SimetriSiti

In November 2016, she revealed that prior to her 3-week holiday trip,[4] she requested Aubrey Suwito to make an announcement on his Facebook page in search of new songs for her latest album.[5] She also requested a number of Malaysian and Indonesian artists to provide songs to her, including Hazami and Opick.[6][7] Until November 2016, she has received more than 300 song submissions, including from Indonesian songwriters.[5] She commented on her song choices as, "I am not too picky [whether they are] new or old composers, what is more important is that their songs have to be easy to be accepted and catchy. But, I still prioritize good and mature song arrangement quality."[8][lower-alpha 2]

The whole process, from vetting and finalizing the song candidates to recording the entire album took her and her team five months to finish.[9] For the first four months, she had to attend few listening sessions several times before choosing the best 10 songs.[9][10] The best 10 songs were chosen based on votes by her, her management, and her recording company.[11] To prevent bias during the song selection, it was done without prior knowledge of the composers' identity.[12]

The total album production cost for SimetriSiti is cited to be roughly RM 100 000.[13]

Joe Flizzow (left) and Judika (right) served as a featuring artist and duet partner respectively for SimetriSiti.

Although originally scheduled for March 2017 release,[4] the recording process for the album only began early March 2017.[14] At early stages of the recording, she admitted that she had difficulty in singing some of the songs due to poor health.[15] However, with proper training from her vocal teacher, she was able to complete the recordings in the stipulated time.[15] She commented, "Initially, I felt as if I was not ready to record my first and second songs, but, thankfully, when listening to the pieces again, I found that the songs presented a different side of my vocals."[15]

During the early stages of the album planning in January 2017, she revealed that one song from the album will be recorded in Mandarin.[16] However the idea was scrapped leaving her with one track less.[10] A last minute idea, she decided to pen and compose a song specially dedicated to her fans, "Penghiburku" (My Entertainers).[11] Before composing the song, she had a rough time in composing a complete tune.[11] The inspiration for the music came to her when she was visiting her step daughter-in-law, Tya Arifin who was in labor in March 2017.[10][11] She recalled the moment, "[I] didn't expect for "Penghiburku"'s melody to strike [my] mind when I was accompanying [my] step daughter-in-law. I immediately recorded the melody with my phone and sent it to Aubrey to be produced."[11][lower-alpha 3] When she submitted the demo to Sze Wan,[17] she suggested to Siti that some rapping to be included in the upbeat song which led to the involvement of Joe Flizzow to provide the additional verses.[17] The lyrics for "Penghiburku" on the other hand, were composed by Siti on the day of recording itself.[18]

Apart from employing local Malaysian talents, Siti also sourced musicians and artists from Indonesia to contribute to the materials in SimetriSiti. Ivan Lahardika, an Indonesian musician, produced two songs for the album, including "Segala Perasaan" (All of My Feelings), the album's first single.[15] He is also responsible for the duet "Kisah Ku Inginkan" (The Story that I Want) with another Indonesian singer, Judika.[12] The idea for the collaboration began when both Siti and Judika performed together at 2014 Anugerah Planet Muzik.[19] Although she originally planned to fly to Indonesia to record "Kisah Ku Inginkan" in March 2017,[3][19] she later recorded the song in Malaysia with Yasin Sulaiman as her vocal producer.[12] To record the vocals for "Tak Perlu Ragu" (No Need to Doubt) however, she did travel to Indonesia.[20] Produced by Ade Govinda and Jeje Govinda, she recorded the song on 16 March 2017.[20]

The last song to be recorded for SimetriSiti was "Aku Bukan Malaikat" (I'm Not an Angel) which was recorded on 6 April 2017.[7] "Aku Bukan Malaikat" is composed and produced by Opick. She requested for a new song from the Indonesian singer/composer when they were both involved in "Konsert Rapatkan Saf" back in October 2016.[7] She described "Aku Bukan Malaikat" as a song specially for "sentimental women" like herself.[10] She admitted that she was swept by her emotions when she was recording the song and she had to quickly gather herself and control her emotions.[10] "Aku Bukan Malaikat" is revealed to be the most expensive song in the album.[13]

Five songs from SimetriSiti, "Bersandar Cinta" (Out of Love), "Ikrar Cinta" (Love Vow), "Manis Terindah" (Sweet, Loveliest), "Segala Perasaan", and "Tak Perlu Ragu" received strings orchestra composition from Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra.[12][21] The strings orchestra recording for the five songs were done in Bulgaria and it took them hours to complete.[12] The recordings were later sent back to Malaysia for the mixing process.[12] The audio mastering for all tracks were done by Jay Franco of Sterling Sound in New York City.[22]

Unlike Fragmen, her previous studio album where she said it is more personal,[10] the title SimetriSiti was chosen by Siti because it represents the equal (symmetrical, in a sense) treatment given to each song in the album, from choosing the composers and songs, the way the lyrics were sung and up to the recording production in general.[11]

The design and cover for the album were said to be inspired by "Marilyn Monroe-esque 1950's fashion sense".[17] The standard cover of the album features her and a group of her fans acting as paparazzi.[15][17] According to Siti, the Hollywood retro album cover was chosen because it represents her 21 years of journey as an entertainer.[11] She genuinely feels that her career has been supported by her fans, photographers, make-up artists, fashion designers, and journalists,[11] and, "It is appropriate for me to visually portray them through SimetriSiti's album cover design."[11][lower-alpha 4] The exclusive version of album, available only for pre-order on Lazada Malaysia, features a different cover,[23] complete with printed signature of hers.[23][2] Due to its exclusivity,[1] the pre-order for the album that was supposed to last for four days (5 until 9 May), ended in only 20 minutes.[23]

To promote the release of SimetriSiti, pre-order for exclusive version of the album was made available on Lazada Malaysia from 5 until 9 May 2017.[23] However, all 300 copies of the album sold out within 20 minutes.[23] Unlike its standard cover release, the exclusive version features an entirely different front cover, complete with printed signature of Siti's.[23] On 5 May too, she launched the album at The Royale Chulan Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.[10] During the album launch, she sang a medley of all 10 songs from SimetriSiti in 20 minutes.[24] Music videos for "Segala Perasaan" and "Bersandar Cinta" were also previewed during the event.[25]

For the Indonesian market however, SimetriSiti only has nine tracks.[12] Since the copyright for the song is shared between Universal Music Group (Malaysia) and Sony Music Indonesia, "Kisah Ku Inginkan", the duet with Judika will not be available in SimetriSiti in Indonesia.[12] Instead, the track will be included in Judika's upcoming album.[12]

The album is also available at the Creacion boutique and selected Petronas stations.[26]

Credits adapted from SimetriSiti booklet liner notes.[22]

Performers and musicians

Technical

Bulgarian technical personnel

• SimetriSiti at Discogs (list of releases)
• Exclusive Pre-order for SimetriSiti on Lazada Malaysia (Archived)
• SimetriSiti's Official Behind-the-Scenes Video