Sharliza Jelita is a Singaporean singer, songwriter and music producer with a versatile body of work covering jazz, pop, indie and electronica. Performing in both Malay and English, she has a deep passion for combining Eastern and Western musical influences to increase Nusantara representation on the international stage. Her artist name, a combination of her first name and her childhood nickname she grew up with, reflects the importance of staying true to her roots.
Sharliza started her musical journey in the UK in 2001. A UWC scholarship enabled her to jam and perform with a global mix of peers at St Donats Arts Centre. She eventually founded an art-rock indie band called The Rrrs who were well-known in Warwick University circles for their crazily catchy songs, batik shirts and extraordinarily energetic performances. She performed gigs and festivals in Europe and Southeast Asia with The Rrrs and as a solo artist, when her debut album, ‘Strange Things’, was featured on various UK media such as BBC 6 Music in 2012. Her flamboyance and eccentric outlook on life at the time makes for observational songwriting which covers urban life, adventure, the economy, divorce and the afterlife.
In a stark evolution of style, the following year Sharliza set out to produce a series of jazz and piano/guitar-led covers of songs such as Moon River, What Is Love, The Way We Were and many more. Harking back to the days of Julie London, Doris Day, Eartha Kitt, and legendary Malay singer Saloma, she explored the timeless, sensuous and elegant side of feminine beauty. View Sharliza’s Vintage Series videos on Youtube and listen to Sharliza’s Vintage Series playlist of covers and originals on Soundcloud.
In 2014, the Singapore High Commission in the UK invited her to write a community song for Singapore’s 50th National Day. Sharliza wrote and self-produced ‘Singapore, It’s Where We Belong‘, written as a community song for overseas Singaporeans. It was performed in public for the first time at Singapore Day Festival 2014 at London’s Victoria Park, where she was invited to meet Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Sharliza was also invited to perform the song at the SG50 Swiss Fair in Geneva as well as Singapore Community Day 2015 in London. The project culminated in the production of a community video ahead of National Day 2015 featuring over 600 Singaporeans both at home and in London, sponsored by SG50 Community Fund and SUKA, reaching out to 200,000 people through social media.
Throughout 2014, Sharliza began producing in Malay, with the release of her first original Hari Raya song ‘Selamat Hari Raya Sedunia’ and an EP of jazz-acoustic covers of popular Hari Raya songs, ‘Koleksi Hari Raya 1’, featuring a cover of P Ramlee’s ‘Dendang Perantau‘ and Ahmad Jais’ ‘Selamat Hari Raya‘. It has been well-received by fans in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, gaining popularity every Ramadan and Syawal.
Sharliza followed up with her Intention EP in 2017. It is more than a nod to her favourite artists such as Stereolab, Machinedrum and Thom Yorke, infused with Asian instruments and Eastern spirituality. Upon returning to Singapore later that year, she collaborated with artists such as Malex and Addy Cradle on jazz, keroncong and rock performances.
As the entire world slowed down due to the pandemic, Sharliza took the opportunity to release 3 songs that continued with the ‘spiritual electronica’ theme – ‘Emergence‘ and ‘Gratitude‘ in 2020, and ‘Breathing Space‘ in 2021.
Sharliza Jelita’s latest release, ‘Bertemu Di Hari Raya’, is a dedicated to everyone who had been separated from family during Eid for the last few years and finally celebrating together after the lifting of COVID restrictions around the world.
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People involved in Intention EP
Mixing engineer and all round cool guy Michael Tingle. Programming, videography and photography by Sharliza Jelita.
People involved in the Vintage Sessions
Videographer Charlotte Johnson of Decibel Pictures. Claire Hart as art director/stylist. Hair duties: Shelley LB and Hayley Berry. Photographers: Claire Hart, Claire Selim, James Williams.
Thank you to these fine musicians: MaW on guitar, Georgia from Music Services, Fin Crowther on piano, Phillip Cooper from Vintage Backing Tracks.
People involved in Strange Things
Thanks to Jonny Goodwillie of the Hook-up Consultancy, Tom Beck for press and radio PR, Massimo Zeppetelli for online PR, Russ Keffert, record producer and head honcho of Something Nothing Records, and Oli at Optimum Mastering. Ben Chisnall on artwork, Issa Pourkhosravi on informal videos, Sam Jordan (for No Go Pogo), Ed Stenson on Claustrophobia, Nick Light on Is That Your Underwear On The Floor? and Joss Horne for Strange Things, Angela Melling and Steven Read on photography. Also milliner Miranda Persaud on hats. Make-up artists Becky Johal and Ellie Worthington. Extras on videos: Issa Pourkhosravi, Jodie Lawrence, Adeline Rozario. Also thank you to these fine musicians: Afua Fiagbe, Kerry Atchison, Rowan Gifford, Tom Miodrag and Ursula Donelly. Also much gratitude to live musicians Fin Crowther, Ed Beesley, Mike Kenna, Afua Fiagbe, Dan Middler, Joe Rogers and MaW for allowing the songs to be enjoyed in the flesh. More thank yous in the album liner notes.