Musically inclined – since age four, to be exact – Timur is able to play the piano, saxophone, guitar and ukulele. A natural-born singer, she often performed in musicals while at school.
Comfortable on stage and in front of an audience, it was really a matter of time before this young woman began entertaining thoughts of involving herself professionally in music instead of her chosen field of engineering.
Now signed with KRU Music as their latest talent, Timur released her debut single “Not A Criminal” on April 1. The music video follows Timur and her gang of criminals who rob a bank and out-smart the police in a car chase so the loot can be delivered to the intended person.
The song is part of a six-track EP to be released at the end of this year, alongside the Malay and Mandarin versions.
FMT caught up with Timur recently to find out more about this beauty with brains and talent to boot.
“We’ve been working hard for this record, and I’m really excited to be able to share my music with everyone,” the bubbly 26-year-old said during a Zoom call from London.
“Not a Criminal” is a catchy, up-tempo, K-pop-esque song that tells the story of a relationship gone wrong.
“One person is struggling to let go of the other. They want to do things they know aren’t necessarily right for them to do, thus they’re holding out for a beacon of light to save them from themselves,” she said.
The video
The song was written by top Swedish dance-pop songwriters, with the music video production helmed by local talents.
It is also the first song of a four-part music video series directed by singer, actor, film director and former band-member of KRU, Yusry Abdul Halim of KRU Music.
Touching on the Malay and Mandarin versions of the single, Timur admitted that the task of recording the song in three languages was somewhat of a challenge.
“It’s important that the lyrics fit the different languages accurately; you don’t want it to sound like it was not written in that language.
“But that also meant that when we filmed everything, we had to do it three times, in order to match the lip-synching with the particular language.”
The entire process was made all the more intimidating as she had never filmed a music video before in her life. She admitted that she is rather camera-shy, although no one would think so watching the video.
“There are so many gifted people who worked on the video and I really hope that we can showcase our Malaysian talents to a global audience.”
Born and bred in Malaysia, Timur left for the UK to further her studies when she was 15.
“Even though my family is based in Europe, Malaysia is home for me. I love the weather, food and culture, and that’s why I decided to begin my music journey here,” she shared.
An artist that has had the most impact on her is none other than Shakira. “I grew up listening to her; I love the way she dances, as well as her magnetic presence.”
In addition, she also draws influence from a wide range of music genres.
“I enjoy listening to K-pop, Latin music, musicals, R&B as well as pop singers like Beyoncé, Rihanna and Dua Lipa. I do try to diversify my music taste, because I think there’s a lot we can learn from different genres of music; we don’t necessarily just stick to one thing.”
Having said that, she mentioned she is particularly drawn to K-pop performances.
“Their music videos are stunning; they’re full of energy. I’d like to emulate that in my own songs,” she enthused.
Ultimately, music is something that brings her joy and she said she hopes to share that love with others.
“It’s so ingrained in my daily life, and I think it’s a big part of most people’s lives too. It’s also an escape; when you listen to music you get lost in your own world, and I hope my music will have the same effect on listeners.”
Check out ‘Not a Criminal’ on Spotify and Apple Music.