THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
2,138) Raja Ahmad & Dendang Irama — “Oh Ya Ya”
Yé-yé is so yesterday — hop over to Pop Yeh Yeh from Malaysia and Singapore (which also got its name from the Beatles’ refrain “She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah”) — like this joyous “boppy and happy” ’67 number with “male voice and chorus”. (Peter Hoflich, https://hoflich.com/Peter/blog/pop-yeh-yeh-psychedelic-rock-from-singapore-and-malaysia-1964-1970/)
Ghaz enlightens us about Dendang Irama:
[M]ost Pop Yeh Yeh musicians that had their hits topping the charts came from the Republic of Singapore (or the province of Singapore when it was a part of Malaysia before its independence in 1965). However, the neighboring country, Malaysia, had also an abundance of bands performing both on records and in films too, although at many times, their presence had not received the same level highlights as their Singaporean counterparts in the mass media. Dendang Irama was one of the pop yeh yeh bands formed in Kuala Lumpur under the patronage of P. Ramlee, the legendary film star who also composed and sing songs in both films and on records. Under his direction, they appeared on his film Masam-Masam Manis (Sour but Sweet) (1965), Nasib Do Re Mi (The Fate of Do Re Mi) (1966), Anak Bapak (Papa’s Pet) (1968) and Gelora (The Gale) (1970). . . . Following their appearance on films, Dendang Irama became one of the few pop yeh yeh bands being invited to perform live on Radio Malaysia and TV Malaysia at that time. Members of Dendang Irama consisted of Raja Ahmad (permanent vocalist), Othman Maulud (lead guitarist cum band leader), Hassan Sulaiman (rhythm guitarist), M. Yusoff Osman (bass guitarist) and Othman Abu Bakar (drummer). Their involvement with P. Ramlee that had shaped their musical career and popularity began to gain the trust from recording companies from both sides of the Causeway. In 1966, together with singer Jaafar Osman, they made their debut EP under EMI Singapore. . . .
https://menarigogo.blogspot.com/2024/12/focus-on-dendang-irama-pop-yeh-yeh-band.html
Sublime Frequencies tells us of Pop Yeh Yeh:
Until now, for some unknown reason, the psychedelic rock movement in Singapore and Malaysia, aka Pop Yeh Yeh, has never been given the worldwide attention it deserves. . . . The Pop Yeh Yeh era, which took place roughly between the years of 1964 to 1970, coincided with the rapid modernization happening at the time in Singapore and Malaysia. . . . Pop Yeh Yeh artists instinctively cross-pollinated electric sounds of the West with Malay melodies, and added their own local poetic voice to the lyrics they wrote — sung in Malay (and sometimes Bawean). The Pop Yeh Yeh musicians started out playing in styles inspired by Western groups like the Beatles and Cliff Richard, but they eventually succeeded in creating a sound all their own — a sound that is not only accessible to the Western ear, but also retains an undeniable Malay personality.
Novocaine69 adds some historical context:
[The 60’s and 70’s] was . . . a time of great revolutions and reinventions in [South East Asian] SEA music. Western pop and later on psychedelic music was largely adapted, yet local musicians did not simply stick with copying but developed a fascinating blend between their homegrown roots and Western pop or psychedelia, ultimately culminating in unfortunately often all too short-lived unique musical styles. . . . War often put an abrupt end to these sparkling scenes. Extreme examples are the Khmer Rouge that systematically tracked down & executed artists & intellectuals or Vietnam where Western influenced musicians at times destroyed their recordings so as for them not to fall into the hands of the Vietcong. . . . In result to all these political upheavals and due to a lack of conservation what remains of SEA psych 40 years later are piles of broken fragments, flashes of genius & triviality that are often just the tip of the iceberg of music that has been. . . . More than occasionally there’s the paradox that there’s almost no information on a band or artists, while you can find virtually hundreds of vids on youtube, which indicates that actually much more of this music than assumed has survived in some form (often not the master tapes) in its native countries.
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