldn't happen for her. I never knew it would take so long to get an album out and Aidit didn't quite answer the question when a reporter asked why he only put in 6 songs in this first album. I know Ana has so many other good materials which she played to little jj because those songs could make her stop crying :) but I believe it is a marketing strategy and in this unstable and unpredictable local music scene, it was to be a safe investment. I think. I still think that they could do away with a hard copy because I know a lot of us wouldn't mind buying just the songs online and that would be an even safer bet but then again, Aidit, being an experienced personality would know the industry and market better.

I think Ana has got what it takes to be good in the industry if she can keep it up... let's hope that she could remain focused and not get too disturbed by the attention that she'd be pulling because it was really a different zone she's charting when I saw her yesterday. Even my little munchkin who always said he wanted to be famous like his auntie Ana suddenly told me he didn't want to be famous because it looked all too tiring and troublesome. Only those who are strong can survive, I guess. In any case, this striking beauty graduated with a first class degree in TESL... I do think that if things do not work out, she would always have her paper qualification to fall back on.

it was a nice venue and little jj was distracted with the fishes while we all wait for the artiste...

if there wasn't that barrier there, i was pretty sure she'd just jump right into the water...

finally, a photo with Auntie Ana, although he knows darn well that he could take a photo with her any time *geesh*

So, with that, I wish her all the best of luck in this journey.

p/s: you can find out about her here, here, here and here, if you like.

snippets of her opening performance taken with an unstable hand as the other one was holding little jj ;P

9 comments:

isabelle said...

i think it's pretty normal to see the dengki culture in our community.
xboleh tgk org lebih sikit...

dillazag said...

Sweet sounding. i think i am gonna like her.

best lah ada famous SIL! :)

toughcookie said...

belle,
nak kena ngadap hasad dengki dengan penuh senyuman dan kesabaran tu yang paling susah. haiyoh.

dilla,
oh sangat sweet.

correction. 'best lah ada famous SIL yang boleh nyanyi FOC bila2 masa kat little jj' hehe...

ms. ana said...

so sweet.. thank you guys so much for coming and thank you for braving the close to an hour set with lil jj. love you guys! ;D

Ros Ibrahim said...

juan, i love her songs ;).. good luck to her dan semoga akan naik dan dikenali ramai seperti yuna (i love yun'a song too)..infact i ada buat entry pasal yuna masa dia mula2 masuk TV.. now akan buat entry pasal ana pula :)

Amy said...

I suka her first single tu. My sis pun, sempat la I brag to her that I know Ana's SIL walaupun baru jumpa u dua kali haha. Love love the album, so classic. Wish her all the best, tell her to just be herself.

sitisabri said...

All the best to Ana! :) And...lil JJ is so lucky to have a real singer to sing for her kan kan?

toughcookie said...

ana,
it was definitely my pleasure ;)

kak ros,
lagu dia bagus2 kan? hopefully, things will work out for her because it can be really frustrating being in the industry when there have been just so many negative unresolved issues concerning payments and royalties and piracy. entah berbaloi, entah tidak.

toughcookie said...

amy,
hehe... SIL je beb.. album pun kena beli ok bukannya dapat free ;P

bab tell her to just be herself tu entahla beb... i personally think that the industry is full of fakes. there has been too many things that was told to me but in the end, semua orang kena senyum, semua orang kena ketawa, and semua orang must be fans of everyone else. in the end, everyone else want to stab you in the back. it's worse than a climb in the corporate world as the share is so small yet everyone thinks (or believe) they can make it. it's hard to be yourself when there are expectations from so many different people. so, i rasa kan, most of the time, industry players would have to accommodate to the masses walaupun hati sakit. agaknya la...

siti,
oh itu memang semestinya.... hehe ;P