Born and bred in Brunei Darussalam, the young and talented singer-songwriter Aziz Harun has impressed Malaysians with his music. Being the youngest of six children, Aziz is an inspiration to all Bruneians as he successfully became a renowned musician in Malaysia. In an interview with Top 10 of Malaysia, Aziz shares his interesting journey in pursuing music and how he achieved success in becoming a singer.
Venturing into the music industry wasn’t actually a part of Aziz Harun’s plan but it happened in a marvellous way. “I grew up with five older siblings and each of us have our own favourite genre of music. We enjoyed singing so we would have karaoke sessions during the weekends,” reminisces Aziz. “I used to watch bands perform on television and as one of my sisters had a guitar lying idle in her room, I decided to use it and taught myself how to play the guitar.”
“I started getting obsessed with learning how to play the guitar so I spent time learning through YouTube and websites that provide teaching materials on guitar chords,” says Aziz. “I started learning how to play songs on the guitar, songs that my family members and I always listened to. For a certain period of time, I admired Jason Mraz tremendously. I posted my first cover of Jason Mraz’s song on YouTube at the age of nine as I wanted to keep my sisters who were studying abroad updated on what I was doing. I also started developing my own passion in writing my own melodies and lyrics for my songs.”
Aziz started his professional career as a singer in Malaysia at the tender age of fourteen. “I had no expectations when I started my career in Malaysia as I didn’t understand what the music industry had to offer. I went on promo tours and visited radio and television stations to perform and sing songs,” says the singer. “After my third single during the third year in the industry, I finally realised that it’s about work and no longer play. My initial hope and vision when I started my career was just to have fun and perform in front of as many people as I could.”
“When I joined Big Stage Season 2, the experience was bittersweet as it was my first time joining a reality singing competition on television so I had to adapt and get comfortable when being on stage,” explains Aziz. “I had a hectic schedule for weeks and I learned a lot from experiences and met new people. There was also a challenge when I had to step out of my comfort zone and perform without my guitar on stage. Despite having to leave the competition in order to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Economics at The University of East Anglia in Norwich, I had no regrets and it was a great experience for me too.”
The genre that Aziz performs is more towards pop acoustic. “I’ve never been a ballad singer but I enjoy adapting ballads to my own style of singing. I also love performing R&B songs,” says Aziz who was also the winner of the best collaboration at the Anugerah Planet Muzik 2016.
“In life, we are continuously learning and growing. I realised that as a singer, my music should also evolve over time,” says the aspiring musician. “My song “Jauh” was very different compared to previous singles that were produced before it.”
Aziz’s passion is in making music so he hopes to produce more songs and be active in performing. “Besides being a singer-songwriter, I’m also interested in entrepreneurship. It is something I’m going to explore and whether or not it will be related to music, I have yet to find out.”
When it comes to work-life balance, Aziz finds it easy to shift his focus between tasks and activities. “Being in the creative industry requires me to connect my personal experiences to my job,” says Aziz. “Although my job could get hectic here in Malaysia, I’m able to go back to Brunei and spend quality time with my family and friends. This makes it easier for me to juggle between professional and personal life.”