Released on YouTube on March 19, “Galok Raya” – performed by sisters Soraya Taib, 39, Nazeera Taib, 35, and Irena Taib, 33 – quickly garnered attention and has been going viral on social media since the start of Syawal.
A 15-second lyric snippet from the song – “Di petang hari raya, di mana jejaka saya? Saya comel lote tunggu di tangga” (loosely translated to “on Raya afternoon, where is my man? I’m cutely waiting on the stairs”) – quickly became a popular background track for TikTok OOTD (Outfit of the Day) Raya photos and videos, indirectly boosting the song’s popularity and prompting netizens to search for the full version.
According to Soraya, “Galok Raya” – the sisters’ first Raya song – was written in December and aimed to portray the joy and festivity of Aidilfitri, which brings families and relatives together.
“We wanted to create something different by using swing jazz, which to us holds strong nostalgic elements. It reminds us of old Raya music filled with cheerfulness and spirit. ‘Galok’ means being ‘overly happy’ in East Coast slang,” she explained.
“The music is heavily influenced by classic Raya songs that often incorporated a big-band sound. We wanted to bring back elements like horns and strings that are iconic to old-school Raya music.”
Promoting the song, she said, was challenging – a common struggle for indie artistes – which is why the trio is grateful for their collaboration with Indonesian music producer Ari Renaldi, who co-composed the track.
“At first, we tried to distribute the song ourselves via streaming platforms, but it was quite tough. Ari suggested creating an Indonesian version called ‘Gempita Hari Raya’ and partnering with a label to distribute it.
“We then asked if they could also distribute ‘Galok Raya’ and, in the end, we released both versions as a double single.”
Soraya said they were touched and grateful for feedback from listeners who not only enjoyed the song but also chose it as background music for videos with friends and family.
The music video has now surpassed 50,000 views on YouTube, 1.7 million views on TikTok, and dominates Instagram as a popular soundtrack for Hari Raya videos and photos.
Numerous compliments and positive comments have been shared, including by Douglas Lim, who wrote: “Oh wow. This song grabbed my hand and pulled me into Nostalgia Lane.”