Early last month, fans were treated to a single, “In My Arms”, off the “Mahsuri (& Other Peculiar Tales)” OST album. Now finally fans get to listen to the whole album!
Liver & Lung, the Malaysian theatre company behind “Sepet The Musical”, has released the six-song album today, which doubles as its debut studio album.
The album, which serves as an accompaniment to the upcoming eponymous short film, depicts the legend of Mahsuri, a Malaysian tale of a beautiful woman wrongly accused of adultery.
It is described as having a blend of South and South East Asian sounds, with contemporary musical theatre elements to reimagine the legend, documenting Mahsuri’s arrival in Langkawi, her romance with the warrior Wan Derus and her untimely death at the hands of her evil mother-in-law, Mahura.
A diverse Malaysian spirit is truly captured in the beautiful mix of East Asian instruments, Bollywood-inspired vocals and authentically Malaysian percussion beats.
The album was first composed by Shafeeq Shajahan for the upcoming short film, a recent finalist at the Short Shorts Film Festival in Tokyo, which he also directed.
“I developed the concept for Mahsuri (& Other Peculiar Tales) in 2017 as a stage musical. It was hugely successful and won Liver & Lung our first BOH Cameronian Award. The film adaptation has been gestating in my mind for a while so I’m so happy that our music is finally released for all to listen,” said Shafeeq Shajahan.
“I’ve always believed in the importance of remembering our roots. The Malaysian identity is diverse and colourful and as a film and theatre-maker, I feel a responsibility to keep reintroducing Malaysian stories to new audiences in contemporary & exciting ways,” he added.
The album features the voices of rising stars Badrika Baluch (as Mahsuri), Joshua Gui (as Wan Derus), Nabilah Hamid (as Mahura) and Nave VJ (as Deraman).
Stream the album right here: https://linktr.ee/liverandlung
While fans wait for the release of the short film “Mahsuri (& Other Peculiar Tales)”, they can first check out the official teaser for it below: