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Free Malaysia Today
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Free Malaysia Today
Flute maker Izani preserves heritage, one breath at a time
Serunai maker Mohd Izani Mohd Noor testing out a newly crafted Kelantanese serunai at his workshop in Kg Pulau Hilir, Kubang Kerian. (Bernama pic) KOTA BHARU : For Mohd Izani Mohd Noor, the serunai (traditional flute) is not merely a musical instrument – it's the voice of heritage and breath of culture that must be preserved. Despite the intricate and time-consuming process of crafting the Kelantanese serunai, he remains steadfast. Each piece of wood carved, and every hole drilled, is done with patience and purpose, driven by the goal of ensuring the continuity of the serunai as a living art form. 'My interest started in school: I would often visit my mentor, the late Tok Wan Nasir, to learn how to play the serunai. That's when I began to understand the process of making one,' Izani told Bernama, recalling his early years in Kampung Pulau Hilir, Kubang Kerian here. In 2013, he began crafting serunai as a pastime. What started as a hobby has now evolved into a specialised craft, with the 41-year-old now making the flute for customers across Malaysia. The process begins with selecting the right wood, such as merbau, sira tanduk, rengas or leban, depending on customer preferences. The wood is then cut to size, lathed and smoothed. Seven holes are drilled into the upper side, with one more hole drilled underneath. Each contributes to the instrument's distinctive tones. 'The lower section is made from softer wood to produce a mellow, melodious sound. The upper part holds the pipit (mouthpiece), made of brass and fitted with daun tar (palm-like leaves) for blowing,' Izani explained. He said crafting the pipit requires great precision, as even a slight imperfection can affect the sound quality. The selection of daun tar is also crucial, with only smooth, high-quality leaves used. It takes him an average of three days to craft one serunai, which sells for between RM280 and RM700, depending on the type of wood and intricacy of the carvings. (Bernama pic) 'These leaves are boiled with coconut milk and pulp for about an hour, then dried for a day. This process makes the leaves slightly oily, preventing saliva from sticking to the pipit and ensuring its durability for up to three months,' he noted. Izani produces two types of serunai – the longer serunai ibu (48-53cm), and the serunai anak (33-38cm). Both feature seven finger holes and one hole beneath. 'The serunai ibu produces a coarser sound, and is often used in performances such as silat, wayang kulit and main puteri. Traditional musical pieces like 'Tabuh', 'Hulubalang' and 'Serama Berjalan' are commonly played with it,' he explained. Meanwhile, the serunai anak offers a sharper, more delicate tone suited to mak yong's soulful performances. This shorter serunai is typically used for songs like 'Berkabar Belas', 'Pakyong Muda' and 'Sedayung Makyong'. Each serunai takes around three days to complete, including the tuning process. Prices range from RM280 to RM700, depending on the type of wood and complexity of the carvings. 'This is my way of preserving our heritage. As long as people still want to hear the sound of the serunai, I will keep making them,' Izani concluded.
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Quinie: Forefowk, Mind Me review – collecting songs on horseback, this Scottish musician is alive with ideas
Travellers' songs sung in Scots are the focus of Josie Vallely, a gutsy, Glasgow-based artist performing as Quinie (pronounced 'q-why-nee'; 'young woman' in the Doric dialect), whose third album acknowledges ancestors watching over her. It includes traditional singers Lizzie Higgins, Jeannie Robertson and Sheila Stewart, whose rawness drones, speaks and soars over these 11 varied tracks, mixing tunes from fiddles, Gaelic sean-nós singing, and canntaireachd (the vocal mimicry of pipe music). Quinie collected these songs from people using a method that fits the album's strange, rustic mood: she rode her horse, Maisie, across Argyll ('you pay attention to all your senses, have different conversations with people and connect to older ways of doing things,' she writes in the liner notes of this journey; she's also made a 15-minute film). On Auld Horse, her spoken words ripple against field recordings of water, the fabulous double bass of Stevie Jones (Alasdair Roberts, Sounds of Yell) and Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh's rumbling viola. Another spoken word track, Health, Wealth a Yer Days, is warmed by handclaps and Oliver Pitt's bouzouki. Elsewhere, Quinie's unfiltered, ripe singing voice resonates like a siren. It twists around Harry Górski-Brown's pipes in the opening, viscous track Col My Love (which warns of the dangers of standing close to the shoreline). It confronts, but never overpowers, the floating, still tones of the duduk (an Armenian oboe) in Sae Slight a Thing. Quinie's cappellas are especially powerful: her take on Matt Armour's 1982 ballad, Generations of Change, is no-nonsense and moving, in which a grandmother recounts her father's life, the 'lang holidays' with her grandchildren, and how 'the weakness of age makes room for the young'. Alive with ideas, this record holds the past like a cauldron, broiling bewitchingly. Varo are Dublin-based musicians Lucie Azconaga and Consuelo Nerea Breschi, partners in life and music, who unite with many contemporary Irish lodestars on their terrific second album, The World That I Knew (self-released). Highlights include Skibbereen, a duet with Junior Brother, and a majestic Green Grows the Laurel with John Francis Flynn. The Gentle Good says goodbye to the dimly lit, acoustic treatments of 2023's gorgeous Galargan for washes of vintage synths, distorted guitars and layered vocals on Elan (Bubblewrap). A warm, psychedelic portrait of a flooded valley in Powys, mid-Wales, its influences include 19th-century ballads, RS Thomas' poetry and, on the sunstruck To Be in Summer, west coast pop. Another joy is Last Call, the final album by folk-influenced singer and songwriter Steve Tilston, his voice as warm and spry as ever, his fingerpicking filling the title track with electricity.
