Fans will get to see a different side of Aziz Harun when his fourth single, Jangan, is released September 22.

“This song is about love and a long-distance relationship. I think it’s my best single yet,” says the 18-year-old.

“Jangan has a different feel compared to Senyum and Beautiful. Even my previous single, Mama was a bit on the happy side. Through Jangan, I want to show fans a different side of me, the grown-up side of me.”

Aziz has been writing and producing songs since he was a tween, getting his start after he won a local talent search called Bintang Kecil back in 2009.

Now a recording artist with Faithful Music and managed by Warner Music Malaysia, he has been slowly evolving his musical style since those early days on Radio Television Brunei.

Last night, the singer-songwriter invited his Bruneian fans to an exclusive listening party for Jangan at the Bang & Olufsen showroom in Kiarong.

Released tomorrow on iTunes, Apple Music and Spotify, the song is a step apart from his previous fare, combining influences from from Malaysian artistes such as  Innuendo, Ruffedge, New Boyz and Aiman Tino.

“I (gravitate towards) R&B because that’s what I love,” he says.

Written and composed by Faisal Tahir, Ezra Kong and Romeo, Jangan is Aziz’s fourth single to date. The hitmaker previously released Senyum in 2014, Beautiful in 2015 and Mama last year.

The Jangan single release was pushed back from its original release date last month because he wanted to release it with a ‘bang’. “We’ve done the music video and all we need to do now is release (the single),” he says.

A JUGGLING ACT  

Aziz completed his ‘A’ Levels last year with flying colours despite having to juggle his music and education.

“When I was studying for my GCE ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels, I never had the opportunity to experience a full-blown tour. I’ve gone on radio tours and magazine (promotions) but the one thing that I really missed out on — which I think was a really big opportunity — was performing on mall tours,” he says.

The singer had missed out on promoting his singles Senyum and Beautiful to focus on his exams. “With the single Jangan, I can now properly promote and perform at mall tours. Performing in front of the crowds is an amazing feeling.”

While his friends are off to university, Aziz is taking a gap year from his studies and will be moving to Kuala Lumpur, saying it was time for him to push himself and focus on his music.

“Taking a gap year is very foreign to us. It’s very different from your conventional journey, especially in Brunei.”

He says the decision was bittersweet, but he is excited to be moving on to bigger and better things in his career.

“I will be going to uni next year, that’s for certain… I currently have an offer from the University of Essex for management economics. InsyaAllah if I have rezeki I will go to UK. If the momentum from the music keeps going strong, I might do a twinning programme in KL.”

Aziz Harun talks about how he plans to take a year off his studies to focus on his music. Photo: Courtesy of The Film Cartel

In the meantime, Aziz will be giving music his full attention: “Now I have more time to go out, be active on social media and take more gigs.”

He will be promoting Jangan on a mall tour with several other artists under Warner Music Malaysia including Tysha Tiar, Dewi Seriestha, Andi Bernadee, Bella Nazari, Cassidy, Nastia and Payslip.

On September 17, they performed at Mydin USJ, Subang Jaya. Their next stop will be GM Klang on September 23; Sungai Buloh Mall on September 24 and IOI City Mall, Putrajaya on October 7.

BRUNEIAN AT HEART 

The promotion for his new single this time around will be different, focusing not only on his Malaysian fan base but those in Brunei as well.

“Usually we pay attention to the Malaysian fan base because that’s where (majority of) my followers are. This year, I decided to also pay attention to local media and local radio, because you never see artists from Brunei do a promotional tour here,” he says.

Aziz has over 91,000 followers on Instagram where he post updates of his music and everyday life. A young social media star, he also has an avid following on Facebook and Twitter.

Besides going on tour, Aziz is also looking forward to working on his skills as a songwriter and composer, and is keen to collaborate with Bruneian artists.

“I hope to work with SonaOne, a Malaysian rapper. Locally, I would love to work with Zed Peace. I would also love to work with my boss, Faizal Tahir. InsyaAllah maybe I will work with him in terms of writing songs.”

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Aziz made his mark on the Malaysian music scene in 2015 with his single Senyum, earning him a nomination for ‘Best New Male Artiste’ at the 2015 Anugerah Planet Muzik (APM), an award show for Malay-language music.

He took it a step further last year, when he became the first Bruneian artist to bag an APM, winning ‘Best Collaboration’ for his song Beautiful, a joint effort with his mentor Faizal Tahir, as well as musicians Mike Chan and Omar K.

Aziz says that he wants to go further in the music industry, to get his songs out there and earn recognition through awards such as the Anugerah Juara Lagu (AJL) and “maybe win another APM for Best Song”.

“I want the new song (Jangan) to be bigger than Senyum… which is pretty hard to beat. It’s a big expectation and a big goal.”

But having captivated the Malay music scene at the tender age of 18, it’s one we’re sure he can accomplish.