FANS of Datuk Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin: brace yourself for her latest album, expected to be out at the end of the month.
Titled SimetriSiti, it marks her 16th studio album in her 21 years as a recording artiste.
The recording of the album, which began in early February, saw her spend almost a month in the studio.
“We had to record the songs in stages since I was busy with other things at that time,” said the country’s reigning pop diva after a promotional shoot for the upcoming Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian 3.0 in Kuala Lumpur recently.
She said SimetriSiti featured 10 tracks by renowned composers like Aubrey Suwito, Ade Govinda, Mohariz Yaakob, Sid Murshid, Ivan Lahardika, Amirah Ali and Opick.
The 38-year-old artiste has also displayed her composition skill in Penghiburku, an upbeat number in the album.
Her previous compositions were Hati Berbisik (from her 2006 Transkripsi album), Intrig Cinta (Transkripsi) and Cahaya Cinta (from 2006 compilation album Cerita Cinta).
“It’s been a long time since I composed a tune.
“While it did take a while for me to get inspiration for the song, the process of creating the melody, however, was quick.
“When I submitted it, song arranger and producer Sze Wan suggested that I include a bit of rapping in the song, which led me to asking Joe Flizzow if he was keen on a collaboration,” said Siti.
“Penghiburku is for my fans. While it’s my duty to entertain, I’m glad that they, too, return the favour. They make me happy.”
Besides working with Joe, Siti also collaborated with another male singer.
“Kisah Kuinginkan is a duet with Indonesian singer Judika,” said Siti, who had performed several duets with singers from the republic like Cakra Khan and her best friend, Krisdayanti.
Extremely happy with the album, which has a little bit of R&B, dance and pop, Siti said some of the melodies would remind fans of her earlier songs.
“Some of the songs sound similar to the ones composed by Abang Dee (the late Adnan Abu Hassan).”
Adnan was responsible for grooming her when she competed in RTM’s Bintang HMI in 1995.
She performed Aishah’s Camar Yang Pulang, and was crowned the champion.
For the album cover and art, Siti chose the Marilyn Monroe-esque 1950’s fashion sense and style.
“It was really fun doing the shoot for the cover. I hope fans will appreciate the images like I do.”