By Lam Lin Shi

Twenty years ago, Malaysian gospel artistes were virtually unheard of. But now, the industry is slowly developing as our home-grown talents step out in faith, writes LAM LIN SHI.

IN a world where the success and popularity of an artiste is measured by album sales and the legion of fans he or she has, several Malaysian gospel artistes are striking out on their own and quietly making waves in this niche market. No solid financial backing, no glitzy promos, no grand album launch, no screaming fans and no mega concerts.

Songwriting and singing may come easy, but putting them together in an album with no help from record companies is a different kettle of fish altogether. The cost of producing an album would have stumped many budding artistes. One needs at least RM24,000 for a "simple" recording and above RM35,000 for a reasonably good quality album.

With so many hurdles to face - financial, technical, resources, promotion and lack of guidance - how did our local artistes do it? Just like other indie groups, something greater than commercial stardom spurs them on. They are passionate about their music and deeply believe that they should share the love of God with people through the musical talents God has given them.

Patrick Leong is one of them. The recently-turned-30 singer, songwriter and tennis coach came out with an album entitled For Your Love in July last year under the record label Oops Asia, a music publishing company which he founded with a few friends.

Over a drink, the affable Leong explained how the album came into fruition.

"Singing was just a hobby, but now, it's more than that. I've realised my purpose in life and the talents God has given me. I've been writing songs since 1999, and so in December 2002, I decided to put together the songs in an album." Leong is no green horn in the music industry, having been involved in it since 1997. Leong has had no formal vocal training but that didn't stop him from becoming a backing vocalist at concerts featuring divas Sheila Majid, Siti Nurhaliza and Hetty Koes Endang, and at the Anugerah Industri Muzik (1999-2001). His talent didn't go unnoticed. A song in tribute to the victims of the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks which he co-wrote with a New York artiste and painter caught YTL Corporation managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh's attention. Yeoh was impressed with Leong and invited him to sing at the curtain raiser of world-renowned tenor Luciano Pavarotti's concert at the Asian Global Leadership Forum in Pangkor Laut Resort on Sept 7, 2002. That concert sealed his destiny. Leong then realised that his calling was to share the message of love, peace and hope through music.

On his debut album which took four months to produce, Leong says the songs are an expression of his life experiences.

"This album on the whole targets young working adults. The songs are a mixture of classical, soul, jazz and R&B." How did he market his CDs when he was virtually an "unknown" at that time? Together with a team, Leong went knocking at doors of bookstores and music stores such as MPH, Victoria Music Centre, Glad Sounds, Salvation and several others and persuaded them to put his CDs on their shelves. He also sells his CDs through churches. So far, his CDs have been selling modestly well, by the local gospel industry's standards - over 800 copies since its launch. That figure doesn't cover the cost of production, but Leong is unperturbed. In fact, his company has also released an album by popular Klang-based Christian band Altered Frequency entitled Exalt last December, and is planning to produce more albums and organise concerts here and abroad.

Another person who has taken a leap of faith and recorded an album is 22-year-old Diana Wee from Kajang. Coming from a family who loves music, Wee has been singing for as long as she remembers. Her creative juices started flowing at the age of 16, when she would sit at the piano and start composing songs. The songwriting hasn't stopped since. The Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia undergraduate who majors in psychology believes that there are many talented gospel singers/composers in Malaysia and they should "come up" and share what they have.

"We think we aren't good enough, but we should continue to persevere and support one another." Wee should know what she's talking about. Without the help of generous church members, family and friends, her dream to produce the album Your Love Remains would never have materialised. Wee admits that singing is in her blood, but she is realistic. She knows that it will be difficult to survive as a gospel artiste here.

Talking about the making of her album, which contains 16 tracks, Wee says she went through it the hard way. "There was no one to show us what to do. We had to scout around for a recording firm and in the process, I learnt a lot of things, such how to obtain copyright for my songs!" The recording which was done in a studio in Cheras took almost a year to complete, because of Wee's study commitments. Wee herself does the marketing of the album, getting her network of family and friends to sell her CDs. Those interested in getting Your Love Remains should email Wee at yuenswan@yahoo.com, for her CDs aren't available at the stores.

Another young artiste to emerge in the local gospel music scene is 22-year-old KL-bred Michelle Tan, who fulfilled her dream to record an album, Better Days, in 2001. Singing and composing music comes naturally to Tan, whose family encourages her alot in this area.

Whenever Tan is sad, stressed or just plain happy, she will shut herself in the piano room and express herself on the instrument. "My fingers would just move and I'd come up with really nice tunes spontaneously, when I tune in to my greatest source of inspiration - God and his amazing love." Although Better Days was launched in 2001, Tan only had her first official concert to promote her album last June. The response to the concert was very good, but sadly the same couldn't be said of the CD sales.

"Unfortunately, Malaysians are less than willing to part with their money for local CDs, although they have good things to say about the artiste!" laments Tan, whose album was produced in the United States and financed by her family.

Tan says there are many budding talents in the local gospel music industry but the support system is weak.

"Anyway, I think this sales factor is not stopping many local albums from appearing lately. I hope that Malaysians will support local gospel artistes through more practical ways - buy their CDs!" says Tan, whose CDs can be found at MPH and Chosen Treasures.

Music teacher and songwriter Lucy Loo, from Penang, who spearheaded the production of Sand album last year, agrees that Malaysians have the mentality that local albums are not up to the mark.

"It is my dream that we will keep improving our standards so that one day our albums will be on par with imported albums." Loo used her own savings for the Sand project and gathered together 12 young people from several churches in Penang to record the album, which took five months to complete.

Sand incorporates R&B, ballad, hip hop and pop songs written by Loo. Looks like there is no stopping this determined cellist and pianist - she is now training another group of young people for her second album, Sand 2, which should be out by September.

Principal of Tung Ling Seminary in Subang Jaya, Pastor Ng Wah Lok, who himself has produced two albums - Everytime I Pray (2001) and Shining Stars (2002) - says the local gospel music industry is at its infancy but he is optimistic that it will continue to grow.

"There is no shortage of talent in Malaysia. What needs to be improved is the marketing and promotion. Eventually local perception will change. Local musicians need to grow big enough to go international, when the industry can support their livelihood," says the 44-year-old Ng, who has written about 100 songs over the last 23 years.

If there's one person who can speak of international recognition, it is Ng. His songs have been sung in churches throughout Malaysia, long before he even came up with his first album, and recorded in several languages in Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong.

"Initially when I approached several shops, none of them wanted to sell my CDs (of the first album) as they were sceptical of my work!" says Ng, but thankfully all that has changed now after Ng proved them wrong, that his CDs could sell very well indeed.

Ng is doing his bit to promote local gospel artistes through his informative website, www.tabernaclemusic.net, which has a comprehensive write-up on a number of emerging artistes in Malaysia and Singapore. One can even download Ng's songs from the website for free.

Things are looking up for local gospel musicians, if a group of people have their way. Plans are afoot for Malaysia's very own Gospel Music Awards in the near future, and Ng and several other key people in the industry are working hard to make this a reality.