VETERAN Malaysian reggae singer Sasi The Don has used his latest single, named after the famous nursery rhyme, to metaphorically describe the global atmosphere brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Released last Friday (December 18), the first track taken off his upcoming new album 'My Second Wave', hints at the "big fall" that many people experienced as the virus wreaked havoc among people and communities, the artist said.
"Even corporations and airlines crashed, so many industries around the world had lost everything in this pandemic," he told The Vibes recently.
"The pandemic could not change everything, but some things have changed, some things have become from better to worse or vice versa, at the end of the day it's about the ups and downs.”
Despite its poignant theme, Sasi – real name Sasidharan Chandran – took on a more upbeat and cheerful tone and approach to the song, providing cheer amid the trying times.
And although many corporations and individuals have fallen, Sasi said "we will put back it all together again but rise up to the top once again."
In a statement, Sasi also views this song, which features up-and-coming rapper ELi, as a "musical tribute to soothe the malady of this pandemic."
“Music is like an anthem and this song is the remedy to inspire us all to do the next big thing,” he said.
The message, he added, comes across loud and clear: "Don’t give up because you never know what is coming around the corner."
The single was accompanied by a music video, which premiered on YouTube on the same day.
The video was produced by a diverse team of individuals from Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, while most of the on set talent were from Kenya, Congo and other African countries.
As for the location of the video shoot, Sasi's teamed up with bookstore BookXcess to use its location at Sunsuria, Setia Alam.
"All our existing ideas went out of the window as the premises inspired a storyboard from scratch for me to recreate more magic in bringing such fun and colours into it.
“There is even a horse starring in it,” he said, adding the video also features glimpses of his daughter, nieces, and the children of friends.
In the opening scenes of the video, his daughter Shanaiya Lakshmi is seen surrounded by her friends and opening a pandora's box in which she finds a cassette tape. She then places the tape into a player before the song kicks in and the video takes on a magical life of its own.
Sasi said this scene was influenced by him watching the movie 'Jumanji: The Next Level', where a character slotted an old analogue cartridge into the game console.
The magical approach to the video, he added, was also influenced by another Hollywood flick, 'Night at the Museum' starring Ben Stiller and Robin Williams.
Both examples have commonplace locations and items that take on a magical tone.
He also noted the video revolved around the imaginative lives of children.
"It's something like that (Night at the Museum), but matters come alive in the bookshop."
In November, Sasi was announced as a 'Best International Act' contender for the upcoming Caribbean Afro Music Awards (Cama) which will be hosted in London, United Kingdom next year.
His upcoming album entitled ‘My Second Wave’ will carry 11 tracks and is due for release in January. – The Vibes, December 25, 2020
