KUALA LUMPUR – Psychedelic rock band Pitahati has joined forces with Ito Mohd, the frontman of Malaysian music legends Blues Gang, for a fresh cover of the latter's 1983 single 'Khatulistiwa'.
The reimagined version of the song came with an accompanying music video of Pitahati and Ito performing in many locations in Perak, primarily Ipoh and Tanjung Malim. It arrived just in time for Malaysia day on September 16.
The video clip sees them travelling across iconic landmarks, including Old Town Ipoh, Concubine Lane, Ipoh Train station, the Pasar Loken market, New Holly Wood restaurant, Super Kinta, and more.
According to a press release, the idea of the collaboration came after the alumni of the famed Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman (Star) boarding school were looking for a theme song for their annual event Star OBW 2021. The organisers chose the original 'Khatulistiwa' to reflect the spirit of nationalism and unity.
After learning of the theme song, actor Iedil Dzuhrie Alaudin, who is a friend of the alumni group, had pointed out that Pitahati had on many occasions performed the cover of the Blues Gang Hit.
Once Iedil connected the alumni with Pitahati, the band came up with the idea of recording the track featuring the original singer himself.
"Initially, we only wanted to record the song our way but we thought it would be interesting if we can get Ito (from the) Blues Gang," said Pitahati frontman Ilham.
It was not long after that Pitahati met Ito at the Bapakku FM radio station. The veteran singer agreed to collaborate under the condition that the lyrics be altered to include all major communities in the country.
Ito said the mentions of "Melayu, Cina, India, Serani, Kadazan Iban bersatu hati (Malays, Chinese, Indians, Eurasians, Kadazan Iban in unison)" in the song was done to highlight the country's multiracial fabric.
Interestingly, the song and titular album were banned by Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) in 1983 over its "political" messages.
Meanwhile, Ilham said Pitahati recorded the track by keeping its original sound in mind, as it is a nationalistic song that was born out of the lives of regular Malaysians.
"Therefore, we did not want to change anything that has already been deeply embedded," Ilham said.
"We only came up with a fresh take by adding sounds that were fit to our spirit but without erasing its original identity. We have always admired and respected the voices of 'Blues Nusantata' from the Blues Gang so this collaboration was very fitting.
"We are also deeply honoured to be able to collaborate with an idol that we look up to." – The Vibes, September 19, 2021
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