Sasi The Don, Malaysia’s Reggae music icon, has released a highly anticipated song in collaboration with renowned Swedish producer and sound engineers called ‘Come Follow Me’, from the confines of his home.
When the pandemic showed no signs of recovery by the end of 2020, Sasi reached out to his good friend, Tomas Granlind, who previously produced the music for his collaboration with the legendary Dr. Alban in 2008. This set in motion a collaboration over a year that saw Granlind produce the music for the song, while Sasi penned the lyrics and composed the melody.
Explaining the inspiration for the song Sasi said, “The pandemic has hit the global scene badly. For people like me who share the same passion of creating and developing something new, our inability to go out, travel, meet new people, have new conversations, and gather inspiration from our surroundings is lost.”
“I just felt that I should take advantage of the lockdown to work on something exciting, so I reconnected with Granlind via text message with just a ‘Hello,” elaborated Sasi on how he kick started the entire project. The song took on a life of its own when mixing and mastering engineers from Cutting Room Sweden came on board. Martin Ankelius, famed mixing engineer, and Bjorn Engelmann, mastering engineer who was nominated at this year’s Grammy Awards, and have worked with the likes of The Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Westlife, Dr. Alban, Ace of Base, and other distinguished artistes.
“Everybody has the power to inspire and show others that anything is possible. We don’t want to wait for things to happen, we make things happen if we believe in ourselves. When the whole world was unable to go out and do things regularly, I just felt that I wanted to take this challenge and make something out of it. Music is my power and I used it to turn around the hopelessness of the pandemic for myself, my family and musicians in my circle,” he explained.
Impressed by the outcome of Sasi’s work during the pandemic and his utilization of technology to bring to life cross-border creative collaborations, Digi Telecommunications has thrown their support behind Sasi as the proud sponsor of the release and marketing behind ‘Come Follow Me’.
“Digi is excited to be part of this collaboration where digital technology is showcased at its best, connecting people to what matters most to them especially during this challenging period. We applaud Sasi’s efforts to adapt to the current situation and fully leverage on the power of the Internet and connectivity, bringing to life cross-border creative teamwork. As a digital service provider, this initiative is very much aligned with our effort in bringing the best Internet experience through total connectivity – consistent high-speed network experience and relevant devices to all of our customers,” said Lo Wei Tzen, Digi’s Head of Brand and Media.
‘Come Follow Me’ is a song about boldly rising up against challenges, and inspiring with power and strength to face adversity. The video features Sasi’s own daughter and her friends, as well as Sasi’s favourite icon ‘The Big Bad Wolf’. In the recent floods that swept through Malaysia, BookXcess suffered massive losses of millions of books through the flood damage. As someone with close ties to the organization, it seemed fitting to include the ‘Big Bad Wolf’ as a symbol of rising from the ashes. After all, ‘The Wolf’ has brought Malaysians together through the years with their belief that getting an education is not a luxury, but a right; a belief that is shared by Sasi – that we can achieve anything, “Life doesn’t end when disaster strikes.”
‘Come Follow Me’ is a song that is catchy, danceable, and grows on you. It features singers Sherilyn Marissakee from Malaysia, and Sofie Andren from Sweden. The song is now available across all music streaming platforms, including YouTube. It is also available in two different remix versions: one which features Hungarian violinist, Helga Sedil, and another which is remixed by Jusa, a producer based in the UK. Sasi The Don has also included his international hit ‘Hold Up’ featuring Apache Indian, and his Father’s Day release ‘Daddy Don’ in a brand new Bhangra version, remixed by homegrown deejay and producer, DJ Nick Dhillon as bonus tracks to accompany this new release.
‘Come Follow Me’ will premiere on Sasi The Don’s YouTube Channel on 11 March 2022 at 9 pm. Official premiere link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLF8yl1PeS8
