M. Nasir

During the Konsert Alam Muzik M. Nasir at Istana Budaya in 2009.

Mohamad Nasir had been deeply exposed to music not only through listening to the radio; but also his elder brother who had brought him purchased records of bands such as Bob Dylan, Queen, Al Stewart and Led Zeppelin while they were growing up in Singapore in the 1960s and 1970s.[3]

He attended the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and graduated with a diploma in Western painting in 1978,[4] originally wanting to become an artist. He was roped into music making in 1978 when a friend of his Wan Ibrahim, then executive producer of PolyGram Singapore, had invited him to write song lyrics for the band Alleycats, who were rising in popularity at that time.[4]

Nasir decided to venture into singing, releasing debut album Untuk Pencinta Seni/Pelukis under the name of Mohamad MN in 1981, which ended up being a flop. He moved on to form folk rock act Kembara ( Original act M.Nasir, A. Ali & Zainal Headwind ) then Zainal left, M.Nasir forms with four other members; A. Ali, S. Sahlan, and siblings Abby and Eddie Ali. The Ali siblings however left the group early on the band's formation due to disagreements on picking what genre they were to take.[1]

Kembara released their own self-titled debut album, which became a commercial success with 25,000 copies sold.[4] The band went on releasing six albums riding on their fame until their disbandment in late 1985.[1]

He also dabbles in the art of painting, particularly abstract art. He has conducted several exhibitions on his canvas works; the first being Tanda in 2014 and Tanda II in 2015, both in Shah Alam.[5]

Nasir moved along with his family to Malaysia in 1984, where he became a naturalised citizen in 1989.[4]

He married Junainah Johari, who was the lead singer of Ideal Sisters, Singapore's earliest girl group. Their relationship – from which they have five children namely Ilham, Yasin, Hidayat, Syafi'i and Nurnilam Sari – lasted until Junainah's death on 8 August 1998[6] due to asthma. Nasir's second marriage not long after was with actress Marlia Musa, where they have a daughter named Suci Musalmah.

His children also involve themselves in music making: Ilham, Yasin and Hidayat make up the band Pitahati while Syafi'i is a member of the psychedelic rock band Ramayan.[3]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to M. Nasir.

• M. Nasir & Luncai Emas Official Website
• Muzik Nusantara – Hamlau
• Musicmoz.org
• Prahara Seni
• M. Nasir at IMDb