Aisyah Aziz is a breath of fresh air; a contemporary Malay artist doing it on her own terms. By crafting crisp and soulful pop jams in both English and her mother tongue, the singer-songwriter’s vision has seen her forge a connection with her community, making a space for herself as a vital new voice in the Malaysian music industry. Aziz began singing her heart out at small-scale karaoke competitions from as young as 11, before kickstarting her music career at 19, finishing sixth on popular singing reality show Akademi Fantasia Season 10 in 2013. Inspired by jazz legends like Ella Fitzgerald and Singapore’s Anita Sarawak, Aziz brings a soulfulness to her sound. Her expressive voice is a force to be reckoned with as she commands raw and hauntingly mesmerising emotion. At times, her vocals glide across gentle instrumentals like “Pilihan Sejati”, sending her listeners on a jazzy dive into a melancholic and nostalgic dreamscape, while Aziz adds a head-bobbing touch to sensual tracks like “Bila Entah”. As a songwriter, her words are honest and relatable to the modern Malay women, relaying stories that hit close to home. In 2020, Aziz released the self-penned five-track Sugar EP, a glorious exercise in luxe, honeyed neo-soul that confirmed her place at the musical top table of influential Malay women.