Transcript of interview with Clare Haliff (conducted by Amanda Lee), 17 August 2016, 3.30pm, Skype.
Clare Haliff is a 57-year old female Chinese-Malay Singaporean who works as a freelance sales person. She enjoys English pop music oldies especially by artistes such as the Beatles or Cliff Richard. She does not like the newer English pop music of today’s artistes as she finds that she cannot quite follow the rhythm. While Clare did not grow up listening to Western classical music or finds that she can appreciate it now, she still thinks that it is important to preserve it as most of the music today derives from classical music. Clare enjoys Malay pop music mainly by overseas artistes like Sheila Majid and Hetty Koes Endang. She thinks that the Malay pop music scene in Singapore is not as vibrant as the scene in Indonesia or Malaysia. Clare thinks the song Goyang Sayang is representative of traditional Malay music but does not think it represents her identity as a Malay person as she does not see herself as being a traditional Malay person. She identifies more with Malay pop music, and she thinks that could be due to Western influence. She thinks that younger Malays should listen to more traditional Malay music. Clare does not listen to Chinese pop but used to listen to them when she worked in radio. She does not listen to traditional Chinese music but used to watch Chinese opera with her mother when she was younger. She thinks traditional Chinese music is soothing. Clare did not enjoy the experimental Chinese music extract as she thought it was very disruptive. However, she liked the Chinese crossover music extract as she found it pleasant. Clare thinks that a song that can represent Singapore is one that everyone can sing, even non-Singaporeans. She thinks it has to be catchy but does not overtly represent a country. She thinks a good example of such a song is Rasa Sayang.
“Er, Cliff Richard. Er, er, The Beatles, and all that. Ya. The older ones, ya.”
“Er, I don’t quite follow that kind of rhythm. Er, ya. Not too much of the – the modern [English] pop music. Ya.”
“Er, some of [Western classical music] is – is quite, er, um, is – is – when I said – is, er, relaxing. Is – is, er, something for you to, er, er, to – to contemplate on. To [do] meditation. And, er, it – it brings you to a different kind of mood. Ya.”
“Er, important ... yes it tends – because most of our, our music actually derives from the Western classical music. In that sense, ya. So it is important for – for the modern, er, er, musicians to know the – the – the Western, er, the classical music. Must have a listening background in classical music, I think.”
“Er, the Singapore, um, scene of Malay pop music is still not, er, as vibrant as the Indonesian and Malaysian pop music. Er, I would prefer actually the Malaysian and the Indonesian pop singers. Malay pop singers, ya.”
“Um, in Malaysia, yes, Sheila Majid. Um, she’s one of the popular ones that, er, I like – the way she sings, she sings a lot of jazz, ya. Er, er, Hetty – Hetty, er, er, Hetty [Koes Endang] – which is from Indonesia, she’s quite good. Ya, ya.”
“Okay, um, like I mentioned it – Goyang Sayang is more – more poetic, um, more, um, er, has a very traditional [Malay] kind of music. Er, I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Er, I – I – I can’t say that [I can identify with traditional Malay music] because I’m not – I’m not a very traditional Malay person. So, ya. I – I – really cannot answer that. Er, I can’t, er, I can’t answer that question completely, ya. Ya.”
“Um, like I say the – the – the, um, the style of singing, um, ya. More than the [Malay pop] music – relates more to a Western style genre, so it – it, er, is more pleasant to listen to lah, basically, ya.”
“It’s also very important to keep the traditional Malay music, er, alive in that sense. Because, um, I – I think the – the young, um, Malay, um, person has lost – lost the, er, knowledge of Malay traditional music.”
“I was in radio, I was quite exposed to – to the Chinese [pop] music as well. We attend the – the music awards. Chinese music awards. Ya, ya, I – I – I like the – their singing as well. But I don’t follow any particular person.”
“When I was very young, my mother used to bring me to the opera – opera, Chinese opera shows. But, um, ya, ya, I – I kind of like the opera show actually. I like some – very traditional, er, plays, and the opera shows, ya. I appreciate that. That kind of, um, musical, in that sense, ya.”
“[Experimental Chinese music has] a lot of, er, breaks in it. There’s no smooth ride towards the whole thing. Like the earlier Chinese music, it’s that – it’s more smooth you can – right – continue listening. This is – there’s a lot of breaks, and there’s a lot of different instruments coming in. It’s – it’s a bit disrupting.”
“Ya. Er, I think [Chinese crossover music] is really good – because it’s – it’s very relaxing, and – and, and, er, it’s pleasant to the ears, lah. Especially the Chinese instruments, ya, er, it’s really – pleasant to the ears.”
“Everybody can sing it, and it’s something that’s, er, it has to be something catchy, and yet non, er, there’s no, um, it doesn’t represent, er, it represents a country [Singapore], but it doesn’t represent a, a loyalty to a certain country. It’s just a fun song, you know, but it still represents the country.”
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