Singaporean Kassim Masdor has been hailed as one of the key players in the development of modern malay music in the republic since the mid 1950's until today.
Born 19th September 1938, he received his early education in malay and attended school at Kota Raja Malay School. Later he went to night classes to polish up his English.
Being poor, he had to work in his teens at the Malay Film Productions Studio in Jalan Ampas, which was near his house. He was employed as a clerk in 1952 and quickly learned his rope especially at mastering several musical instruments and composing. He was proud to be the student and friend of the great composer, actor and director P Ramlee, whom he addressed as 'abang' (brother).
"Abang Ramlee made me burn the midnight oil just to finish his musical scores.It was very tiring yet rewarding", he recalled.
By 1956, he had established himself as a budding composer and arranger. Initially, he moonlighted with the recording company EMI which was responsible with the recording of most of the top malay singers then, including P. Ramlee.
"During the heyday of the Malay film industry, we started to experiment with different music--combining western and eastern elements, introducing new chords which were shunned by many established musicians. I was happy with Abang Ramlee and other composers like Osman Ahmad who were open and supportive", he said.
Kassim was one of the pioneer members of Pancha Sitara, a vocal group founded by P.Ramlee which was almost similar to the famous Platters in the USA.
When the malay film industry began to fade in 1968, Kassim secured a job as producer , composer and music arranger with EMI Singapore. He produced about 60 albums during his five year tenure, 1969-74.
As far as malay music is concerned, the 1960's and 1970's were dominated by Kassim Masdor who introduced many top singers such as Kartinah Dahari, Ahmad Daud, Rafeah Buang, Sanisah Huri, Ahmad Jais and Sharifah Aini. In fact, Kassim co-founded a recording company, Senada, in the 70's.
Many of Kassim compositions are found in films. He served as musical director for 18 movies produced both in Singapore and Malaysia.
Between 1986 to 1990, he was engaged as a part time music arranger for the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation's orchestra. He also served as a mentor for a singing course at the Kampong Ubi Community Centre (1992-93) and was instrumental in spurring one of his students to the final of Asia Bagus, a regional wide singing talent quest in Tokyo (1993).
Todate Kassim has composed more than 400 songs with most of his lyrics written by Yusnor EF. Yusnor EF who is also the pupil by the late P Ramlee.
For his immense contributions to malay music, Kassim has received many accolades including Best Selling Album from CBS Records (1990), Meritorious Award from the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (Compass) in 1998 and Champion of the Arts from MediaCorp Radio Warna (2000).
He is now a member of Compass and honorary member of Malay Music Professional Association (Perkamus).
His patriotic song, Bahtera Merdeka, ia an evergreen and always featured during Malaysia's Independence Day celebration.
Kassim has 5 children from his previous marriage and is now a freelance music professional.
(These info is valid as of Uncle Kassim signed copy of the book dated 6/12/2004 given personally by the Great Composer during a law seminar held at Eastern Oriental (E&O) Penang , Malaysia in May 2009. Updated info as of 2010 may appear later in this blog )
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