Sharliza Jelita

With some synth pop for your Friday, here’s Sharliza Jelita’s new single Claustrophobia which sees a digital release on February 27th.
The enigmatic Sharliza Jelita returns this February 27 2011 with her brand new “eclectro” pop single Claustrophobia. The follow up to 2011’s No Go Pogo’ and Is That Your Underwear On The Floor?, this single marks the third release to be taken from her forthcoming album Strange Things. In her own words…

"Claustrophobia is the mood on the tube or the train. Doing the same journey to work every day. Being ensconced in small man-made spaces every day. And coming home to do the same things every day. Video games – hallelujah"

Sharliza’s life is one furnished with events that have served as a rich pallet of inspiration. Orphaned at 15, she travelled to a variety of different countries, encountering a wide range of different lifestyles and people. Her varied experience and eccentric outlook on life makes for observational songwriting with a sense of humour that goes beyond the usual pop song topics of partying, misguided arrogance and sex. Claustrophobia is about living an anonymous, monotonous life in a dirty city and wanting to leave, if not for money and distracting computer games.

It was the likes of Duran Duran, Suede and Radiohead that drew Sharliza Jelita to UK shores. She fronted a band called the Rrrs and quickly became guitarist in the electro-pop collective Death Metal Disco Scene (featured in Dorian Lynskey’s First Sight feature in The Guardian). Sharliza’s own solo work owes more to the influence of Hot Chip, Stereolab and the flamboyance of Janelle Monae.

Now based in London, her live performances are what draw in the crowds, regularly throwing in all manner of theatrical props from mechanical rabbits, feathers and flying fridge magnets, which have led to her shows being described as ‘Hot Chip meets Sesame Street’. - Rewind Magazine

You could be forgiven for thinking that a track with a title as charged as Claustrophobia would be a sombre affair, yet somehow Sharliza Jelita neatly side steps the obvious and presents a song that for all its heavy subject matter comes at you like a tidal wave of skittles, all youthful exuberance and day-glo party vibes. Though the song deals with the feeling of being trapped in a lifestyle that you want to escape from, musically it is as bright an electro-pop moment as you could wish for.



Being able to draw on an eclectic past both culturally and musically probably provides a wealth of inspirations and new ways of looking at the world and even when dealing with quite a dark subject she is able to inject her music with an ironic, knowing, tongue in cheek fun and a wonderful optimism.



A veteran of such bands as art rockers Rrrrs and arch guerrilla re-mixers Death Metal Disco Scene, this is the third single to be taken from her forth coming album, Strange Things and it is songs of such infectious quality backed up by theatrically enhanced live shows that are getting her name mentioned in all the right circles.



Pop songs by their very nature have a short shelf life, move quickly with the fickle demand of fashion, in short are disposable, but hers are throw away pop songs that you will want to hold on to for a long time and that is a rare skill. - Green Man Music

Sharliza Jelita releases her new single 'Is That Your Underwear On The Floor?' on 14th November. Taking standard vocal pop melodies and injecting them with a dose of psychedelic technicolor, the single, taken from her forthcoming album 'Strange Things', showcases a refreshingly tongue-in-cheek take on the otherwise sensitive subject of the dread at the thought of being caught after a clandestine union with someone you shouldn't have.

In a burst of sonic and kinetic energy, independent artist Sharliza, brings her own brand of kooky pop all the way from Singapore to London. Now based in the UK, this independent artist is set to unleash her young, glamorous and eccentric brand of confetti-electro, packaged in rainbows and lightning to the rest of the World. 'Is That Your Underwear On The Floor?' perfectly demonstrates the utter brilliance of Sharliza’s pogo-poptastic sound, a sound Sharliza describes as “a Hot Chip meets Sesame Street vibe”. - Original Music Society

In recent years, we have witnessed the overseas successes of two Malaysian songstresses viz. Zee Avi and Yuna. Well now, Singapore, we have our own songstress to root for! Her name is Sharliza and she is currently making a name for herself in England – having just released her debut single, Is That Your Underwear On The Floor?, with a debut album to come in 2012. The single is a mad cross between salacious and innocent, psychedelia and synthpop, Western and Asian but ultimately a juicy delight in all that matters.

Sharliza kindly took time off her busy schedule to answers our questions, via email.

How does a girl from Singapore end up being an indie musician based in the UK?

You can take the girl out of Singapore, but you can never take the Singapore out of the girl! It’s ironic, but it’s the western-centricness of the music scene in Singapore when I was growing up in Bedok that inspired me to emulate musicians like Duran Duran, Suede, Beck, Boy George and Radiohead. The only local band I could recall getting radio play was Stoned Revivals. So, what better way than to join the pond – granted it is a big, scary, competitive musical pond! Singapore is a top place to live though so I envision my return eventually.

When did you leave Singapore for UK? Was the settling into life in the UK a difficult experience? Any Singaporean food you dearly miss?

I left right after O levels because a fantastic educational organisation called United World College offered to sponsor my studies at a castle on a cliff in Wales. That was intense, like a creative bubble – it wasn’t until I moved to England that I got properly involved in the music scene. Yes, I miss sop tulang. Everytime I visit home I definitely eat some! The food here is not so challenging, lah!

How would you describe your music? Is there an Asian influence?

I’m a spectacular confetti of eclectro-pop sound and sight. I make you laugh, I make you fear, I make you touch yourself. There is definitely an Asian influence – I love keroncong, P Ramlee, Saloma, Sudirman. One day I would love to perform with a gamelan band. My next single is called Claustrophobia, out Feb 13 – it sounds vaguely Japanese, in an odd way.

Who would you say are the artists that inspire you?

Now I would say Janelle Monae, Stereolab, Carmen Miranda and Michael Jackson. Musically it ranges from the electronic sensibilities of Hot Chip to the catchiness of the Black Eyed Peas. Above all I am inspired by positivity and energy and to me life is perfect (in a zen sense) no matter what happens. There are good reasons for everything and I’m very grateful to God, who is my ultimate inspiration!

What do you hope to achieve with your music in the UK?

Play Glastonbury! Play lots of festivals! Get signed by a cool record label with lots of promotional money to spend! Get on magazine covers! Afford places in the sun and culturally-rich havens! Hahaha!

Your press release mentions a tour of South-East Asia – when will you be in Singapore and where will you be performing?

Hopefully I’ll be playing the Prince of Wales at Boat Quay on January 5th. Please come, it will be a great start to your new year!

You have a new album coming up – can you share with us stories about your songwriting and recording process?

My upcoming album is called Strange Things and will be out early 2012. It’s motivated by a quarter life crisis and my lifelong dream of being a popstar. It’s like a ‘now or never’ moment, you know? This album marks a tumultuous period where several things were beginning and ending at once, personally and professionally. It was recorded in bedrooms and studios in the countryside, in the city and on the coast of England, in collaboration with some very talented and creative people. I write about working, wanting more sun, and what it feels like for a child or after doing something naughty, or to love or to die. It’s a pop record which starts high and happy and gradually grows deeper and darker. I find that contradiction is a common condition no matter how consistent we may be at our core.

How do you intend to promote the album when it is released next year?

Hopefully through a combination of tours, appearances and press write-ups – and hopefully you’ll write about it on your blog! Youtube is the second most important search engine, so I plan to create a video for every song on the album but we’ll see… - Power of Pop

Sharliza Jelita ‘No Go Pogo’ - audaciously cute, irrefutably impish and so damn catchy with it that it ought by rights to come with a World Health Organisation citation stamped across its hide. ‘no go pogo’ is the debut single from Sharliza Jelita and serves as a well heeled taster for her forthcoming full length entitled ‘strange things’ mooted for unwrapping just after Christmas time. Who is Sharliza Jelita you may well ask - well she at one time headed up the rrr’s whose debuting ‘my valentine’ single wooed and wowed us to the point of distractive delirium on its appearance some three summers ago (see missive 163). Now minus the band this dolly day dream dynamo acutely dishes out finitely pristine slices of preciously perfect and effervescently radiant beat grooved bubblegum pop like a one woman Martha and the Vandellas albeit had the Vandellas been headed up by a youthful Eartha Kitt and spiked by the brittleness of Shonen Knife trading 50’s sha la la motifs with a coolly shade adorned Go Go’s. - Losing Today